Kindergarten pick up policy

Momto2whosews

Senior Community Member
Hi!! I used to be a regular poster here, but fell off the face of the earth for a while. I just need to vent and get advice about our public school's pick up policy.

My dd (5 1/2) started kindergarten today. Today was the day for parents to attend with their child, and tomorrow she will start her new routine of taking the bus to school and being picked up at 10:30 AM by me (afternoon students get dropped off by a parent and take the bus home).

Parents were told about the school's policy about pick up at orientation last spring. We are to drive through the bus loop at the front of the school and wait in our vehicles. We are NOT to get out of our cars - this was made very clear to us - as it disrupts the flow of the line. We were told to make sure our child's car seat is on the passenger side of the car, for easy entering. Not sure about the school telling me where to put my kid in the car, but since I have 2 kids in a small car, they each have to be outboard, so I'll go with it.

At this time, we were told that a teacher or aide would be helping our children into the car and buckling them into their car seats. My dd is in a Regent and she can't manage the crotch buckle herself yet so she needs help. I wan't thrilled with this policy either and wondered about their liability coverage for buckling kids into seats, but I figured I would leave her straps loose when I picked her up that first day and see how they do.

Today, we were told that the school staff are NOT allowed to buckle kids into their seats (lo & behold it's a liability concern!). I'm not sure if this is a policy change or someone told it to us wrong the first time. But parents are still NOT allowed to disrupt the flow of the line by getting out of our cars to buckle our kids. We were specifically told today to pull forward into one of the parking lots (which are filled with staff vehicles and about 45 other parents doing the same thing) and then we can get out and buckle our kids.

So what do you think of this policy? Is it legal to have unrestrained kids in a moving vehicle since its on school grounds? I'm in NH where kids have to be buckled. I'm thinking of contacting our state CPS coordinator and possibly the only CPST on the town police force.

Is there any info out there that I could give to the school to inform them of other options for pick ups?
 
ADS

tanyaandallie

Senior Community Member
I think your schools policy is very normal. Our elementary school has the same policy.

I would take the next few days and work with your dd on buckling herself in. Pull the seat out of the car, set it on the floor in your living room and have her practice buckling and unbuckling. Or say to heck with them all and just reach back there and buckle her in.
 

emandbri

Well-known member
that sucks!

I would work on trying to get your dd to buckle herself. My older kids couldn't buckle themselves (both were in a harness until 4 1/2) but I was able to get my third so to do it a few months ago (he just turned 5).

I was trying to get him to do it and he was having trouble with the crotch strap and I had him watch my niece do it and my SIL would loosen the straps, have her buckle it, and then tighten the straps again. With the straps loose my niece and my son are able to buckle it.

I do tighten the straps though. I have a van and he is in the middle so I can just reach around. I haven't tried to get him to tighten it himself, I don't know if this is something kids can do by themselves or not (someone else chime in please! )

My son's preschool has kind of the same set up but the teachers and aides do buckle the kids in but I would do him myself since he is in the middle. I did have him on the side when I hurt my back and they would buckle him and I would say 3/4 of the time the straps were twisted, it was very annoying.

I'll have to figure out what to do next year when Elizabeth starts. If she is under 35 lbs I would like to keep her rear-facing but I don't trust them to buckle her in when I can't see what they are doing. I had three thoughts one keep her rear-facing in her seat but let her use Benjamin's seat when I"m picking her up and dropping her off, see about having the teachers and aides do a training so they can learn to do it properly, or going late and making sure I'm last and wouldn't hold others up if I get out and buckle her.
 

