Long drive (~1 hr with traffic) to school

[Anonymous]

A lot of the families at our school commute 40min-1hr outside of those who live in the immediate area.

[Anonymous]

Ours will be 35 minutes without traffic. Luckily, the school starts earlier than the heart of rush hour traffic and it is right on my route to work. My DD loves the drive but she has always liked longish car rides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not in the DC area, but there isn't a board like this where I live. Tell me about having a long drive to your kid's private school and how it affected their experience.

We do this for our two kids. It's annoying but they're fine. We're happy to live in our neighborhood and love our house. I wouldn't want to live in the neighborhoods close to the private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 40’ drive which is an hour with traffic. Kids do homework in the car.

Don't count on homework in the car. My kids get carsick when they try to read while the car is moving

Umm that’s very specific to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 40’ drive which is an hour with traffic. Kids do homework in the car.

This is not at all uncommon among DC area private schools; a lot also have buses/shuttles. Many people manage just fine. +1 to homework in the car.

I think the thing that's harder is the social aspect; having friends who may live more than an hour away can be tough. But again, people make it work.

This. We're not in DC and have a 40 min drive (sometimes they rid the bus, which is a sanity-saver). Homework gets done before they get home! Friends are the bigger issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 40’ drive which is an hour with traffic. Kids do homework in the car.

Don't count on homework in the car. My kids get carsick when they try to read while the car is moving

Umm that’s very specific to you.

And pretty unusual on a bus. Is that an option, OP?

[Anonymous]

Also, it can affect how involved you are with school. PTA is difficult. Events are more difficult. Sports are difficult.

[Anonymous]

I considered this in the dc metro area. Fortunately my kids got into special public programs so for now it's a non issue.

[Anonymous]

I commute an hour each way myself and would not want that for my children. Plus is there backup if the driving parent is ill or otherwise busy. Think of the cost of gas etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 40’ drive which is an hour with traffic. Kids do homework in the car.

Don't count on homework in the car. My kids get carsick when they try to read while the car is moving

Umm that’s very specific to you.

Umm that’s specific to a lot of kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't do it. You will regret it as they get older. Socially, nobody is going to want to get together for playdates at the younger ages because you are so far away, and at the older ages you and your kid will need to drive forever just to see friends on weekends. School events (which are plenty) will be a huge burden for you and your kid. And then throw in sports which are required at most privates and require that kids stay beyond school for a few hours...then add in the hour commute. this is not a good thing for your kid...

My daughter specifically asked to be moved to public in 6th grade specifically because of the friend issue. We moved her to the local school and she was so so much happier. She made friends in the neighborhood and that was a game changer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't do it. You will regret it as they get older. Socially, nobody is going to want to get together for playdates at the younger ages because you are so far away, and at the older ages you and your kid will need to drive forever just to see friends on weekends. School events (which are plenty) will be a huge burden for you and your kid. And then throw in sports which are required at most privates and require that kids stay beyond school for a few hours...then add in the hour commute. this is not a good thing for your kid...

My daughter specifically asked to be moved to public in 6th grade specifically because of the friend issue. We moved her to the local school and she was so so much happier. She made friends in the neighborhood and that was a game changer.

[Anonymous]

We drive 25 minutes each way and I wouldn’t do any more than that. If they were on a bus, maybe I’d be willing to go a bit further since they could socialize or do homework on the bus.

My kids are in elementary now, but if we stay in private for high school, we will move closer, even though it will mean downsizing and giving up some things we like about our current house/neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I considered this in the dc metro area. Fortunately my kids got into special public programs so for now it's a non issue.

So why did you respond?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t recommend it based on my own experience in high school (1-1:15 commute) and my kid’s 45 min-1 hr commute for early elementary. The 7 min commute for 5-8 grade was a delight and we now have ~20 min commute for HS that’s so much better. But kid is also one that wouldn’t be able to do work in the car.