Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the big issue in the am is what if the bus doesn't come (does happen though rarely). Does your child have a phone, a neighbor to go to, at least a key to get back into the house?

In my 7 years being a parent of an MCPS student, this is how many times the bus hasn't come: once.

However, I agree that it's always good to talk to your children about back-up plans and being prepared.

Agreed it is quite rare but leaving your kid stranded for the day is a big problem.

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.

PP, this really is kind of you. But perhaps the parents who drop their kids off at the bus stop do so because they think that the kids are old enough to wait at the bus stop by themselves until the bus comes? Likewise the after-school pick-up -- perhaps they think that the kids are old enough to wait at the bus stop by themselves until the parent comes. When my child was in fourth grade with a central bus stop at an elementary school, I was late a few times picking her up, and another parent waited. It was nice of the parent to wait, but it would have been fine with me if the parent had not waited.

I'm a SAHM and my own parents entrusted me to walk to/from school by myself. So when the time came for my own kids to walk to the bus stop I had no trouble allowing them to do that. I would drive and let them sit in the van on days when it was pouring rain and lightening but if it was just sprinkling I would let them figure out whether to bring an umbrella with them or wear a jacket and off they would go. Sometimes they would walk out the door without a jacket or an umbrella and it would drive me crazy but they didn't melt either and I think they learned not to do that. But they were only outside for a short while before the bus came (within 5 minutes).

I would not have felt comfortable with them hanging out at the bus stop for half an hour or more. Even if they were well behaved what about the other kids who are not being well behaved or nice? Even walking to school I would want them walking when the other kids were walking - not alone, 20 minutes before everyone else was out. A pattern like that of being alone every day is going to draw attention. So no, I wouldn't just drop them off at the school early. I would arrange for them to walk to school from a friend or sitter's house.

Anonymous wrote:I think the big issue in the am is what if the bus doesn't come (does happen though rarely). Does your child have a phone, a neighbor to go to, at least a key to get back into the house?

In my 7 years being a parent of an MCPS student, this is how many times the bus hasn't come: once.

However, I agree that it's always good to talk to your children about back-up plans and being prepared.

I think the big issue in the am is what if the bus doesn't come (does happen though rarely). Does your child have a phone, a neighbor to go to, at least a key to get back into the house?

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.

PP, this really is kind of you. But perhaps the parents who drop their kids off at the bus stop do so because they think that the kids are old enough to wait at the bus stop by themselves until the bus comes? Likewise the after-school pick-up -- perhaps they think that the kids are old enough to wait at the bus stop by themselves until the parent comes. When my child was in fourth grade with a central bus stop at an elementary school, I was late a few times picking her up, and another parent waited. It was nice of the parent to wait, but it would have been fine with me if the parent had not waited.

The fact that you can't play on the playground before school starts in MCPS is ridiculous. We were told no one is allowed on the blacktop or equipment.

They rather the kids sit still in straight lines on the gym floor before school starts.

And they wonder why kids now have ADHD.

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.

How old are these kids that they need supervision to stand at a bus stop?

Not the PP but I guess they all have to be 6 and older and for me that means they don't need supervision to walk or stand at a bus stop.

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.

How old are these kids that they need supervision to stand at a bus stop?

Anonymous wrote: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.

No, the school does not have to open the doors just because a bus is outside. Sometimes the bus drivers are asked to hold the students on the bus until the bell rings (if they don't have another run to do) or other times, the bus riders all line up outside of the locked doors until students are permitted to enter the building. It is not the job of school staff to babysit kids before or after school hours. Plenty of people DO pay the before and after care providers for exactly this situation. That's why they're there.