Lys

Senior Community Member
I can say this much for my son's elementary school ( he's in first grade)They have a pretty decent pick up policy related to the children's safety in all areas. It's not very timely though.
This is their pick up policy:
If you want to drive thru to pick up your child, the school staff allows 2 lanes of vehicles with 5 cars each to pull up. When all vehicles are stopped, you may get out and get your child ( the teacher usually meets you at your vehicle with your child)and help them buckle up. If you are the first one to accomplish this, you have to wait for every single one of those 10 other vehicles to get their children before any vehicle is allowed to move. After all children are boarded, those 10 vehicles are allowed to leave and another 10 vehicles pull up to do the same routine.
I have found it's SO much quicker for me to park my vehicle in the parking lot and walk over to the pick up area, get Ian, walk him back to our vehicle, buckle him in and we drive off.
 
they can't tighten the harness themselves to do so they would be pulling up on the strap (where we pull down). pulling up activates the loosening mechanism on most seats.
op can you reach her harness from where you are if you unbuckle and turn around. could you leave her harness loose and have her buckle it then you reach over and tighten. even if you don't get it as tight as you want she would be buckled and the harness should be tight enough that if you were in an accident in the parking lot she would be restrained. you could then pull over in the other lot and tighten it the way it should be.

just a view from the other side. my mother works as a teachers aide that does this type of dismissal. sadly you will see most kindergardeners are in booster seats and buckle themselves easily. although our kids are safer harnessed many people don't know that. this pick up process takes quite a while to do without the additional time of buckling each kid. the other option is perhaps you could arrange with them to be the last pick so getting out wouldn't be an issue. like i said as the minority of having your 5 1/2 yr old in a harnessed seat maybe you just need to talk to them. i think the liability oe smore with buckling a seatbelt reaching over a child and it not clicking in place and coming undone. they may be willing to do your childs harness since it is obvious if it is buckled or not.
 

featherhead

Well-known member
I find it so interesting to read threads about this. I'm pretty sure there are no such policies around here. Teachers don't walk the kids to the cars. I think K teachers will help kids with shoes, and stand by the door to make sure the kids are ok, but I don't think they put them in the cars. My dad usually gave me a ride to/from school on his bike, so we never (rarely ever) used the car.
 

bubbaray

New member
Can you not reach around behind you into the back seat and do her harness up for her? I can do that in my '05 Ody with DD#2s seat, even with the outboard passenger vehicle seat pushed to the outside (the vehicle seat slides). I can also do it in DH's SUV. DD#1 can get herself into the harness, do up the buckle and the chest clip and the driver just has to pull on the harness adjuster.

Just a thought.
 

Heather98012

New member
The new preschool we start in a few weeks does this. I don't get out at all. I'm assuming they will clip her in, but I will reach over & pull the strap to tighten her in. Or I'll just pull forward & slide into one of the parking spots & do it myself.

I'm loving the idea of not getting out & standing in the Seattle rain!!
 

HEVY

New member
I worry about this also since my DD tries and really wants to buclkle herself, but it's too tight, I can barely buckle it. I can unbuckle from the front but with the Regent harness adjuster there is no way I can tighten it.
 

Morganthe

New member
At my school, there's a pick up lane, but it seems as if only the big kids (3rd+ graders? are using it).

Everyone else, me happily included ;), park our cars, then walk over to where our kids have their assigned outdoor spots. I think it's great when my child screams my name and runs up to me. :love: Vehicles are way too limiting, even when it's in the mid 90s.

I can't see how a school can legally make you drive up when it's time for your child to leave. Then again, everyone is different. :shrug-shoulders:
 

mum2two

Active member
I am glad I don't have to deal with that...I'd be very concerned!

My DD is 5 in full day K....she's in a Regent and her seat is behind me...DS is RF behind the passenger seat...our drop off lane allows for the lane closest to the curb (passenger side) to stop and wait...and I get out and let DD out, undo her buckle and help her down and to the curb...it's still a bit of a step out of the vehicle and she can't do the crotch buckle...thankfully there is no policy stating we can't get out and buckle our children...If I were in your shoes I would absolutely never drive through an elementary parking lot without her properly buckled (some of the mom's and dad's I"ve seen ar nuts, on the phone, drinking coffee, driving like maniacs trying to get there kids to their next activity!.. with our parking lot once we pull out of the lane there isn't anywhere really to stop and we have a very controlled traffic pattern on the street in front too....I've seen too many slamming breaks and wouldn't want my child improperly buckled....I'd just have a friendly conversation with the administration, explain her carseat must be buckled by an adult and needs to be done before you pull out....maybe have some backup like the laws requiring proper restraint use....basically it's like saying it's okay not to do up the seatbelt right away...
 

emars002

New member
At my school, there's a pick up lane, but it seems as if only the big kids (3rd+ graders? are using it).

