given new, later, start time, can I drop my 4th grader at the (closed) door at 8:30?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like the OP should have looked into before school care before this. Consider this the cost of having a job. Perhaps you can find another parent to drive your kid to school 10 minutes later with her child. But as a parent, I wouldn't do this for your child (everyday for a school year) without compensation. So better to get before care at school.

Before care, for a 10-year-old, for 15 minutes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Asking about elementary schools' later opening time in Montgomery County: Can I drop my 4th grader in front of the closed doors at 8:30?
I have to get to work, and my new boss is a stickler for punctuality. Last year, when the doors opened at 8:30, I barely made it at 9AM...Now with school opening at 8:45, I worry.
My daughter is a responsible kid--heck, she's in fourth grade.
How much trouble will I be in for dropping her off at 8:30?
--Working mom who walked herself to kindergarten, 'way back when...

OP Better drop her down the street with the other walkers.

[Anonymous]

Let us know what happens OP.

[Anonymous]

Ask around. I am a SAHM and I am frequently the only parent at the bus stop both in am and pm. Parents usually drop off their kids at the bus stop and they drive away knowing that I am there. All the kids (6 of them) will sit in my minivan and wait if the weather's not great. I also wait at the busstop after school to make sure all the kids are picked up by their parents. There are some who are habitually late.

I used to get annoyed at this. But, I know that I will worry about the kids and if something bad happens to them because they are alone at the busstop, I will forever feel bad for not waiting with them. BTW - I am not paid in any way.

So, ask around. There are many people who will help you out without any pay. And there are people who will help out for a very nominal fee as well.

[Anonymous]

PP at 11:07, why do you drive to the bus stop? Also, are there no kids who walk home by themselves from the bus stop? I am asking, not criticizing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP at 11:07, why do you drive to the bus stop? Also, are there no kids who walk home by themselves from the bus stop? I am asking, not criticizing.

Sorry. Kids go to a magnet school, we all have to drive to a bus-stop that is in another school for drop-offs and pick-ups. The bus stop is deserted most of the time because the magnet bus comes earlier in the morning and later in the evening and so there are no other kids around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask around. I am a SAHM and I am frequently the only parent at the bus stop both in am and pm. Parents usually drop off their kids at the bus stop and they drive away knowing that I am there. All the kids (6 of them) will sit in my minivan and wait if the weather's not great. I also wait at the busstop after school to make sure all the kids are picked up by their parents. There are some who are habitually late.

I used to get annoyed at this. But, I know that I will worry about the kids and if something bad happens to them because they are alone at the busstop, I will forever feel bad for not waiting with them. BTW - I am not paid in any way.

So, ask around. There are many people who will help you out without any pay. And there are people who will help out for a very nominal fee as well.

NP. You are a wonderful neighbor pp. I hope they appreciate you! I sure would!

DS is out of elem. school now, but I think his principal would make life a living h*ll for any parent dropping off kid on school grounds early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask around. I am a SAHM and I am frequently the only parent at the bus stop both in am and pm. Parents usually drop off their kids at the bus stop and they drive away knowing that I am there. All the kids (6 of them) will sit in my minivan and wait if the weather's not great. I also wait at the busstop after school to make sure all the kids are picked up by their parents. There are some who are habitually late.

I used to get annoyed at this. But, I know that I will worry about the kids and if something bad happens to them because they are alone at the busstop, I will forever feel bad for not waiting with them. BTW - I am not paid in any way.

So, ask around. There are many people who will help you out without any pay. And there are people who will help out for a very nominal fee as well.

Wow, PP, you are fantastic! I'm willing to help out, but I feel like you are going above and beyond! Do you know the families? Is there a liability issue with having them all wait in your car?

I hope your neighbors are somehow reciprocating your kindness!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that many parents have gotten used to school=child care. It is really not the school's fault if their hours of operation don't match with your work hours. School also does not run clear thru 6pm, which is why people come up with other arrangements to fill that time. Many of us even scale back our hours and our careers to make school time match work time. So people who are not impoverished don't get a lot of sympathy from me when they have to pay for before or aftercare.

