Kids/Parents/School Bus Stops

armymil

So I am seeing a growing trend lately. When I was a kid, I was told to go stand at the bus stop in my hefty coat and extra clothing. I would time leaving my house just right so I wouldnt make the bus but sometimes I would miss the bus or they would be too late. Fine, whatever. I seen boys and girls tough out the cold. I've heard horror stories from parents how they walked to school "in snow." As I did my geneology, I seem to realize that each generation, it was much worse each time. At some point, I realized a lot of kids dropped out of school to become farmers and what not. Interesting tid bits. So there is always a generation that says it was much harder for them. I also hear this with military dads and their kids who went into the military. Now they have time outs and coaching sessions or whatever. Who cares.

My point was, I can't believe that as weight is still a major concern, I see a lot of parents sitting with their kids at the bus stops with a running car (talk about going green, right?) until the bus comes. It's sad to see some of those kids that actually have to stand out there watching the family in the SUV with the heater. Really? I mean, I know McDonalds is a mile marker now a days, and I know that PE is not a requirement, but can't standing outside for 10 minutes be a requirement?

My rant for the day.

MB_Positif

Haha, well...my son and I occasionally sit in the car talking and goofing off with music, but the only reason we have the car with us is because I have an hour drive to work and barely scrape in by 9:15 because of waiting for his bus. If I didn't have the long drive to work we'd be walking it every day in our big warm coats!

juliecat1

The bus stop is the corner of our yard. The kids play in the drive way during the warmer months but when its cold or it rains they come inside my house and wait. There is a kid whos parent insists on sitting in their car with the motor running every single day no matter the weather. Shes older and plays with my kids a lot so I dont know why her mom does this. She could drive her to school and back in the time she sits out there idling. Shrug

rockerbabyy

ugh i know! i walk my daughter to school ( we only like a half mile away) and i see parents drive to within a block or two of the school.. park and let their kids out. or theyll park, get out..unload the stroller and load in two kids and let the school age kid out and then walk the block to school. i try not to judge because i dont know exactly how far away they live and stuff like that - but really..if i can get my 4 and 5 year old up at 7am to walk 10-20 minutes (even in the cold! was 31 degrees the other day) then anyone can.

adjones5

I guess to each their own. I walked to school through feet of snow in Boston but I also had 5 siblings walking with me. If I had only one school aged child I would probably do what made them the most comfortable. If they felt fine going to bus stop alone I would let them but if they were too nervous I would probably wait with them. Just because a child is waiting with their parent inside a heated car at the bus stop doesn't mean that they don't get physical activity throughout the day.

sexforjaffacakes

why are they even driving to the bus stop in the first place? Surely the point in the bus stop is that it's closer to the house than walking to school?

Pocket_Pixi

I used to walk to school every day until it got to cold (-30C or below that). My mom used to just make sure that we were dressed properly. However I lived in a small town so walking to school really was not a big deal. I do know now that there are a lot of parents that drive their children to and from school no matter what the temperature is, for us as kids it was a great time to horse around, have snow ball fights etc. I do find it sad when parents do this.

My niece is now in school, and I she does get a ride to school every day because the bus for her school does not come to our house and making her walk would just be cruel as it takes 5- 10 mins by car to get there, I do see a few kids who live within blocks of the school getting rides however.

I guess it all depends on the situation, I do however think if you are going to sit at the bus stop in an idling car you might as well drive your kid to school.

Lleldiranne

Bus isn't even an option for use. It takes my daughter at least 45 min to walk home (it's probably a good 2 miles at least, she's not just dawdling). Oh, and that's after he daily (required) PE class. Yeah, we give her rides many days, especially when the weather is really bad. On the days she does walk, that counts toward her PE homework of 30 minutes of activity daily (besides PE); on the days she doesn't, she has to find some other activity - not hard for a kid who is in volleyball, basketball, and all sorts of other stuff!