Everyone else, me happily included ;), park our cars, then walk over to where our kids have their assigned outdoor spots. I think it's great when my child screams my name and runs up to me. :love: Vehicles are way too limiting, even when it's in the mid 90s.

I can't see how a school can legally make you drive up when it's time for your child to leave. Then again, everyone is different. :shrug-shoulders:

this is what we do - we would have to switch the sides of the car the car seats are on and the RF seat fits better where it is- behind the passenger - so Dh parks - I am sure we could find a way to switch sides and teach dd1 to undo her buckle possibly - but i don't want her to think she can unbuckle it. So we just park and walk her up to the teacher outside -
 

BabyKaykes

New member
These stories freak me out....I'd park and go get her.

I've looked into the pickup policy at the school Isaiah will be going to in a few years. Currently, preschoolers and kindergarteners must be picked up from their classroom, only grade school kids are allowed to be picked up in the car line (but they must buckle themselves).
 

beebear23

Senior Community Member
They told us that too, but we never listened... And as long as didn't just leave the car sitting there and go off into the school somewhere, they didn't complain too much... And if they did complain, I made it perfectly clear that my sons safety was more important than their line.

Good luck!!
 

HEVY

New member
Guess what? I loosened the straps and let dd buckle herself in then got in the front and was able to tighten it, hmm I guess there goes my Frontier.
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
park our cars, then walk over

I can't see how a school can legally make you drive up
:yeahthat:

I loosened the straps and let dd buckle herself in then got in the front and was able to tighten it
My DD was also about 4 when she started being able to do this -- not always reliably, though (never when she was tired or hungry or moody) & only recently at 6 years old is she capable of doing this consistently (except when *really* exhausted, starving or UPSET: same story then for boosters anyway)
 

angie3096

New member
I would just get out, buckle my kid in, and then go. They can be mad at me all they want, but I wouldn't move the car until she was buckled. What are they going to do, call the car pick up line police? They can't force you to drive off with your child improperly restrained. Please.
 

tanyaandallie

Senior Community Member
In our school (and I think the entire district), if you want to pick up your child in your car, you have to go through the car line. You cannot park and go in. If your child is a car rider, they go with the big group of car riders. If they are a bus rider, they go with the bus riders. If they are a hiker/biker, they go with the hiker/bikers. There is no group called my mom is parking and going to walk in and get me. So, very often parking the car and going in is not an option. You really have only a few options. Just ignore them and get out and buckle her in, teacher to do it herself, or pull up and do it.
 
We don't have "car lines" around here, so I don't understand this whole dilemma. There is NO parking at the school here, but there isn't a pick up line either. If parents are picking up young children, they typically park their cars within a block or two of the school (on a side street), and walk to the school to meet their children, then walk back to the car together. Older children in this situation just walk out to meet their parents. Children are dismissed either as "bus children" or "walkers"

Is that an option if parking at the school is not? Could you park nearby and walk?
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,656
Messages
2,196,896
Members
13,530
Latest member
onehitko860

You must read your carseat and vehicle owner’s manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. Car-Seat.Org makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. Before posting or using our website you must read and agree to our TERMS.

Graco is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Britax is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Nuna Baby is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org!

Please  Support Car-Seat.Org  with your purchases of infant, convertible, combination and boosters seats from our premier sponsors above.
Shop travel systems, strollers and baby gear from Britax, Chicco, Clek, Combi, Evenflo, First Years, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Safety 1st, Diono & more! ©2001-2022 Carseat Media LLC

Top