Pet Peeves of Picking up Children at School

Any parent who has a child at school faces a wide range of daily challenges.  These pet peeves are based off of my personal experiences while picking up my children over the past nine years.  I have done both parent pick up line in the car lane, and the park and walk method.  Currently, I park at the church across the street and walk across the street, using the clearly marked and raised crosswalk.

Blaring music with curse  words and/or racial slurs

I love all types of music! In fact, while in the comfort of my apartment, I play it as loud as possible, without annoying my neighbors. Some of the music I like does have explicit language; however, not only is it rude to listen to the music so loud that the car next to it rattles, it is also dangerous.  With the music blaring, someone screaming for help, or emergency instructions might be missed because the only thing that can be heard is the thumping bass coming out of the radio.  Also, it is super annoying to tell my children they cannot use profanity and racial slurs when the music is dropping the F* bomb every third word and using the N* word every other word.  Children often repeat what they hear, and nowadays cursing is becoming a second nature in many households and many schools, and I tend to believe the racial slurs should never be used.

Using profanity and/or racial slurs while talking with other parents
This is one that I have been guilty of, and am working very hard to resolve.  It is common at elementary schools for other parents to have younger preschool children with them. Two years ago, I  noticed that he use of profanity when I was talking with other parents that used profanity and it made it easier to incorporate the bad language into my everyday discussions.  When I was growing up, I was not allowed to curse, and I was punished whenever a curse word slipped out of my mouth.  When parents are using curse words and/or racial slurs in front of younger children, the children tend to believe it is allowed in regular conversations. One of the issues I have is having to explain to my children why cursing and racial slurs are wrong when other kids are using them on a regular basis.

Children being allowed to run and cut off other people.

It looks all sorts of cute to see children run and play, especially if it is only a small handful.  However, at the end of the day they are ready for freedom, and instead of walking calmly with their teachers, they tend to want to run and push through the crowd to freedom.  This is problematic when there are two hundred plus children rushing to get to their parents.  Other children get mad when they are pushed and it could lead to fighting.  While it is natural for children to want to run and play, but when parents encourage their children to hurry up and run so that they don't have to wait at the school for that extra minute before getting back to whatever other obligations that they might have.


Pushing over others during bad weather days
Just like having children pushing their way through the crowds, one thing that drives me bananas is how other adults treat each other on bad weather days. In my son's school. parents pick up their children in the classrooms unless their classrooms are in the portable building, then they are brought to a hallway in the main part of school.  At first it is not that bad, parents gather in the main entry and chat about how miserable the weather is until the bell rings.  Then it is like a black Friday special and parents trample over other parents in an attempt to hurry and grab their kids to leave school.

Not allowing me a quick minute to discuss my child's behavior with the teacher.
Every parent at one time or another ends up talking with the teacher about what is going on with their child.  I always take a minute just to ask if my son has been minding.  Normally it takes a quick "yes", but on occasion there is a moment or two where a direct issue must be addressed.  It is annoying when other parents interrupt to ask a question, or stand being the teacher or me tapping their feet impatiently.  It is my job as a parent to teach my kid to sit down, be quiet, and listen at school, and I cannot fully achieve that if I do not get an opportunity to talk with the teacher before a major issue.  Sometimes waiting for a parent/teacher conference is too long of a wait.

Stepping into a conversation where a parent is correcting their child.

When I find that my beautiful child has acted like a snot-nosed demon, I make it a point to address the issue immediately so that he understands that his actions have consequences.  Good, bad, or indifferent it is important that he understands cause and effect.  By interrupting the conversation or saying things like "Aw, Mom that is no fun!" undermines my ability to parent my child.  The teacher had informed me that my son thought it was a good idea to stand on the desk and jump across the room, and while I was trying to explain why he was on screen grounding and that his shenanigans were dangerous for both him and the other students I was interrupted and asked if I was being too harsh.  Both rude and annoying.

Blocking a lane in order to cut in the car lane or to cut in the lane getting out of the parking lot.

Some things are just really common sense.  Forcing a car into the middle of a line of cars to get out of the parking lot a half a minute early is not safe and causes all sorts of rage!  At the elementary school, there are two sections of the parking lot.  One lane has to turn right to exit the parking lot and the other has to go straight.  All the cars have to get into a nice line in order to safety leave, and I learned if I park in the back and get in the straight lane, it is easier to get out of the parking lot.  Also, I allow a car that was patiently waiting to turn right to get into the lane to pull out in front of me.  One of the things that irritate the inner road rage beast is that when I allow a car to pull out in front of me, the car behind them guns the gas and acts like they are going to ram my car if I do not allow them to get in front.  Nothing irritates me more that my child's safety being threatened by someone threatening to ram my vehicle!

