Preschool drop-off/pick-up procedure

[LarsMal]

How does your preschool handle drop-off and pick-up?

DS is starting school on Tuesday and his school, starting on Day 1, has a curbside procedure. The teacher meets you at the car, gets your child out (but want the child to be able to unbuckle their carseat) and takes them inside. At pick-up, they bring them to the car and put them in the seat, you drive around the circle, get out, and buckle them in.

Should be interesting! I think DS will be so shocked he won't even think to cry and be upset- at least I hope not! Supposedly, if a child is *really* upset about it, they'll let you park and help the teacher get him/her out of the car, but they still take the child from there.

This was the pick-up routine at the elementary school when I was teaching, but DS is SO little!

Is this a common procedure?

[Ceepa]

That part about driving around the circle without them buckled? Umm. I understand that they want to keep the line moving so they probably don't want parents standing out there buckling in their kids, but DS freaks out if he's not buckled when we start the car's engine.

[LBW]

We had a similar procedure last year but the teachers buckled the kids. I wouldn't agree to a system where we were asked to drive with unbuckled children. I have always strongly reinforced the importance of never driving unbuckled with my kids - to the point where they remind me if I forget!

Other than that, I think the kids do really well with this system. Good luck!

[egoldber]

I would NOT drive with my kid unbuckled. DH was rearended in the carpool line at camp drop off this year, hard enough that his bumper needed to be re-done. No way, no how would I do that.

At Sarah's preschool there was no dropoff/pickup line, you had to walk in. At her K, there was an optional dropoff/pickup line but you had to buckle before driving off. In her (optional) elementary school pick up line they make you buckle up before driving off.

[pb&j]

We don't move the car with kids or grownups unbuckled. Period.

Technically, it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle with an unrestrained child, and is a primary offense in VA.

I would happily wait in line to allow others the time to buckle their kids before driving.

[sidmand]

Driving with them unbuckled at all sounds very strange, but I would love a curbside drop off/pick up in general!

DS just started preschool and I have to get him and DD out of the car, usually carry both (trying to get him to walk but I think his regression is now wanting to be carried--EVERYWHERE--by Mommy) over to the door or the playground and then they lineup to go inside. Or they're lined up outside or playing on the playground waiting to be picked up.

It sounds like the curbside dropoff/pickup is more common though. I don't know how it works in Kindergarten or later in our town...yet.

[LarsMal]

Technically, it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle with an unrestrained child, and is a primary offense in VA.



That's good to know! Maybe I'll throw that out there if they give me a hard time!

DS freaks out if I forget to buckle him in. He usually climbs into his seat while I'm buckling DD. He can do the chest clip himself, so there have been times when I've just completely forgotten to go around and do the other part. If I get in the car he starts screaming, "NO NO MOMMY! DON'T DRIVE!" I can't imagine he'll like me driving around the parking lot with him unbuckled either!

[o_mom]

Drop off we walk them to the class. Pick up is a car line. They bring them out to about 5 cars at a time. Almost everyone gets out to buckle in the kids (some are in boosters, even in the 3 yo class <sigh>). When I looked at preschools, the drop-off/pick-up procedure was something I put at the top of my list. Since there are only 20-24 kids at the school at a time, it doesn't take too long to get through the line.

I would not even entertain driving off with them unbuckled. And, really, many 3, 4 or even 5 yos do not have the hand strengh to undo a carseat buckle and there is no way I would put them in a booster just for the preschool's convenience.

[Gena]

All the parents park in the pick-up lane and meet the teachers at the school door for both drop-off and pick-up. The bus parks in the same lane with the rest of us. But since there are only anout 20-24 students in the preschool and about 1/3 of them ride the bus, there really aren't that many cars. We are all very patient and don't mind waiting for each other to get the kids in the car and buckled up.

[JBaxter]

We park in the lot and walk them in drop off at the classroom door. The preprimary you MUST sign them in on a sheet.

I can reach Nathan's seat from my driver seat (we have a van) NO WAY he would ever unbuckle himself or would I even THINK of having the car/van in drive with him unbuckled. I have spent to much time harping on him about never ever ever unbuckling himself while I am driving to mess with that in his mind. He will be 5 in November and is still in his radian ( 5pt harness)

[SnuggleBuggles]

For his 1st preschool we walked them into the class and usually hung out and chatted. His second school had a car line. The teacher would come to the car in the AM and get them out and in the PM they would buckle them up too. They really didn't want parents getting out of the car because they wanted things to move along quickly. The space wasn't very safe either so they didn't want parents opening their door into traffic.

I thought I would hate the car line thing because I worried I wouldn't get to touch base with the teachers enough. But, our teachers were great about communication! We got daily emails telling us what the kids did and then personal emails or calls if they wanted to talk to us. We could contact them and get a reply back pretty quickly too.

Now, with ds2 he will be going to that 2nd school and I see a lot of appeal. I won't have to be the one to tear him away from his toys and friends or put his coat on. At the other school we could mingle so it could take us like an extra 30 minutes at dismissal to leave. We do have the option of coming in and letting the kids stay to play but I'm glad that won't be a daily thing. I just have to volunteer a bunch though so I can meet other families.

Beth

[new_mommy25]

My DS's preschool didn't do that. I had to find street parking and walk him in.

DS's kindy has a drop off circle but I don't use it. It'll be great when DS is older and in a booster but too difficult with him in a 5 point. Plus he likes me to walk him to his classroom. We either walk or I leave the house early to find parking in their very small lot.

[lisams]

At DD's K, the parents take the child into the classroom every day (and same for pick-up) I love it and will miss it once she starts first grade.

[s7714]

We park and walk into the classroom to sign a sheet for pick-up and drop-off.

The drive up method sounds interesting, but there's no way I'd drive even a foot without my kids buckled in. Not a chance. Besides, my DDs have absolutely freaked out the few times I've hoped into the driver's seat and they weren't buckled in already!

[deannanb]

the pick up part with the teacher not buckling the child is a liability issue.
I was a teacher for summer camp for 2 summers and we were instructed NOT to buckle the child. To keep the carpool line moving the parents would pull up and get out of the car and buckle the kids. It really wasn't a big deal.

I went through the same thing this summer with DS. I wouldn't want someone else to buckle my kid - what if they did it wrong? and trying to figure out all of those different seatbelts... no way.

In the morning - when it was Ds time to get out of the car, I would open my door, and unbuckle him. Then the carpool person would walk them inside. I don't want my DS to learn how to unbuckle himself. That is not an option.

[hellokitty]

We walk our preschooler (and any other children that are tagging along) into the building, and drop him off at the teacher's classroom. Pick up is the same thing. I know of one preschool who does the drive thru pick up/drop off thing and I had a friend who did that with one of her three boys. She tried different preschools with her kids and found that the drive thru preschool didn't sit well with her, b/c there wasn't that interaction btwn the parent and teacher about what was going on at school and with her child. I would be nervous about someone else buckling my child in incorrectly.

[hillview]

We have a go in routine at our preschool. At my friend's montessori school they have similar to what you described but they do not drive without the kids strapped in. She is happy with it, after adjusting.
/hillary

[mamicka]

I'd be pretty uncomfortable with that whole process. I wouldn't want to drive with DS unbuckled, but I'd also be uncomfortable with the teachers bringing the kids out to the cars. I'd rather be the one holding his hand while walking near moving vehicles.

[DrSally]

I haven't gone through this yet, but I would not want to drive wo/ child being buckled in and I would not be comfortable with someone else buckling child in.