As I type this, my son has pulled out the resistance bands and is pretending to do Tae Bo. I guess it really is a case of doing what parents do.
Okay, brag over :laugh:

livnlite

I know what you are saying .. I have also noticed, the winter wear some of these kids are wearing. Name brands and very expensive .. probably very high quality and warm ( a lot better quality that what was available to me, in the day where you'd have to walk a mile to get to school) .. yet, these bozos don't do up the zippers (jacket WIDE open, cause it's 'cool'), wear skinny jeans, and sneakers .. not even a hat. They can't wait at the bus stop for 10 minutes out in the cold because, heavens forbid .. they might get cold!

Oh, yea..another thing I've noticed... they wear their knitted hats during the summer months when it's 90 degrees! WTF???

dlaplume2

I somewhat agree. I think if you are going to get in your car, you might as well drive the whole way. How far can their school really be? I don't think that the streets are as safe as they were when we were kids either. I think depending on what neighborhood dinamics are, kids are not as safe at the bus stop. On the other hand when we were kids our parents either left for work before us or after us, now many of them have more flexible schedules and want to make sure their kids get on the bus before driving in another direction to work.

I guess until you are in their shoes don't judge. There could be any number of reasons for that.

koosdel

Ah yes.. the bus. I remember those days. I would have my driver slow so I could throw water balloons at the kids. It must suck to be average.

dragonbait0126

So I don't have kids but my best friend has 3. There have been times where she and her husband had to go out of town and didn't take the kids because of school. The last time, my husband and I stayed over at their place with the kids and got them to school the next morning. The bus stop is within walking distance. Her 2 boys (who are the middle and the youngest) we walked to the bus stop and stood with them until the bus came. Her daughter, who is the oldest, we drove to the bus stop and then she sat in the car with us until the bus came (and no we did not have the car running the entire time). To be fair, we were leaving the house for the day as we were on the way to work after the kids were all on the bus but there may be other parents who are in the same scenario. They are on the way to work and so they take drive the kids to the bus stop. Actually, my best friend has been known to toss a kid on her 4-wheeler and drive them. lol. It meant getting to spend a few extra minutes with the kids each morning.

LuckyLeprechaun

Because I remembered how uncomfortable it was to stand out in the cold, I allowed my son to sit in the warm car for a few extra minutes until his school opened the doors. It took an extra three minutes out of my morning but it showed him that I was willing to be considerate of his comfort.

He still turned out to be a good person. Imagine!

armymil

To all nay-sayers, I completely understand dangerous weather. With snow, I understand some concerns with the depth and the temp outside. That goes the same for possible hail and tornados. I also understand distance to bus stop, so parents taking their kids to school are fine. I don't have that problem.

Yeah, I live in Oklahoma. Today the temp was 35 this morning. My street is 2 way but has parking on both sides that makes it one way. I almost couldnt make it because a parent was parked on the side with their kid all half-a parked. Their kid was inside enjoying the heat. No snow. No sleet. No rain. Then are the other kids looking at the SUV while standing outside in their coats.

Further on my way to work, is another parent that I see outside all the time in their SUV waiting for the bus. As I started to keep my eyes open, I started to see this happening more, even on warmer days. My thought is why the coddling?

However, I would be for covered school bus stops. I had one where I lived and it was great for rain.

MB_Positif

I somewhat agree. I think if you are going to get in your car, you might as well drive the whole way. How far can their school really be? I don't think that the streets are as safe as they were when we were kids either. I think depending on what neighborhood dinamics are, kids are not as safe at the bus stop. On the other hand when we were kids our parents either left for work before us or after us, now many of them have more flexible schedules and want to make sure their kids get on the bus before driving in another direction to work.

I guess until you are in their shoes don't judge. There could be any number of reasons for that.

The problem many of you aren't thinking about is that the time that the bus comes is way earlier than the kids can arrive at the school. In my situation my son's bus comes at 8:15, but he can't enter the school building until 8:45. I have an hour drive to work, so if I waited to drop him off I wouldn't get to work until almost 10:00. We all have our reasons though....I really wish I could walk my son to school or the bus stop every day, but it's just not possible!

lbetancourt

you know what irks me.... is when i have to wait on a school bus that is waiting on kids that are causually walking towards the bus. i mean, when i was a kid & I saw the bus pulling up... I would run!

armymil

lol yeah. Especially if they are still talking to their friends while the bus is sitting there waiting on them!