A Suggestion to Parents Stressed Out By Long Lines At School
By Jeremy Gulley
A friend of mine recently complained to me about how difficult it was for him to drop his children at school. “It takes forever,” he said, “there were so many cars, I could barely move. It was awful.”
Dropping children off at school can be difficult. Cars line up in a seemingly endless and slow-moving parade, waiting to drop off the children inside. The stressed-out parents driving the cars tightly grip the steering wheel and wait anxiously to unload their passengers before heading off to their day.
I’ve noticed lately that more and more parents are taking slow-moving lines into their own hands by driving around the cars in front of them, finding a place to park and letting their children walk.
I’ve observed them over the last few weeks and I’ve come to a few conclusions that I feel compelled to share with you.
One, this is dangerous. When cars are lined up to drop off their children, the cars need to move as quickly as possible to make sure the line keeps moving. Children walking and running from different directions in the parking lot create a dangerous situation. I would hate to see a child hurt because a parent was in a hurry to get to work or the coffee shop. A line of cars will eventually move, don’t put your child in harm by finding a short cut.
But beyond the safety issue, and this brings us to my response to my friend’s complaint about how long it took to drop off his kids — why are people in such a hurry to get rid of their kids? Why not hold on to them for just a few minutes and find one more thing to talk to them about? Why not ask them one more question about their day?
Instead of getting stressed out, why not look at it as a way to connect one last time before they head off without you and you without them.
My children and I, for example, tell each other stories and jokes, sing songs and make fun of each other on the way to school, and we keep going until it’s their turn to get out. We also take time to talk about serious questions they may have. I have found that it is a good time to discuss sensitive topics because there is a definite end point; I know that I only have until they get out to answer or explain, so I choose my words carefully.
This change of perspective helped me to stop dreading the long lines and difficult traffic at schools and actually look forward to the time we spend together.
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Posted by admin
on Nov 3 2010. Filed under Jeremy Gulley, Opinion.
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