MOMania

By fk

August 22, 2007 7:57 AM | Link to this

Are you sure she is on the bus for that long? That seems like an awful long time for two miles. When my son was in elementary school, his bus commute was less than two miles, yet he did not get home until 40 minutes after school let out. However, he was not on the bus all of that time. He was on the “second” run, meaning the bus dropped off one group of kids and came back to the school for the second group. It worked out great because he was second run in the a.m. as well, and he did not have to be at the bus stop at the crack of dawn.

By JJ

August 22, 2007 7:57 AM | Link to this

If her grandfather is so concerned about her being on the bus for so long, why doesn’t he go pick her up at school?

By Katie

August 22, 2007 8:21 AM | Link to this

What do you think people did before air conditioning? They delt with the heat. Kids today need to toughen up a bit.

By misspiggy

August 22, 2007 8:32 AM | Link to this

I’m sure Katie drives around in the heat with her A/C turned off since she’s so tough.

By Katie

August 22, 2007 8:38 AM | Link to this

Misspiggy, actually, I don’t use my air conditioner in my SUV. So what? Sorry these precious little children have to sit on a bus for 40 whole long minutes and get a bit hot.

By monteal

August 22, 2007 8:40 AM | Link to this

I live three miles from the school and it takes sometimes as long as an hour to and hour and fifteen minutes for my son to get home he is covered in sweat and exhausted by the time he gets home, why is it that buses are allowed to do without things like air conditioning and seat belts, and yet the school dose all it can to make you put them on the bus ie. releasing the car riders or walkers last. not making car rider lanes long enough or move well.

By JJ

August 22, 2007 8:43 AM | Link to this

I agree with Katie. We need to quit coddoling our kids, and toughen them up. We are raising a bunch of sissies.

Kids are immune to heat. Just watch a bunch of them play outside in the summer. Now that school is back in, its suddenly too hot…..???

By nurse&mother

August 22, 2007 8:46 AM | Link to this

Theresa, if your daughter is not complaining, then I would leave it at that. I’m sure if it was that bad an experience, she would tell you. Trust me, I have a little drama queen. She always rode the bus home and she loved it!

By Lynn

August 22, 2007 8:46 AM | Link to this

I think it is outragious how long the bus rides are these days. My 7th grader is on the bus for right at an hour and her school is 4 miles from home while my high schooler is 2 miles from home and stuck in that big yellow heater for 50+ mins. It’s called overpopulated areas and they’re not going away. I’m all for utilizing our public transportation but this is just rediculous IMO.

By Lynn

August 22, 2007 8:50 AM | Link to this

JJ, I don’t know where you’ve been but I live on a lake and my girls tried to go swimming this weekend and the water felt like a hot tub! We didn’t suffer that many summers growing up with temps over 100 for so many consecutive days. Be real OK?

By Laurie

August 22, 2007 8:51 AM | Link to this

My mom and I just had this discussion about my niece who started kindergarten. She thinks my sister should pick her up and not let her sit on the bus with these high temperatures. I know at my children’s schools car riders are released first, so depending on what your school’s policy, it might be wise to pick them up if your concerned.

That said, to me this topic goes back to the way the counties in this state operate their school schedules. The kids need to be in school until the middle of June and go back after Labor day. It is way to hot for them to start back in August, especially when you have middle and high school kids who are not allowed to wear shorts to school! The northern states do this and they do not get the high temps that we do!

By Jill

August 22, 2007 8:54 AM | Link to this

I agree with JJ and Katie!

By JJ

August 22, 2007 9:02 AM | Link to this

*Lynn Where did you grow up? I grew up out west in the Nevada dessert. I know what it’s like to have numerous 100+ degree days in a row. You just have to deal with it.

This is just another example of the sissification of our kids. So the lake was like a hot tub? Then stay inside, and run your air conditioner so your little pumpkins don’t sweat.

I live on the lake too, and it’s just not that big of a deal. Put on your big girl panties, and deal with it.

By heatmeiser

August 22, 2007 9:03 AM | Link to this

Come on people, stop raising your children to be big sissies and whiney babies! We give them too much AC as it is. I think we should turn off the AC in the classrooms as well as the buses so they can get an education and be toughened up at the same time.

I also think we should have children do roofing repair and road work on hot summer days - they stand the heat much better than adults do.

How do you expect us to breed a new generation of tough troops to fill the ranks of our mighty military machine if we coddle our kids? They need to be ready for battle so the US can go out and kick some butt and show the world how tough we are!

By jsmom

August 22, 2007 9:07 AM | Link to this

Our neighborhood ES is less than a mile from us. The pick up time is 7:05 AM (school start at 8) My neighbor’s kids ride the bus (and love it) but they’ve been late to school 3 times already- once by 20 minutes. (no mechanical problems)

This bus doesn’t operate on the first on first off method either, it’s last on first off

By Camille

August 22, 2007 9:08 AM | Link to this

If Gwinnett county had done better planning and put in sidewalks, then kids within a 2 mile radius of the school could actually walk to school. Growing up in South Florida (although the area is not as sprawled out as it is here), I walked that distance plus some from elementary school all the way through high school. And, yes, we did have to cross a couple of very busy intersections. But, guess what, we learned how to do it safely. We also generally did not walk to school alone, and occasionally when I was in elementary school, my mom would actually walk (gasp) to the school just to walk back with us.

I agree that kids these days are very much being babied, not to mention not getting enough exercise, considering that they don’t have PE everyday and then don’t have to actually walk anywhere (plus not going outside to play). Then, we wonder why they are so overweight.