But people are making other arrangements to fill that time -- for example, dropping off a 9-year-old in front of the school 15 minutes before the doors open. Why should a 9-year-old need 15 minutes of before care?

Dropping them off 15 minutes early is the opposite of "making other arrangements." It's pretending you don't have a gap between work and school.

"Other arrangements" would be dropping the child off at a neighbor's. Conceivably she could leave the house and just make the child promise to leave at X time to walk to school alone, but I know my 9-year-old can't be relied upon to never be late.

[Anonymous]

OP - even though your child is a walker check the bus arrival times for your school. At ours, the first bus actually arrived 20 minutes and sometimes 25 minutes before the start of school. When the first bus gets there the school has to open the doors. Last year I would walk my kids up to school a little early to coincide with the first bus arrival and they'd walk in with the bus kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that many parents have gotten used to school=child care. It is really not the school's fault if their hours of operation don't match with your work hours. School also does not run clear thru 6pm, which is why people come up with other arrangements to fill that time. Many of us even scale back our hours and our careers to make school time match work time. So people who are not impoverished don't get a lot of sympathy from me when they have to pay for before or aftercare.

But people are making other arrangements to fill that time -- for example, dropping off a 9-year-old in front of the school 15 minutes before the doors open. Why should a 9-year-old need 15 minutes of before care?

Dropping them off 15 minutes early is the opposite of "making other arrangements." It's pretending you don't have a gap between work and school.

"Other arrangements" would be dropping the child off at a neighbor's. Conceivably she could leave the house and just make the child promise to leave at X time to walk to school alone, but I know my 9-year-old can't be relied upon to never be late.

Dropping them off 15 minutes early actually is making other arrangements. The arrangement is: I will drop my child off at school, and my child will take care of herself for 15 minutes until the school doors open.

[Anonymous]

All I know is, there were kids waiting outside our school's front door on days when it was 10 degrees, wearing only light jackets. I found their parents irresponsible. If it's part of your commuting plan then be ready for the kid to wait 15 minutes outside when it's 10 degrees out too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask around. I am a SAHM and I am frequently the only parent at the bus stop both in am and pm. Parents usually drop off their kids at the bus stop and they drive away knowing that I am there. All the kids (6 of them) will sit in my minivan and wait if the weather's not great. I also wait at the busstop after school to make sure all the kids are picked up by their parents. There are some who are habitually late.

I used to get annoyed at this. But, I know that I will worry about the kids and if something bad happens to them because they are alone at the busstop, I will forever feel bad for not waiting with them. BTW - I am not paid in any way.

So, ask around. There are many people who will help you out without any pay. And there are people who will help out for a very nominal fee as well.

Wow, PP, you are fantastic! I'm willing to help out, but I feel like you are going above and beyond! Do you know the families? Is there a liability issue with having them all wait in your car?

I hope your neighbors are somehow reciprocating your kindness!

I have nodding acquaintance with some, but all of us have each other's cell number. I did not think of liability issues etc. I think people are more comfortable with the kids being in a car with a mom. The kids also know each other because of being in the same the same school and school bus. Besides, they only wait in my car when the weather is rough. Most of the times, I am in my car and the kids are hanging out together at the busstop.

I do this for my own peace of mind. It is not a huge effort on my part because I have a very flexible schedule and I don't mind doing it. Thank you for your kind words.

[Anonymous]

People act like before care is just widely available. Pretty sure in my area there is a waitlist at least for after care - not sure about before care. We have a nanny since we have a younger child not in school yet, but when they are both in school, it would be great if we could just sign them up for aftercare. I'm not sure if it's a slam dunk we will be assured a spot?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised by all these responses. When I was in school we had safety patrols who watched the kids until school started. I think patrols came an hour early

If you are talking about crossing guards, that is no longer the case. They arrive no more than 15 minutes before doors open.

No they were older students who did it as required/volunteer work. Although I think I was a safety patrol at 10 and watched much younger children.