Am I supposed to follow the bus on the first day of school?

[Anonymous]

My son will be starting Kindergarten and will ride the bus. I hear about moms putting their kid on the bus and then following the bus to school so that they can walk them to their classroom. Is this the norm? Is it necessary for me to do this, or only optional? Am I wrong to assume that the K teachers or some staff will meet the bus at school to help my nervous little five year old find his classroom? Or is it up to me to do that? I just want to do the right thing by the school and for my child.

[Anonymous]

Do you want to follow the bus in your helicopter?

[Anonymous]

If this is an option, why don't you just drive him to school? Serious question.

[Anonymous]

I'm embarrassed to say I did this with my first. I knew I shouldn't, so I followed from far away. I parked real far away too. I just wanted to watch (no intention of approaching the school)

Here's the reason, and the reason for the paranoia: It was not explained by the school WHAT HAPPENS when the bus arrives. What happens is a teacher is right there when the bus pulls up, the kids get off in a very orderly fashion and, in a line, they walk into the school.

Would that have been that hard to describe to parents??
But nothing was said, so I thought maybe the kids all go running off the bus in different directions. And who knows, they lose a kid or two.

I know ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

No, you are not supposed to follow the bus. You may, if you like, but I don't really see the point of it.

Perhaps you could call the school and ask them what happens when your kindergartner gets off the bus? That might reassure you.

[Anonymous]

Okay, great! I'm the OP and please note: I DO NOT WANT TO FOLLOW THE BUS! I just kept hearing that other people were doing this or had done this, and so I was afraid my child would be the only one without a parent meeting them there. I have faith that the school will take care of him when he arrives, but I was starting to wonder after hearing that others are meeting their child at school.

[Anonymous]

It's a thing at our elementary school

[Anonymous]

Okay, great! I'm the OP and please note: I DO NOT WANT TO FOLLOW THE BUS! I just kept hearing that other people were doing this or had done this, and so I was afraid my child would be the only one without a parent meeting them there.

This is how helicopter parenting grows and takes hold. Because everyone thinks that if they don't helicopter parent, their children will be lost and forlorn, and the other parents will think they are negligent.

Resist, OP!

[Anonymous]

No! That's why they have open house on Friday and again after Labor Day.

[Anonymous]

It's a thing at our ES, too. Totally blows my mind. All of the K parents walk their kids to class for the first WEEK! After the first day, though, the safety patrols from Gr 5-6 meet the bus and escort the K kids to class.

[Anonymous]

Our school begs parents not to do this. The school takes all of the lower grades to the cafeteria and lines them up by class. Then their teachers lead them to their classrooms. They do this two or three days in a row until the kids know where to go. The kindergartners also wear tags around their necks for the first two weeks that have the teacher's name and the kid's bus number. After a couple weeks, they don't need the tags anymore.

A teacher said that one year, a father kept peeking in the window to the kindergarten classroom and they had to go outside and tell him to knock it off.

[Anonymous]

Our ES advises parents to let their kids get to school on the first day as they would any other day.

I will be the annoying parent that takes pics of their kids getting on the bus, and then off the bus. Though I will not follow the bus, I will meet my Kindergartners when they get off the bus at school. This will be for the first day only. In my past experience with my older child, I would say that less than half of the Kindergartners have parents at the school on the first day.

[Anonymous]

It's a big thing at our school for parents to be there for the first day. I am having dh put the kids on the bus, then he is going to work. I am going to drive to school and meet my kids as they get off the bus. For the K students, they line up outside, and the parents take pics. The teacher leads them all back to the classroom without the parents. It's like a fun party. I am going to keep doing it until my kids beg me not too. My kids are going into 2nd and 4th grades, and so far, they still like having me around.

I can't follow the bus because we are the last stop. Since I have to park, and the bus can pull up to the front, then I would miss them if I followed the bus.

[Anonymous]

Lots of people do this and it's no big deal. Most of them just want to get some cute first day of school pictures of the kids at the school. The kids are happy to have those pictures when they are seniors and they put together some then and now pics!

[Anonymous]

I did it the first day of kindergarten( and this is many years ago because DD just started college last week, and after she moved her stuff into the dorm, I left within a half hour) because she wanted me to drive her because she was afraid of the bus. I told her she'd see me when she got off the bus, and that helped her. That was the only time, though.