About the long bus ride, given all the circumstances surrounding the reasons for it, you and your child will have to deal with it. Or, if it’s that much of a concern, have the grandfather pick her up. Also, when my son was at public school, the car riders were released at the same time as the bus riders. The two groups were just released to different areas of the school; the car riders at the back of the school, the bus riders at the front. You may want to verify with your school how that actually works.

By Katie

August 22, 2007 9:10 AM | Link to this

If the complainers here are so darn worried about long bus rides for such short distances, let your children walk or ride their bikes to school. That’s what we did as kids. 2 miles is NOT a long distance and if you teach your children properly, they can ride or walk safely.

By Annie

August 22, 2007 9:11 AM | Link to this

Another reason the bus trips take so long?? The fact they’re stopping every 10 feet - how about 1 central designated area for every 2/3 subdivisions, depending on location of course.

I take a bus route where the bus stops at every driveway on the street. The kids are all conversing with each other, while waiting on the bus. Why not get together and make a central drop-off/pick-up point?? Would help the travel time and would help traffic.

By Cammi

August 22, 2007 9:11 AM | Link to this

I do not like school buses for many reasons, including they come too early in the morning (when they show up on time), temperature problems, ride time, rowdy students, etc. My daughter is in the 4th grade and has ridden the school bus maybe 5 times during her entire school career. I drop her off in the morning on my way to work and I pick her up from the on-site after school program on my way home from work. I understand for some people school buses are a necessary evil, but I can do without them.

By Jen

August 22, 2007 9:12 AM | Link to this

Theresa,

Is the direct route between your house and the school shaded and walkable?

I know it sounds crazy but bear with me.

I live in Candler Park. I live about 3/4 mile from Mary Lin where my son goes to school. We walk.

I’m not a stay-at-home-mom, either. We walk, I walk back home, then drive to work. It takes about 15 minutes to walk there because my son likes to examine things along the way, or jump up on the retaining wall and walk along it, etc. But it only takes about 7 minutes for me to walk back.

A 2 mile walk should take about 25-30 minutes if your daughter doesn’t dawdle too much. Put your smaller kids in a stroller and you’ve got your exercise for the day complete just by walking your daughter to school and then walking to pick her up.

I know…people here must think I am crazy. But if you were to happen to stumble into my neighborhood at 7:40am you would see hundreds of kids and their parents doing just this.

Now, I realize that I live in a very old, mature neighborhood so we have sidewalks everywhere and just about any walk to anywhere is very shaded so you don’t cook. Suburban neighborhoods, and I speak from experience because I used to live in Gwinnett, don’t tend to run long on sidewalks or trees so it might be dangerous to walk in the current heat.

But for anyone who lives a walkable distance to their kids school should consider it….

By Dave

August 22, 2007 9:13 AM | Link to this

People, get over all of this pampering and coddling your children! We are raising the biggest bunch of whining, self centered, lazy, “I can’t won’t do that. It’s too much trouble” children our world has ever seen. WE, as parents, are directly responsible for this. We keep wanting to lay out a gold covered road for our children, spare them disappointments, allow excuses for not doing things and don’t hold them responsible for situations that THEY have put themselves in time after time. That’s the whole point of growing up! You learn to deal with life in the real world, it’s inconveniences, handling success and failure, overcoming obstacles THEMSELVES instead of calling Mommy or Daddy. The harder they have to work at these things NOW, the easier and better they will handle them in the future!

By Kat

August 22, 2007 9:15 AM | Link to this

Before air conditioning, school started after Labor Day. Kids weren’t tougher, the weather was cooler. Morons.

By jeff

August 22, 2007 9:15 AM | Link to this

I used to live two miles from school. It took 30 to 40 minutes from the time I got on the school bus to get to my stop. I didn’t die.

You learn a more on the bus than you do in the classroom, so the longer the better.

By Lynnie

August 22, 2007 9:20 AM | Link to this

I hate to sound insensitive, but I was never a car rider. I rode the bus from kindergarten until I was a junior in high school and could drive myself. During my entire bus riding career I had hour plus bus rides and it got extremely hot. You cram 50+ kids onto a bus and it’s going to be hot. Factor in the weather and it gets hotter.

But we survived. The bus windows were down and a breeze came through. We had to sweat some, but we were fine. It’s just part of being a kid and riding the bus. Like someone else said, if your daughter’s grandfather is so concerned, he can transport her to and from school himself so she can have AC and water. Otherwise… she can be like all the other children on the bus and sweat it out. We’ve been doing it for years.

By Annie

August 22, 2007 9:21 AM | Link to this

I keep asking her if she’s too hot or upset by the long bus ride and she says no.

Also, if you make a big deal out of it and keep asking her about it, she’ll pick up on and it’ll become a big deal to her. Kids are more resiliant than we give them credit for.

By One

August 22, 2007 9:23 AM | Link to this

heatmeiser, that is funny!!!

Is anyone not thinking of the dangers of this heat? Everybody’s so concerned with toughening the kids up (like being in the heat is going to do that). Heck, if you’re that concerned with raising a militant, take them to the gym, or the shooting range, or the desert, or the projects and leave them to fend for themselves!!! Come on people, these are our children!!

If you’re concerned, or just don’t like having your child on the bus, drop them off and then PICK THEM UP!!! My daughter didn’t ride the school bus until she didn’t have a choice! We have lived inside her school district and outside her school district in the past, and either way, I dropped her off and picked her up (and it has not changed her capability of taking care of herself one bit!!!). And when my schedule changed and I couldn’t pick her up, I sent my mother. Now, we live 33 miles from her school, and she rides the bus (except for days that she needs to stay after, then I pick her up when I leave work as I work in the middle of school and home) because I don’t want her on the late bus. She is on the (regular) bus appr. 1.5 hrs both ways, which is not bad considering what I’m reading here. Either way, I say it is the parents choice, and you’re not ruining your child as some obviously think!!! Think about it, if this one small thing ruins your child, then they were already there!!!!

