Children school runs

Why School Runs Matter

You might wonder what this means? Have you ever thought about how school runs matter? The comment on most parents lips when they talk about school runs is the physical requirement of getting children to and from school. For many elites, this includes sending a driver and nanny to pick the children from school. Depending on the family, the options for school runs will either be using the school bus, parents dropping and picking up, or with the double income family most likely drop offs and pick ups are left to domestic staff.

Children school runs

School Runs offer the perfect time to communicate – Most parents miss the benefit of school runs. During this time spent ferrying children to and from school, children talk about their day. On the way to school, they can talk about concerns and plans. On the way home I find it even richer! Children tell you how their day went, while it is still fresh in their heads. I have done all versions of school runs. When I was a stay at home mum, I did most of the school drop off and pickups, when I was at a 9 to 5, I did drop off regularly and sometimes did pickups.

A few years ago my daughter was being bullied by a classmate. I did not find out till a few weeks later and only found out on the way to school one day; when she shared her fear and was reluctant to go to school This was certainly unlike her because she usually loves school. On probing further, I asked her why she had not told me before. She told me that by the time I get home from work in the evening, she would have forgotten. Self-check – I rearranged my work schedule and used my lunch break to schedule school pick up a few days a week.

Now I know not every parent can do school drop offs and school pickups every day, but even a few days a week will go a long day. As children get older, of course, they are able to wait till they see you to share their day with you. But when they are younger, their attention spans are shorter and they might not always get to tell you what happened.

Everyone should get involved – So a few years ago, I recruited their dad to get involved in school runs. Let’s be honest most school run duties falls on mum. It is all about intentional parenting, I want dad involved so he takes them to school at least once a week. Why is this important? Dad knows their class, knows their routine, gets to see their classmates and teachers. Too many of our fathers are absent in school between the hustle of working to provide and the mums having that area under control. Give up some control and let the dads also get more involved. Honestly, everyone benefits in the end.

There is just no substitute for parents spending time with children. The years you have to mould a child is not as long as you may think. Once a child enters the teenage years there is very little change to make. Schooling takes up a big chunk of your child’s time and being connected to what they are going through goes a long way.

So parents share the days, split school runs with your spouse, ask for flexi-time at work on a few days a week to work school runs into your routine. Your child’s teacher and your child will thank you for it!

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