This morning was the first day back at school after half term and the short walk to drop off my five year old once again left me exasperated. It seems every journey leaves me feeling more and more frustrated by the selfish attitude of so many of the parents at my son’s school. From dangerous parking to driving too fast, are the days of considering others a thing of the past?
Our walk to school only takes about five minutes and should be a nice pleasant stroll down a quiet residential street. However, we live in a village and lots of the children live too far away to walk so there are always lots of cars around in the mornings. On a regular basis we see somebody (having already dropped their child off safely) driving away from school at break neck speed. They are clearly in such a desperate rush to get on with their day that they are oblivious to the safety of anybody else.
This morning one of those drivers bombed along the road and straight through a huge puddle, sending a giant wave of water across the whole pavement. My 5 year old only managed to leap out of the way and avoid a complete drenching because he’s used watching out for these idiot motorists. The driver either didn’t notice us or wasn’t bothered in the slightest, he simply sped away. Is there any need to drive so quickly or recklessly?
When we get near to school I have to navigate the pushchair through a maze of cars parked up on the pavements. I can usually only walk on one side of the road, the other side has cars parked so far onto the pavement that I can’t fit the pushchair through the gap. Cars also park on the corners of the road making it difficult to cross safely and some people even block the dropped curb at the crossing points. I’m sure these parents would argue that they’re only parked there for a minute or two but is it really such a hardship to park a few more metres away? Although it can be difficult for me to manoeuvre the push chair I really feel for one of the Dads at school, he uses a mobility scooter and some days it is just impossible for him to get to the gate.
Once we arrive at the gate there is often a group of parents having a chat – no problem with that of course – except they stand right in the gate way and then look surprised when you say ‘excuse me’ and they have to move. For many of them it can’t be that long since they used a push chair and yet they seem annoyed at having to interrupt their conversation and move. Recently the pushchair actually tipped right up as I had to bump it down a curb to squeeze past; my 18 month was only saved from a tumble by his harness!
So, when did we become so selfish and wrapped up in our own lives that we stopped considering others? The school regularly reminds parents to drive slowly and park safely but for many it seems this message never sinks in. Are people in such a hurry that it doesn’t matter if they soak a Mum and her children walking along? Are conversations so important that we don’t even notice someone trying to get past in a wheelchair, or worse still roll our eyes when we have to move? I like to think that I’m considerate of others and that I’m raising my boys to be the same but perhaps we all need to open our eyes a little wider and start noticing the people around us again.
Mum's The Word UK 