By JJ

August 22, 2007 9:25 AM | Link to this

I completely, 100% agree with Jen.

We had to walk close to two miles each way to junior high and high school. At this point, I lived in Colorado, and we even walked in snow storms. Occassionally my Dad would drive us on his way to work, but we walked home every day. Buses were available, only if you lived more than 2 miles from the school. We lived 1.9 miles so we had to walk. It sure didn’t kill us.

By not me

August 22, 2007 9:31 AM | Link to this

JJ - then go back to Nevada if you don’t like the way we’re raising our kids here in Georgia. Have you ever seen a child have a heat stroke? I have, mine, and it’s not a pretty sight. I guess all the heat related deaths across the country we’re due to people being sissyfied according to you.

By Jennifer

August 22, 2007 9:35 AM | Link to this

The kids will survive and it will cool down soon. I meet my daughter at the bus stop with a bottle of cold water or a popsicle every day. She gets hotter running around after dinner than she does riding the bus. I can tell because of the amount of sweat and her flushed cheeks.

Does the grandfather fuss about the kids being allowed to play outside in the heat? It’s way hotter playing outside, even after dinner, than it is on the bus with the windows open and the breeze blowing.

I wouldn’t expose my kids to a dangerous situation, but there are worse things than a bus with no AC.

By Jen

August 22, 2007 9:43 AM | Link to this

One thing I learned about living in the suburbs is there a learned mindset that excludes the option of walking places.

This isn’t to be blamed on the suburbanite but on the original concept of the suburb, back after WWI.

It’s a total car culture. The way things are zoned everything is homogenized….it’s illegal in the suburbs to have a corner store. It’s illegal to build a townhouse complex within a traditional residential neighborhood.

Everything is a parking lot with a building behind it.

As a result, people are encouraged to drive EVERYWHERE, even if it’s close. Especially with the demise of the sidewalk and current development practices of eliminating the tree canopy.

It feels dangerous to walk in the suburbs. You’re not sheltered from the heat. You feel exposed to potential nefarious evil-does. And you have streets so wide people fly down then at 60mph when the posted limit is 25.

So, I understand that it’s so foreign to a suburbanite to walk.

In fact, when we moved out of the burbs into the city it took a while before I lost that mindset. When I first moved there I thought a mile was a long distance. But it’s sooooo not. It doesn’t take long to realize that it often takes LESS time to walk and it’s more enjoyable, even in the heat. And, I don’t have to look for time for the decadent affluent luxury of planned and structured exercise.

If you live in an area where there are no sidewalks perhaps you can bring it up to your neighborhood association to raise money to build them and plant trees along them.

It’s not to late to save the suburbs.

By Jeff

August 22, 2007 9:44 AM | Link to this

Back in HS, I once went to a school that was 17 miles away. Grandma’s house was 16 miles away. Guess what I did? Rather than pay the outrageous parking fee, I parked at grandma’s house, got some coffee, and walked to school. After school, I walked back, spent some time with grandma, and drove home. Once, during a particularly rainy walk, a friend let me jump in the back of his pickup and drove me the rest of the way to grandma’s so I wouldn’t have to walk 10 more minutes in the rain. (Hey, ya gotta remember, I was walking with 30-50lbs strapped to my back!) This was back at Columbine-era. (That semester).

Guess what? 2 mile hike with 30-50 lbs on my back, I weighed between 160 and 180. Since then, I’ve ballooned up to my current weight of around 240.

We had several days of 100+ degree heat when I was a kid (grew up in NWGA). We didn’t care. We’d be outside playing baseball or making forts or some such nonsense that southern boys do. When we got thirsty, we’d run in, grab some lemonade, then head right back out. It was only after I got central AC after I moved to a house (grew up in a trailer park) that even 90 degrees became “too hot”. I’m trying to work myself out of that now, but my backyard is a mosquito pit! :((

By Jen

August 22, 2007 9:49 AM | Link to this

not me don’t be a jerk. Or an idiot. Of COURSE JJ knows about heat stroke…s/he’s from NEVADA. It’s way hotter there. And I’m from south Louisiana…it waaaaaaaay hotter and more humid there than here.

Being out in the heat doesn’t cause heatstroke. Being out in the heat without sunscreen and sufficient water while engaging in vigorous physical activity does.

You child walking to school, with sunscreen on, toting a water bottle you stored in the freezer overnight will NOT suffer heatstroke.

You just have that mindset that walking is crazy. Like the people who would rather drive around a parking lot for 15 minutes looking for the closest space rather than just parking and getting on with things…

By JJ

August 22, 2007 9:51 AM | Link to this

Sorry Not me I’m raising a kid here to, and not once has she complained about being hot on the bus. She has learned how to deal with things that are thrown her way and doesn’t whine about things that are out of her control, like the weather. . This is because she is being raised by a very strong, independant, single Mom. It just makes her a stronger person.

By Meg

August 22, 2007 9:52 AM | Link to this

Jennifer, Actually you stop sweating when you have heat exhaustion, so if she’s sweating, she’s not necessarily hotter.