Vehicular Russian roulette with the bus lane by trying to cut in front of the buses.

On the side of my son's school, the buses line up and wait for the kids to get out of school so that they can see them safely home.  Parents that get to the school early enough pull to the front, park, and wait. Parents that wait till right before let out often try to squeeze in between the buses or cut directly in front of the buses blocking them from leaving and getting the kids home in a timely manner.  By cutting in front of the bus, the car is normally parking across a crosswalk making it unsafe for walking children and parents, blocks the lane for drivers trying to go straight, and delays the buses from getting to the next school.  It also creates the setting up a possible traffic accident.  This also makes it highly dangerous for any children who are getting on or off the buses because there are several blind spots that they can move through and if drivers are more concerned about their place in line, it is easy to miss seeing a child who is walking in front of the bus on the crosswalk. If it is really that important to get to the front of the line, get to the school a little early.

Yelling at the principal, vice principal, or teacher in front of the school.
Every once in a while, it is necessary to discuss an issue with the people running the school, but yelling at an authority figure in front the school is not the way to go.  It is teaching the children that it is acceptable to be hostile to the people they need to mind.  If there is a real issue, address it in the office, which is what offices are for, or call and talk to the principal over the phone.  If the principal is not handling the issue in a manner that is appropriate contact the ISD and file a complaint.  Yelling achieves nothing, and teaching the kids to handle things by being confrontational to authority might prove to be a problem later in their life.


Getting out of the car in the pick up lane.
Absolutely irritating!  The parking lot is for parents getting out of the car in order to pick up their children and the pick up lane is for parents driving up to pick up their children. Parents that leave their car running while in the pickup lane, ruins the efficiency of the pick up line.  It also blocks others from picking up their children and creates hostile drivers.If the car is in the pick up lane, there needs to be a driver in the car, otherwise park the car in a parking area an then leave the car. It really is that easy!  



PLEASE stop trying to run over the parking lot attendants!
In our school the people running the parking lane and crosswalks are the principal, retired officers, and parent volunteers.  Everyday, they sacrifice their time and risk their lives to ensure children's safety.  Yelling, screaming, cursing, not following directions is rude and puts people at risk for injury.  Parking lot attendants are not there to irritate parents.  They are there to help maintain a safe environment and keep the parking lot well run in an orderly fashion.  By treating the parking lot attendants with disrespect, children learn that it is allowable to disrespect authority and if they feel like they do not have to listen to the attendants, the children might put themselves in harms way by not following instructions.  I have an awesome friend who volunteers as a parking lot attendant at a school.  She sometimes has a hard time walking, and it is out of her comfort zone to help out others at the school, but she still does it!  She has been yelled at and nearly run over.  Along with not running over the parking lot attendants, it would be nice to say "thank you" every now and then since they are sacrificing their time and energy to help keep everyone safe.

My number one pet peeve is: use the crosswalk!
More than anything, this one aggravates to no end!  Our school has eight crosswalks with three paid crossing guards, and STILL children and parents cut through cars and cut through traffic even if it is right next to a crosswalk.  Seriously, would it kill anyone to walk an additional two or three feet to a crosswalk?  Drivers don't always follow the speed limits, reflexes are not always right away, and there are some tiny students that walk to school.  It always amazes me that while a lot of parents walk with their children, they cross the streets at the wrong places.  It drives me crazy that there are marked crosswalks with crossing guards, and they still cross in between cars.  It is teaching the children that it is safe to cross the street and cut through traffic.  Last month, one of my daughters' classmates was hit by a car because she crossed a busy street at the wrong place.  Thankfully she survived, but she has broken bones, and the friend who was walking with her was emotionally affected by watching her friend's accident.

All of these are just a handful of things that drive me crazy while picking up my son at his school. My concern is not for the parents.  They are old enough to know better.  My concern is for the children.  Elementary schools are all about children, and it is the age when they are most impressionable.  Good safety rules need to be taught early on, and while parents may talk to their children about safety, children mostly learn by watching and mimicking the behaviors of the people they love most.

Do you have a pet peeve not listed above?  Please add to the list in the comments.