I never really paid any attention to carpool lines when I was teaching because the last couple of schools I taught at most of the kids either rode the bus or walked. A handful of cars picked up children at the end of the day, but nothing to warrant several pages of rules and instructions for exactly HOW the carpool works, unlike what I’ve encountered in E.B.’s school handbook. At the parent orientation last week the principal jokingly warned us that some parents were “serious” about carpool lines and you didn’t want to mess up the flow. Ever. Because apparently this is serious business.
O.k.
I pass by a school on my way home from work everyday. I kid you not at 2:00 P.M. the carpool line has snaked around the school and down the street a little ways. The kids don’t get out of school until 3:00. Those women sitting in line are sitting there a full HOUR before school lets out. And that scares me, people. Lord knows motherhood is sometimes competitive enough, but has it really reached such epic proportions that we have to be first in the carpool line everyday?
OK, so I’m sure there are probably legitimate reasons for why this phenomenon occurs. I can think of maybe some logistical reasons, like having to be back at work ASAP after picking up the little darlings and things like that. But I’m thinking that this is not the case since I’ve noticed the same few cars as first in line in the past couple of days and these women clearly have all the time in the world if they’re showing up a full hour ahead of school being dismissed.
Am I missing something? I’ve clearly never had to participate in a carpool line before, so can anyone enlighten me? Is the carpool line a new competitive sport for parents these days? Is there some secret reward for being “first!” the most times in a school year? And why do they all drive the same SUVs in different colors? So many questions…
I’m just thankful E.B. is small enough that he will be required to be walked in and out on a daily basis by me, so we have escaped the carpool line. For this year, anyway.
Hmmm… now then you mention it, I’ve seen this same phenomenon at an elementary school close to our house. Hopefully, we’ll be close enough to walk to the school our boys go to, too, so I don’t have to worry about waiting in this line. Yikes.
I get you on this!
I’m just wondering though,
is there a reason WHY people can’t park their cars and walk across a street, or down a block, to pick-up your children?
Are the blocks long? Is walking so difficult?
My children go to a school out-of-district so I drive them to school. I’m just dumb-struck about the “drop-off/pick-up” situation”.
I just don’t get it!!!
Okay, I tried the whole carpool thing a few times last year. Wanted to be one of those perfect mommies that picked their kids up every day, don’t know why. My kids get out of school at 3:30 and are home by 4 on the bus. We live 3 minutes away from the school. The whole waiting in the carpool line was a little sickening, just to get them home a few minutes earlier. I was one of those moms that got there early, sat around waiting, getting out talking to other moms. What the HECK, MAN! I’d rather have those few more minutes of sanity and wait for school transportation to drop them off in front of my house!
I’m at a loss here. I see nothing but insanity in arriving an hour early to sit in a line for anything… I mean seriously, we all know I’m never early for ANYTHING. I’m going to take a shot in the dark and guess that you were referring to the school across the highway from the BPAC?
It’s a logistical thing. Most of them are probably stay at home moms who do not have “all the time in the world” to spare. If they didn’t get there early, there would be a traffic jam of such epic proportions that things would get dangerous for the kids, the cars, and other drivers. It was like this at the last school where I taught, and the moms would show up at least 45 minutes early. It made things run VERY smoothly and the kids were out the school doors and into the cars in minutes flat.
I get to our school early, but no an hour early. My rationale is that we can all wait in a nice air-conditioned or heated car (depending on the weather), but the child(ren) being picked up is outside and less comfortable. Also, I’m not totally thrilled with how easy it would be for a child to walk off or a stranger to grab a kid during dismissal, so I feel I’m playing it safe. But, on nice days when I’m not exhausted, we park in an adjacent lot and wait for her at the door.
Thankful my daughter drives herself to school now. Carpool lanes are ridiculous to say the least.
Now your scaring me. We are entering into carpool line hell this year for the first time.
My real worry though…..that I will FORGET my kid at school…not get there early.
I am not an “arrive insanely early” carpooler, but maybe they have younger children to pick up and then they have to wait for older ones. Our school lets PK out at 2:50, then Kinder out at 3:00, then the rest of the school at 3:15. If you have one at every level, it’s not unlikely that you’d arrive at 2:30 and not leave until 3:30.
I do exactly what Absurdly Yours does. My kids get out at 3:15 and I wait until then to leave my house. By the time I get there, the carpool line is gone and I just breeze right through.
I have a friend that makes her kids meet her on the back side of the school by the cafeteria delivery doors. The older kids pick up the younger kids and they walk and wait together. She’s outta’ there in no time.
Are you kidding? My goodness. I think there is a word for people who get in a carpool line AN HOUR BEFORE SCHOOL GETS OUT just to be the first ones there, um, lessee, what could that be? Oh! I got it! Pathetic!
You know, it amazes me as well, it doesn’t matter how early I get there, I’m always waiting 30+ minutes to get the kids. If I show up at 2:15, I’m having to wait, if I show up at 3pm, I have to wait. I just pull off to the side to pick up the little “dears”. I’m not sure what it is, but if you try to go around these early birds, you get the evil eye at BIG TIME!! It’s like these people are so important-busy-bodies- it gets on my nerves. At the first of the school year, I tried to be there super early, but now that the weather is getting cooler(i had to wear a jacket the other morning) I will wait a while to pick them up. It’s not like the kids know that I’ve been there all along or not.
At this school there is a handful who ride the bus and the 80% that’s left depend on the momtaxi to pick them up:)
Carpool’s,,,for the birds!
Ahhh, I have joined the ranks of carpoolers. I’m grateful that the other parents at my school don’t seem to have made it a competition thing yet. Granted it’s only the third day – maybe they’re waiting to scope out the weak in the herd at the first PTA meeting. I can’t imagine waiting an hour in the CP line!! I have 2 other lunatics in the van with me and if they had to sit that long I’m pretty sure I would be roasted on a spit. Kudos to the SuperMoms who can do an hour in the CP line. You can have it!!
I have no experience with carpool lines, but I would advice you to watch Mr. Mom with Michael Keaton before school starts to help you avoid potential problems:)
So very funny, yet so very true. Am I correct when I say you must have driven by Parks before around 2? I can’t believe parents get in line that early either. I wouldn’t compete to be first, however, I would study the diagram and directions. You will be the talk of the parent hotline if you screw up the pick up line. The occasional day I am not teaching and can pick up the kids…..I wait until 10 minutes after they are released to head to the school. This way I just breeze right on through the line.
The carpools are intense.
We walked every day last year — rain, snow, hail — in large part to avoid the dreaded Carpool Line.
I’m not kidding. You are wise to be afraid!!!
Carpool lines are a whole different subculture and I don’t really know why? HOW those parents have time to get there so early is beyond me. I’ve heard some say that it’s because they don’t want to have to wait once the kids are released. Well DUH…waiting is waiting unless the goal is to get the kids to an afterschool activity…I guess that could be part of it.