By Dave

August 22, 2007 10:06 AM | Link to this

not me, maybe if you got your kids away from the computer, TV and off the phone at some point in time, they may actually start to develop some stamina and resistance to a little heat. I grew up in south GA, worked in the tobacco and hay fields each and every summer since I was 12. In addition to the heat, there was fire ants, gnats and a whole host of other things to deal with. And to boot, there were even some ladies there making money, as well. It really makes me chuckle listening to people like you that sugar coat everything for your fragile babies and over protect them from the real world. A pediatrician would label you the “nervous parent”. I guess every time one of your children sneezes, you head off to the doctor’s office….don’t lie. Children are WAY more resiliant than you give them credit for. They are also way smarter than you as they are playing you like a fiddle, get you to cater to their every whim and discomfort. Good luck when they do get out in the real world and call you to cry about how a teacher or boss is being “mean” and doesn’t understand that they didn’t get “a good nights sleep” and still expects results.

By Cammi

August 22, 2007 10:07 AM | Link to this

I guess if you grew up without air conditioning then your body is probably more accustomed to the heat. Great for you. If we ever have to revert back to the days of the Little House on the Prairie your coping skills will be a step above the rest. But for the rest of us who have always had the luxury of air conditioning….this heat is a killer. I grew up in Chicago where we did play outside during the summers riding our big wheels and bikes up and down the SIDEWALKS, jumping double dutch and skipping hop scotch. However, you can best believe that when the temperature tipped a certain scale, we were inside reading books, playing with our toys and yes….watching television, until after it cooled down some. And, yes, my mother drove us and picked us up from school every day.

By Cammi

August 22, 2007 10:14 AM | Link to this

JJ, I am a single mom as well and my daughter does not ride the bus because I do not want her to ride the bus. I enjoy being able to spend that extra time with her in the morning because to be honest most evening I am very tired. Because she does not have to get up at the crack of dawn, grab a bowl of cereal or a pop tart and make a mad dash for the bus, I cook breakfast and we sit down and eat and talk. We listen to music and chat on the drive to school. It’s quality time that I would not change for the world.

By Cammi

August 22, 2007 10:15 AM | Link to this

JJ, I am a single mom as well and my daughter does not ride the bus because I do not want her to ride the bus. I enjoy being able to spend that extra time with her in the morning because to be honest most evening I am very tired. Because she does not have to get up at the crack of dawn, grab a bowl of cereal or a pop tart and make a mad dash for the bus, I cook breakfast and we sit down and eat and talk. We listen to music and chat on the drive to school. It’s quality time that I would not change for the world. In the afternoons she tells me about her day on they way home and I tell her about mine. It works.

By not me

August 22, 2007 10:20 AM | Link to this

JJ - i’m glad you have a strong daughter. Meg, your right! My daughter was just walking and then dropped to the ground. No sweating or warning. Her skin actually felt cold to the touch and her body started curling into a fetal position. It’s a scary sight and our children don’t know any better so it’s up to us to keep them safe. I wouldn’t throw my kid outside in 0 degree weather without being bundled up either but according to some here, that’s what I should do to make her strong. Right - you raise your kids your way & I’ll raise mine my way.

By Dave

August 22, 2007 10:21 AM | Link to this

and on a side note, I have been playing tennis every Tuesday and Thursday after work from 5:30 to around 8 with 3 x other guys and then working in the yard on the weekend. We know that it’s hot, but no one whines about it. It is what it is. Keep drinking water and go on with life. It might even do you some good.

By KoolAid House

August 22, 2007 10:21 AM | Link to this

You guys are a hoot this morning. Jen, JJ and Katie. I agree w/all your posts.

Jeff although that seems like a long walk, I know Grandma enjoyed the fact that she got to see her grandson everyday. That’s priceless! Being from NY (now living in ATL), I wholeheartedly understand the concept of walking A LOT!!!! We are spoiled and we’re spoiling our children. Just the other day my 13 year old asked me to drive her to her friends house who lives 6 houses from her. I guess the look on my face made her walk out the front door saying Bye!

By Atlanta Pearl Girl

August 22, 2007 10:23 AM | Link to this

I’ve always enjoyed that time with my kids in the mornings and in the afternoons. I rode the bus when I was a kid….. it was ‘ok’. I preferred riding with my mother when she was able to pick me up. I guess ‘to each his/her own’. My kids enjoy afterschool care to spaz out with their friends. We have kids who ride a bus up to 2 hours one way sometimes pending on traffic. If the child is ok with it…. she’s probably fine. Water bottle is a good idea though. Call the school to see if that’s plausible. I bet it is.

Good luck!

By JJ

August 22, 2007 10:25 AM | Link to this

Cammi For the same reasons you posted, I too drive my kid to school in the mornings. It’s on my way to work, and I go right past her school anyway. I wouldn’t change it for the world either. I have always driven her to school, other than when she was in middle school. She had to be at school an hour after I had to be at work, so she rode the bus both ways. We got home at the same time back then. School now starts at 7:10, so we leave the house around 6:50. She would have to be at the bus stop at 6:25, so it gives us, what, almost 30 minutes longer, for her to eat, and take care of the animals, etc…..and we aren’t rushed.

By not me

August 22, 2007 10:25 AM | Link to this

Dave that goes to show just how much you know about me & my kids. We have a farm and they are out feeding the animals and gathering eggs every morning, so don’t give me that pampering crap!! We have one computer with dial up, so I hardly think they are spending to much time in front of the screen. Don’t cast judgement without facts because your not anywhere close to physic!

By decaturparent

August 22, 2007 10:35 AM | Link to this

All of my kids have always walked to school and will until they graduate. Is that not possible in your are Theresa?

