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I had an old post about this but I can't seem to find it and I am still puzzeld by this. Why do so many parents in Wake County Drive their children to and from school every day? I passed by Wakefield middle school a few weeks ago in the morning and their was this HUGE line of cars twisting out into the main road with parents dropping their children off. I understand their are special programs that require kids to come early and stay late and some kids have special needs and can't ride the bus, but it seems to me there are a whole bunch of other people driving their kids to school on a daily basis instead of having them take the bus.
I read a lot of letters to the editor in the N&O from parents complaining about school policy issues affecting school schedules and how it is a burden to them because they drive their children to school this affects their routines, but I am always left wondering why the parents are driving their kids to school in the first place (the above reasons aside).
Don't most kids take a bus anymore? Why not? What's going on here? Is it a generational thing? Are parents just way more protective than they were 20-30 years ago and worried about their kids waiting at a bus stop?
Don't most kids take a bus anymore? Why not? What's going on here? Is it a generational thing? Are parents just way more protective than they were 20-30 years ago and worried about their kids waiting at a bus stop?
I'm sure there are a variety of reasons. We currently drive one child to school for two reasons: (1) not using the bus allows us about 45 minutes extra time in the morning. (2) my wife, especially, fears that all types of bad things happen on public school buses these days.
That's the category we fall into anyway. The first year we moved here we had bus service. The following year they increased the walking distance from 1 mile, to 1.5 miles. We live approx 1.4 miles from the school so we no longer get a bus.
I drive my kids in the morning and I walk to pick them up in the afternoons. With 4 kids, walking takes about 40 minutes from door-to-door (one way). Mornings are hectic enough and I cannot wake my youngest up 40 minutes early and then expect him to walk almost 3 miles...it would not be a pretty morning! lol
We have considered riding bikes but my 2 youngest still struggle with the hills so that is not an option currently.
Being a parent of a child at Wakefield Middle, I know that there was a very large amount of students/families impacted by the lovely/idiotic redistricting plan. We were "grandfathered" to stay at WMS, but we have to provide transportation. This has more than doubled the amount of kids driven to school on a daily basis this year. Funny how the bus picks kids up in the next block up from me for WMS, but my daughter isn't allowed to ride that bus.... I asked.
It's annoying for us to. Believe me that there are many other things I would prefer to be doing rather than sitting in that long line every morning and every afternoon. It was our choice, though, to let her finish her 8th grade year at WMS instead of moving for one year.
From what I have been told, The buses do not have seatbelts with exception of the newer buses. Who knows if my kiddo would end up on with a seatbelt or not? I don't feel comfortable with that.
I work at home, so driving to and from is not a problem.
The Car pool lanes can get pretty messy, so I can understand a lot of parents not wanting to deal with the hassle.
Hubby drops daughter off at high school because it is on his way and if he didn't drop her off, she'd have to get up about 45 min. earlier as the bus comes very early and then she'd be on that bus for that 45 minutes instead of doing her hair! And when you are 16 years old, doing your hair is more important!
From what I have been told, The buses do not have seatbelts with exception of the newer buses. Who knows if my kiddo would end up on with a seatbelt or not? I don't feel comfortable with that.
FYI - a study is being conducted on this that will hopefully answer the question of whether seat belts on school buses are necessary.
My sons are in college now, but when they attended WCPS I drove them because the bus stop was not visible from my home, I had to walk with them and wait. Thats fine on a nice day, but not fine in bad weather. More importantly, the bus came at 615 for an 8am school start. To me, it was more important that my sons got a few more minutes of sleep and a good breakfast and time with ME rather than sit on a school bus for an hour. Oh, we lived about 1.5miles from their school! Also, the bus was not very timely. So it was more convenient for me to drive them.
While I'm sure there are a plethora of reasons, I think the main reason is Helicopter Parents.
Look, I'm not a parent so I cannot say that I would or wouldn't do this or that. However, I've seen study after study that say that kids today, per capita, are just as safe (if not a little safer) walking, biking, or riding the bus to school than they were 25 years ago. It was fine in the 80's and 90's when I went to grade, middle, and high school and I'm sure it's just as fine now.
I believe some parents are just overprotective of their kids (to the kid's detriment) and want to "control" every possible situation. A Scandinavian friend of mine calls them "Curling Parents" because they attempt to walk in front of their kid, sweeping every little pebble out of their way.
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