I told my ever-dilly-dallying 6-year-old today that if she missed the bus, she'd be walking the 2.3 miles to school. And I was deadly serious. I had the time to do the walk and I need the exercise. She picked up the pace and made the bus.

wait till it's the night before leaving for college and they plan to pack the morning of.

I charge "time" for missing the bus. DS and DD owe me 30 minutes in chores to make up for the 30 minutes it takes me to drive to/from school when they miss the bus.

I can not watch my 12 yr old clean her room. She doesn't do it the way I would, or the way I want her to. It's much better that I just say "I'll be back at 6 and this needs to be done by then."

I need to only worry about the outcome rather than the process to get to the outcome.

Anonymous wrote:I was one of those kids and I feel so bad for my mother in retrospect. It was probably a big part of why she started going to work before I had to catch the bus. I never missed it but I was always running out the door at last possible minute.

OMG!! This is me right now! I have a teen who needs to be at the metro at 730 to get to school on time. I use to drive her but we needed to leave the house NLT 720. Most times we wouldn't get out the house until 740 and that was after me yelling and screaming. It made both of us miserable in the mornings. I would be in heavier traffic and get to work late and she would still get to school late. I just couldn't take it anymore. I changed my work hours so now I have to leave the house at 0700 and she has to walk to the metro. I will take her during heavy rain or when the weather is below 15degrees. Life is much better now (at least the mornings are).

Pp, like the pay idea

Oldest missed bus this am

No, I don't charge. If you miss the bus, you find your own way to school, and if you miss more than 10 minutes, you pay $10 per hour. So far, no missed buses

I have two in HS; my younger one is out the door at 7:10 like clockwork while older DC is roaming around looking for a certain bra and her mysteriously elusive deodorant at 7:13 (the bus comes at 7:15!) She got her license right before school started and wants to drive even though she doesn't have a parking permit or a car. I can't say I blame her - the bus gets them to school 30 to 40 minutes early this year.

I was one of those kids and I feel so bad for my mother in retrospect. It was probably a big part of why she started going to work before I had to catch the bus. I never missed it but I was always running out the door at last possible minute.

He wouldn't have been the first kid to get on the bus with only one shoe on.

I know this for a fact.

He made it. Barely. And yep, I charge for rides if you miss the bus. Ah, teaching independence...

I hear ya! Did he make the bus? And good for him making his own lunch. I don't make mine do this because the bus comes so early. I'm sure I supposed to, though.

A friend of mine used to charge her tween/teens money if they missed the bus and she had to drive them. Not if there was some extenuating circumstance, but only if they didn't manage their time and that's why they missed it.

...stand next to a clock that said the bus was coming in four minutes with one shoe on while he packed his lunch, and spend three minutes shaking up and de-plugging the mustard.

...GAH!
This is why my hair is gray.