By Jen

August 22, 2007 10:39 AM | Link to this

Like Meg said…if they’re sweating then they’re not going to suffer heatstroke. If you send them out with enough water then they’ll keep sweating.

So, give them water for either the walk or the ride.

Jeff I love that story about your daily commute to school

I grew up in a small town and my parents sent us to a Catholic school that was 20 miles away, so we bussed in. But since only a handful of kids from our town went to this school we all met at the same bus stop, which was at the end of my block.

Here’s the day I realized, in my new neighborhood, that I was being ridiculous by driving: We got in the car to drive to school. We drove to the school, which doesn’t have much of a parking lot. And we had to park on the street. Now some parents live on the other side of Moreland in Inman Park so they do need to drive because it’s not easy to pass through Little 5 Points to get to the school. So, the spot we found was about 100 feet from our house.

One of those egg-on-your face embarrassing moments when you realize that you’ve become a sheople about something….

By D

August 22, 2007 10:57 AM | Link to this

they need to ride the bus, it’s no hotter in Georgia than when i grew up here. and yes we had spells of 100 degree heat during those summers too. when do parents expect to toughen their kids up and prepare them for the real world when they will be on their own? we coddle them too much now, and their sense of self-importance is off of the charts, and they are just kids. they are not the wise elders of our commnuities who have earned their respect they deserve. and before you say I don’t like kids, I do, Ihave kids and try to be a good parent. but they are kids, and they are NOT more important than adults, they haven’t earned anything yet. they are vulnerable and naive as children and we should go out of way to protect them. but the long lines of traffic, with a paid police officer directing traffic at every school, is pathetic. we all pay for the school buses that aren’t being used like they should be. just because most parents have used kids as tools of manipulation for everything they want for their own selfish reasons, and the kid have seen it, and have used it to control parents. now parents think they have to drop their kids off at school everyday, create more traffic in a country that won’t use mass transit. there should be 10 free drop offs a year, excluding when the school has asked you to come, then after that, it’s $2.00 every time you bring your vehicle on the lot, we use that to fund the under used school buses and to pay the traffic officer. and how does one kid translate into mommy needed a SUV? we should do more work to find bus drivers that can also work part time at the school, as admin asst’s, janitors, maintenance people, etc. then the buses would go to school and stay there until it’s time to take the kids home. that’s 2 trips a day instead of 4! but from the way kids are used today, just look at their influence in commercials, we won’t be able to get anything fixed, because unless it’s blatant child abuse of out right neglect, you can’t criticize parents anymore, not matter if what they are doing is clearly wrong. creating unnecessary traffic is clearly wrong. take the idiot parents that leave their kid in the car with the keys in the ignition and then the car gets stolen, that so-called parent should be punished. at least one place in the country, Orlando has started doing that, with some backlash, of course. kids don’t even do yard work anymore in my neighborhood, ok now queue the idiot that says my kid does, whatever. it will do them good to sweat a little, and when I was a kid, I handled heat and cold better than I do now, the bus was hot, but tolerable, I could swim in cold water til my lips were blue. and it taught me how to get along with others my own age. that doens’t happen when you have one of your parents standing over you, taking up for you everytime something happens, even when you are wrong. kids are kids and should be treated as such.

By nurse&mother

August 22, 2007 11:03 AM | Link to this

Hey Jen- Just curious. How does sunscreen protect one from heatstroke? I am an Registered nurse and I’ve never heard of that! LOL

By Snoopermom

August 22, 2007 11:08 AM | Link to this

School used to start after labor day when there weren’t so many “off days” during the year. We never had a week off for spring break; and certainly didn’t get 2 or 3 weeks off a Christmas or a week off at Thanksgiving. Pare down the “off days” during the year and they could start after labor day and end the end of May.

By cgatlanta

August 22, 2007 11:14 AM | Link to this

JJ and Cammi

My heart goes out to both of you. It must have been hard to deal with the loss of your husband. I hope that he was able to give guidance to your respective children while he was here.

God Bless.

By singular

August 22, 2007 11:18 AM | Link to this

good example of how kids are used as tools of manipulation: families with kids use more tax money for schools, buses, social services, etc., yet when they give out tax rebate checks, parents get twice as much money as someone without a kid, who has used much less of our country’s tax revenues. now example that one, Oh Great People of the Sheep.

By singular

August 22, 2007 11:19 AM | Link to this

good example of how kids are used as tools of manipulation: families with kids use more tax money for schools, buses, social services, etc., yet when they give out tax rebate checks, parents get twice as much money as someone without a kid, who has used much less of our country’s tax revenues. now explain that one, Oh Great People of the Sheep.

By singular

August 22, 2007 11:19 AM | Link to this

good example of how kids are used as tools of manipulation: families with kids use more tax money for schools, buses, social services, etc., yet when they give out tax rebate checks, parents get twice as much money as someone without a kid, who has used much less of our country’s tax revenues. now explain that one, Oh Great People of the Sheep.

By Becky

August 22, 2007 11:21 AM | Link to this

If people knew how to drive, then I’d be all for kids walking..I walked to school from 1st-12th, but my Mother never had to worry about some idiot on a cell phone running over me..As for the kids having A/C, how many of you do without it on any of your drives? Not many, I bet..Come on people, get with the times..

By DLA

August 22, 2007 11:30 AM | Link to this

My 12 year old lives 6 miles from school & is on the bus for an hour & 45 mins. What upsets me more than that is her last 45 mins is with high schoolers they pick up along the way! i’m not an overly protective parent but i think theres things that come outta HS kids’ mouths that middle schoolers shouldnt have to listen too. Peer pressure is bad enough in your respective grades +/- a grade, but add some kid who’s 5 years older, who cant drive cause he got an underage dui & lost his license in the seat next behind her, is outrageous. Why not plan better routes? Someone said it earlier, over populated areas & county goverment planning the routes, many who are so old they walked to school to begin with!!!

