Parent taxi service

fatpiggy

I grew up in the sticks and both my secondary schools were 10 miles away. A local person working in town used to take 4 of us school pupils there and back for petrol money. On Tuesdays we finished at 3 and I wasn't picked up until 5.30 so I would spend some of the time doing my homework, some of it in a local coffee shop or mooching around the shops. I enjoyed the freedom to be honest and it was nice to get home at 6.30 knowing I didn't have to sit down to 3 hours homework after tea, at least one day a week.

beano-ni

Ozzuk wrote: »

Looking at it from another angle, I'm guessing you chose to live remotely and not them so maybe this is the price you have to pay to ensure they are socially included.

+1.

I was relatively luck that we didn't live TOO far from Belfast, but there was still !!!!!! all to do within walking distance so lifts were required on a regular basis (a bus into town was a 25 min walk followed by 45 min on the bus, compared to a 20 min drive - and that's assuming where you wanted to go was in Belfast and not more local)

As said - if you choose to live in the backend of beyond with no public transport (and your kids likely got no say in that decision) and 25 miles from places like Colleges, then it's unfair to moan about having to play taxi driver once in a while.

Jagraf

beano-ni wrote: »

+1.

I was relatively luck that we didn't live TOO far from Belfast, but there was still !!!!!! all to do within walking distance so lifts were required on a regular basis (a bus into town was a 25 min walk followed by 45 min on the bus, compared to a 20 min drive - and that's assuming where you wanted to go was in Belfast and not more local)

As said - if you choose to live in the backend of beyond with no public transport (and your kids likely got no say in that decision) and 25 miles from places like Colleges, then it's unfair to moan about having to play taxi driver once in a while.

I live in a town with public transport, but no secondary school. So my DD sixth form is also by school bus. As its 10 miles, her radius of friends is about a 10 mile radius, so some of the things she does can be at least 20 miles away. It's more to do with kids become independent irrespective of where you live, and finding a way to manage it. Sometimes or friends live in the countryside.

tindella

It depends what he actually does with his half day "off". If he generally just sits around the house, I'd suggest he use his time more profitably and stay in the school library and work - or even just spend time on his laptop. He doesn't need to be home for either. If he's involved in anything that needs him to be in his home area, I think you'll just have to keep collecting him - that's parenthood for you! LOL

TBagpuss

I don't think it is necessarily unreasonable to ecpect him to wiat.

I'm another who had a rurual upbrigning. We had bus passes for the regualr public bus, which mant we arrived at school 30-40 minutes early evey day because that was when it ran, and as there was only only one bus an hour, if you missed the bus back you had to hang around for the next one.
In the 6th Form we no longer qualified for a bus pass ( you had to live further away) so I had an arrangement with another 6th fromer who drove. And on days when he finished later than I did I had to wait for him. Later, my mum was working at the shcool and again, I waited for her to finish work, which sometimes meant I had an afternoon when I could have gone home but didn't, becuase there was no transport.

If there are any 'normal' buses then your son could catch one of those, or do a bus + bike combination .

I think it would be nice iof you can try to co-ordinate you necessary trips to town with the days your son neeeds a lift so he can get a lift as often as possible, but I don't think it is necessary to make a spoeciufuic trip every time.

I also think that at his age, it would be entirely appropriate for you to talk to him about the cost of trips, so that he is aware that you are not simply being unhelpful!

Discuss with him options for him to start to learn to drive, and whether getting a bicycle or moped might be an option.

meknowalot-51

"We live in a rural area miles from everything",your words and you have two teenagers at home.What a geniouse you two are,clearly no thought for the kids at all when moving into the house.Even if you've lived there before they were born,planning ahead isn't a strong point of yours.As you work from home i suppose the location's ideal for you,thing is this situation is going to get worse.What happens in school holidays?These poor kids must have a very limited social life.You do realize there's a good chance that they'll be at home till there late 20's,let's just hope they pass their tests in the cars your going to have to buy.As for the immediate situation i would say you can tell him/her to wait in the library and do some homework.There is a solution to all of this and that is you could move to a more realistic location that suits everyone and not just you.As they get older once a week into town isn't going to be nowhere near enough as their needs and demands will increase.Remember none of this is their fault,it's your lack of basic planning,time to wake up and move i'm afraid.

robertoegg

LandyAndy wrote: »

They could cycle.

this. I do a 24 hour round trip every day on my bike to work. If they want to....else, stay in the library and do some work / tap up a friend.

Pixie5740

I'll just add that my mum also had to deal with the poor public transport links as my dad always took the car to work. It never crossed his mind to give the rest of us a lift until my mum started getting home from work too late to get his dinner on the table at 6. Then she was allowed to get a train to a nearby town and he would collect her from the station so that his dinner would be ready on time. :rotfl:

lisa110rry

Nope, I had no consideration at all for our son when we moved from Solihull to a small village between Southport and Preston (8 miles from each). Our son was 4 at the time.

He found his life's love at 7 when he started playing rugby and I discovered the behavioural benefits of this when he played up (as they all do at times). My stock statement in these circumstances was: "It's not what you take out of the family that counts, it's what you put in. If you carry on behaving like this you will have a long walk to rugby on Sunday because why should I take you? Do you know how long it takes to walk 15 miles?" This always produced good behaviour.

For senior school he at first went to day school 25 miles away and latterly was a boarder at his request. We always supported school activities and County and Club rugby activities and he was allowed to sleep over with friends nearer the school. He and I also did a lot of train/bike/YHA trips all over the country.

In his wedding speech he thanked his father and me for having allowed him to "see outside the village".

We still live in the same home we moved to when he was 4.

Jagraf

Pixie5740 wrote: »

I'll just add that my mum also had to deal with the poor public transport links as my dad always took the car to work. It never crossed his mind to give the rest of us a lift until my mum started getting home from work too late to get his dinner on the table at 6. Then she was allowed to get a train to a nearby town and he would collect her from the station so that his dinner would be ready on time. :rotfl:

:eek::eek::rotfl::rotfl: