Forum Index
»
Schools and Education General Discussion
Rules of kiss-and-ride for pick-up (at elementary school)
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
At your school, are parents discouraged from getting out of the car to buckle their kids in?
Also...I got a dirty look today because my kid opened the door himself and climbed in, but couldn't get it closed himself. The aid was there and really didn't want to have to close the door for him (he's tall...maybe she didn't realize he's in kindergarten?). Again, I didn't see parents getting out of their cars to help their kids. |
Anonymous
| At our school, parents are not supposed to get out of the car. If your kid can't buckle his/herself, you shouldn't be using kiss and ride. |
Anonymous
| OP here...maybe so, but we live too close to use the bus but too far to walk every day (with my three year old in tow who refuses to use a stroller). I don't have much choice. |
Anonymous
| why don't you teach the kindergartener to buckle himself in? |
Anonymous
| Yes, at our school no one gets out of the car. And parents who are not on bus routes are strongly encouraged to walk rather than drive. Teach your DS to buckle himself, or walk to school. Give your 3 yo the choice of a)walking (and then leave yourself enough time to get to school at his or her pace) or b)riding in the stroller. You are the parent! |
Anonymous
|
At our school the kids buckle/unbuckle themselves or the parents pull up around the edge of the building to some parking spots to do it. But honestly I can't imagine many K'ers who wouldn't be capable of doing their own.
We also encourage that the child's seat be on the passenger side so they aren't crossing in front or behind any cars to get to their door. |
Anonymous
| My K can't buckle himself in at all. I have trouble doing it sometimes. He can pull the door shut but not always hard enough. The teachers/admin on carpool duty open the car door and will lean over and buckle a kid in if they can't do it themselves. OP- Can you stay in your car and just reach in the backseat and buckle him in? |
Anonymous
| If your kids need assistance, kiss and ride isn't for you. If you can't get your child ready for this, you probably have other alternatives that aren't so convenient that you aren't thinking about. For example, parking in the block or so away from your school and walking to pick up your child. Or a kid backpack for your 3 year old if you can't get him to do a stroller or walk to and from school. Or biking with a bike seat for your 3 year old. |
Anonymous
No one's saying you can't drive, just that you can't use the kiss and ride if you have to get out of the car. |
Anonymous
| What is kiss and ride? |
Anonymous
| OP here...thanks for the input. We're going to walk him home. I like the idea of driving close to the school and then walking. DS can't buckle himself yet. |
Anonymous
| OP, you mentioned your child is tall. Is he in a 5-pt harness seat? He is probably big enough to be in a belt-positioning booster seat, and the seatbelt is a lot easier to buckle than a carseat buckle. Maybe it's just a matter of moving him up to a booster seat. My 5-yo has been in one for over a year and he can buckle himself with no trouble. |
Anonymous
|
I have never heard of "rules" for dropping of your kid at school. Just curious if this is particular to this area. I grew up in the midwest and this just did not occur.
I find it a little ridiculous, to be honest. |
Anonymous
|
"I find it a little ridiculous, to be honest."
You won't when you see how long the line gets and how much extra time it takes if a kid isn't independent - especially if you have somewhere you need to be, like work. There is a limited drop off window (15 minutes at our school) and it has to function efficiently. |
Anonymous
| There are rules because so many parents take their kids to school now. When we were in school, many more students rode the bus or walked or biked. Now the car line is super long. There have to be rules for everyone's safety. |