By now that hurts!

August 22, 2007 11:40 AM | Link to this

Jen walks 3/4 of a mile to get a substandard education for her kid at Lin! Ouch! That’s a long walk for a government education. I live a couple doors down from it and pull our shades so we don’t have to see those poor kids. Actually, she could walk 1-3/4 miles over to crime-ridden Toomer, where the scores are always much higher!

But Theresa, if you are 2 miles from school, you should NOT be driving OR using the bus!

By Tool

August 22, 2007 11:41 AM | Link to this

another way to use childen - tell everybody we need day lights savings time so that the kids don’t have to wait in the dark for the school bus. wow, and people still say it! #1 we got most parents dropping their kids off at school because there just might be some bad in the world somewhere.#2 the kids still wait for the bus in the dark a lot. and can anybody tell me why we still have daylight savings time?

By Jeff

August 22, 2007 11:51 AM | Link to this

Becky:

I drive a 94 Civic. Right now, I live in Warner Robins, but I’m moving this weekend to just outside of Albany, where I will live until my soon-to-be wife decides to let me move from there. I work in Macon.

My car doesn’t have AC. Instead, I use the 2/90 system. Roll 2 windows down (3 if I open the sunroof), go 90 mph down the interstate. After I get off the interstate, I use the 2/70 or so system. (Same principle.) Even with a 1.5 hr drive, it AINT that bad! (

Of course, I’ve worked at a Wilderness Camp where we were outside 20 of 24 hrs in a day! I’ve also done several roofing projects in my life. And TRUST me… aint NOTHING hotter than some of those experiences! :P

By Jen

August 22, 2007 11:56 AM | Link to this

OK, anyone here every heard of stuffonmycat.com? Go check it out. It’s a hoot.

And then check out stuffonmykid.com. Since we’re all parents here I bet we all have hilarious pictures of times we put something on an unsuspecting kid and snapped a picture….

Sorry to digress…

By KoolAid House

August 22, 2007 12:02 PM | Link to this

now that hurts WOW, this is the first I’ve heard this “get a substandard education for her kid at Lin!” I’ve only heard fabulous things about Mary Lin (albeit from one parent).

By DB

August 22, 2007 12:06 PM | Link to this

Oh, I think she’ll be fine. Grandpa is very sweet, and obviously adores his granddaughter, but this is absolutely nothing to worry about. 40 minutes is NOT too long for a bus ride, and it’s only going to be miserable for another week or two. She can suck it up, until then :-) It may not be PERFECT, but it’s not too early for her to learn that her comfort is not the most important thing in the universe.

Put it in perspective: You have football players, marching band members and cross country runners out there for two or three hours a day. A 40-minute ride on a bus isn’t exactly life-threatening. Besides, they open the windows and get a breeze. Have a nice cold lemonade and some fruit waiting for her when she gets home :-)

By DB

August 22, 2007 12:08 PM | Link to this

PS: I think that the key thing, here, is that your daughter isn’t upset by it. ‘Nuff said. Leave it alone, before she starts to wonder if it’s something she should be upset about!

By Jen

August 22, 2007 12:15 PM | Link to this

nurse&mother Sorry but being a nurse doesn’t mean you know all there is to know about medicine. As you probably DO know, heat stroke or exhaustion is caused by hyperthermia. Sunburn affects your body’s ability to cool itself and causes a loss of body fluids. It also causes pain and damages the skin. Therefore, preventing excess sun exposure reduces the risk of heat-related illness.

By nurse&mother

August 22, 2007 12:25 PM | Link to this

Only slightly off topic-Has anyone had any problems with their middle schooler seeing inappropriate things on the bus (ex. blw jbs etc.)? I don’t think I will allow my daughter to ride the bus next year in middle school. I have heard way too many things about middle school bus. Anybody have any first hand experience good or bad?

By Sonya

August 22, 2007 12:27 PM | Link to this

ha! ha! Very true Singular…”people of the sheep”…too funny!

By JJ

August 22, 2007 12:34 PM | Link to this

cgatlanta I didn’t “loose” my husband, I got rid of him. But thank you for the nice thought.

And no, he had absolutely nothing to do with OUR child, the brief time he stuck around, and still has nothing to do with her, or the other 4 kids he made with 4 other women!!!!

By JJ

August 22, 2007 12:39 PM | Link to this

Nurse&mother I have heard tales about b/j’s on the school bus, but I have never encountered that problem, nor have any of my friends, neighbors, etc.

I’ve also heard about that same behaviour going on in the stairwells of the middle school. But then again, it’s never been “confirmed”.

If you are worried about what goes on on the bus, you may want to worry about what is happening in the bathrooms too……it isn’t just the bus.

This is why communication is so important. It is important to discuss these things with your child, in a way that they understand. Don’t give too much info, only what you feel they can handle.

By nurse&mother

August 22, 2007 12:42 PM | Link to this

Jen my bad. I certainly don’t think that I know everything just because I’m a nurse. I had just not heard of that as a prevention. But when I looked it up, I see you are right. I worked in the ER 10 years ago, and at that time had not heard of that.

By Det. Hot Sauce

August 22, 2007 12:47 PM | Link to this

Think about the kids on Little House on the Prairie they probably had to walk for at least a hour or longer to get to school. Think about our ancestors who had to walk in snow, heat, & rain. Stop babying these kids, if she wanted some water i’m sure she would’ve asked for some. What about the people who don’t have AC in their cars, honey she’ll be allright.

By nurse&mother

August 22, 2007 12:48 PM | Link to this

One last thing on the sunscreen issue. I would think that if one is taking a quick walk to school (15 min) one will probably not have to worry about getting sunburned.

Wow JJ, I didn’t realize that stuff went on in the bathroom! Yikes. How did your society evolve into this? Is it just girls emulating what they see on TV or hear on the radio? Do these kids have not self respect?

By Katie

August 22, 2007 1:03 PM | Link to this

Kat, you’re the moron. Labor day is two weeks away, do you really think the temp is going to be much cooler by then?? Statistically, look at the weather patterns for the last 50 years. After Labor day doesn’t differ much from the middle of August. Kids are lazy these days and the parents are to blame.

By JJ

August 22, 2007 1:05 PM | Link to this

*nurse&mother * My society? I’m sorry, I don’t understand that one.

I am sure it is the girls emulating the behaviour of such bad girls as Lindsay, Paris, Britney, etc. and how they suffer no consequences for their behaviour. I mean, Lindsay is in and out of rehab, and she just barely turned 21. Her face is plastered all over the magazines, and our kids see this and think it is acceptable behaviour.

Also, I feel it has to do with the way these 15-17 year old girls dress. Hoochie Mammas, all of them. I don’t understand the mentality of their parents to purchase these items for them. They all look like little street walkers.

I have a friend whose sister purchased push-up bras for her then 12 year old daughter, also purchased very low cut shirts, and skimpy shorts and VERY short skirts. Guess what happened, the kid pregnant at 13, had the baby at 14, and is keeping the baby.

Say what ya’ll like, but I know for a fact that my kid doesn’t not, and will not, dress like a tramp.

By Jeff

August 22, 2007 1:11 PM | Link to this

nurse:

Public school isn’t the place for your kids if you are worried about them seeing that type stuff. While I’ve never personally witnessed it, as a former teacher I have been told by the principal that it did happen at our school. I also remember one time that the alternative school I spent some time at had had a baby concieved in the bathroom - and this is an ALTERNATIVE school, where security is MUCH more strict about what goes down. (Almost prison level… which is kind of appropriate, since most of the kids there were under some form of court supervision- even me, for the first month or so….)

The sad thing is, private schools aren’t much better - typically simply better at hiding it. (As in the kids involved are typically summarily kicked out of the school. This in NO WAY prevents it from happening in the first place, only ensures that those specific students don’t do it at that school again.)

By she said it

August 22, 2007 1:19 PM | Link to this

JJ, considering you chose a loose man, I can understand you wanting to make your daughter so strong now.

By lovelyliz

August 22, 2007 1:20 PM | Link to this

It’s especially difficult for young children, some weighing less than 60 lbs, who dehydrate quickly to spend much time on a bus with windows but no air conditioning and many stops.

Given that this is a largely a public school and funding issue, nothing will change until some poor child passes out from the heat or worse.

By D

August 22, 2007 1:21 PM | Link to this

the reasons for not letting your kid ride the school bus, sound like the same reasons you should put them in a protective bubble. there are no more bad people in society than there was 200 years ago, we report the incidents more and have much better means of communications to provide the info. I’m glad my parents were good to me and weren’t over-protective and let me learn some things myself, I needed some of those street smarts when I was in the military and they would drop me off in some foreign city and say, ‘see ya in a couple of days’. and if you don’t let your kid learn how to handle things in life, like weather, when they are becoming an adult and they want to serve their country and they get sent to some hellhole like Iraq, that kid is going to have a harder time adjusting to the heat with a full load of gear.

By JJ

August 22, 2007 1:26 PM | Link to this

She said it I didn’t choose a loose man, that’s not my style.

I fell in love with a man I thought would be with me for the rest of my life. We dated for 3 years before we married. How was I supposed to know he would leave me once a child came into the picture, especially when we talked for years of having 2 or 3 kids, spent ALOT time and money going to to fertility doctors, picking out names, etc????

I’m not the only one who fell for his “charm”. there are four other women out there in the same situation. I’m not an idiot thank you.

By lovelyliz

August 22, 2007 1:30 PM | Link to this

We aren’t living in the good old days anymore. In order to save $$$ there are few buses per capita. Buses have longer routes and must compete with more traffic. Concentration of population will do that. They are carrying more student with more stops meaning they are on the road longer.

I too rode a bus to school when I was younger, but I never spent as much time traveling as some of today’s children do.

I suggest that more people need to drive to work without air conditioning when it’s 100+ F. You can leave your windows down, but must travel for 1 hour. Additionally, you have to stop every 5 minutes and remain motionless for at least another 5 before you can get underway.

By Jen

August 22, 2007 1:30 PM | Link to this

now that hurts! is just trying to be a trouble maker. We moved into Candler Park because Mary Lin is such a great school. From what I understand from some of the families that have lived there since the 70s, however, that wasn’t always the case.

First of all…who has even heard of a crime-ridden elementary school? Toomer isn’t a bad school at all, just it’s in the next district.

Second of all…the percentage of Students Meeting and Exceeding Standards in the current year for Mary Lin is 93.06%.

Third of all….for Toomer the percentage of Students Meeting and Exceeding Standards in the current year is 87.32%.

Only 9 schools (out of 66) in Gwinnett received a higher score.

And Lin students go to Grady, average SAT of 1544.

Out of the 17 High schools in Gwinnett, 6 of them scored higher.

Looks to me like my kid is in a perfectly fine school, which I knew just by my interaction with the teachers.

now that hurts! you sound like you’re anti-public school to begin with….so, what reason did you choose for living in that neighborhood, so close to the school?

By Jen

August 22, 2007 1:36 PM | Link to this

nurse&mother I didn’t mean to sound so snippy (though I guess I have a chip on my shoulder from too many high and mighty physicians thinking they know more than I do about MY field of study when it’s nowhere NEAR medicine…gee…do I sound bitter? BAGGAGE!).

Truth be told…I don’t think sunburn is the main cause of heat related illnesses. I think it’s mostly lack of water…can’t sweat if you don’t have any water in ya…

By Tool

August 22, 2007 1:42 PM | Link to this

kids are also on the buses longer because of the increased traffic caused by people dropping their kids off at school. look at the difference in traffic in the summer and then during the school year, something should be done to get school buses used more and to get more to stop dropping their kids off at school, this hurts our country from everything to increased oil consumption and that causes us to have to deal with the idiots in the middle east more, to quality of life issues with everyone having to spend more time in their cars and less time with their families because of the increased traffic, when we already have a system in place for getting kids to school.

By Jesse's Girl

August 22, 2007 1:47 PM | Link to this

Man…ya’ll can argue about ANYTHING!!! It makes for a great chuckle and giggle though! Its not the heat on the bus…the windows come down which makes for some breeze. The problem occurs when the staff make the kids wait outside too long prior to bus boarding and car pick up. Or when they board the kids and then the buses just idle for 15 minutes. Our kids are private schooled now….so buses are not something we have to worry about. But when they were in public schools, the bus stopped being an option for us after the first week. The girls came home wanting to know what a BJ was, saying “what the hell”( they only said that once), and asking what F—- meant. I realize of course that these issues will be faced eventually….but kindergarten seemed bit too early. Bye bye bus.

I do not understand why…and I think this was broached earlier in a post….buses are not eqipped with seat belts. What the heck is that about? Are the drivers so dern good that belts are an insult somehow?

By eye in the sky

August 22, 2007 1:49 PM | Link to this

not to mention that the little angels have a camera on the bus, too!

By JJ

August 22, 2007 1:57 PM | Link to this

Jessie’s girl Haven’t heard from you in a while……welcome back….

They don’t have seat belts on the buses, because if there was an accident, it would take too long to get every child out of the bus, especially if the bus had turned over, or fallen into water. At least that’s the way it was explained to me.

The one thing I had a problem with was what if something happens to the bus, there is no contact between the bus driver, the school and parents. Once, when my daughter was in elementary, they had not gotten home by 5:00, yes 5:00. We found out that the bus had a minor fender bender and the person who was hit would not allow the bus to leave until the police were summoned. There was absolutely no communication to the parents as to where their kids were. Talk about scary. I drove over to the school and it was closed. I call the bus driver supervisor the next day and she was of no help either.

By lovelyliz

August 22, 2007 2:02 PM | Link to this

Of course when I rode school buses which wasn’t too many centuries ago, the school year didn’t start until Labor Day or close to it. Now kids are on school buses during the hot times of the years.

By Mom of 3

August 22, 2007 2:03 PM | Link to this

My kids live 1 mile from school and it takes them an hour to get home on the bus. This year they are second off the bus since more bus lines were added.

The kids are allowed to bring water bottles on the bus in the hot weather. Perhaps mom or grandpa should call the school and ask if this is allowed…As long as your daughter is not complaining I wouldn’t worry about it!

By Mom of 3

August 22, 2007 2:03 PM | Link to this

My kids live 1 mile from school and it takes them an hour to get home on the bus. This year they are second off the bus since more bus lines were added.

The kids are allowed to bring water bottles on the bus in the hot weather. Perhaps mom or grandpa should call the school and ask if this is allowed…As long as your daughter is not complaining I wouldn’t worry about it!

By Ronnie

August 22, 2007 2:04 PM | Link to this

nothing says selfishness and arrogance better than a line of SUV’s clogging up traffic everyday.

By Katie - parent of sissies

August 22, 2007 2:07 PM | Link to this

I will gladly let my kids be sissies. I will not put them on an automobile that does not have seatbelts. I will not put them in a vehicle that does not have air conditioning when it is over 85 outside. Seatbelts save lives. It is stupid that we do not have them in buses that transport our children. Air conditioning should be in the buses as well. It is 2007, not 1977. I pay property taxes for my school district. This is something that I expect should be in the busses. This is wrong that they are not.

I also do not think that one driver can control 30 children by themselves on a bus. I was a kid once and saw a lot of bad things happen on a school bus. The driver cannot do everything and is there to be a driver, not a disciplinarian. I do not want to think of what could happen if they got distracted by some kid who decided to be incredibly destructive. And add that to having no seatbelts, that is something I do not feel it is worth risking.

My kids may be sissies, but at least they will not have heat stroke or die in a car accident caused by rowdy students where a seatbelt could have saved their lives.

By Drew The Bus Driver

August 22, 2007 2:15 PM | Link to this

Let me help all of you with a little advise on the issue.

As a bus driver, if you are so worried about the time spent on the bus to and from school, Then get up off your BUTTS and driver them there so you won’t have to worry about them in the heat.

I don’t need the job of setting in the bus and putting up with your prissey kids complaining about the heat, Im on the same bus and we call attend to it to are bosses everyday and they tell us to deal with it as the school district will not.

So drink a cool class of water, Lemon Aide or Tea, and qiut your b***.

Hot as H*ll in the Atl.

By snazzy

August 22, 2007 2:26 PM | Link to this

i don’t care if you don’t like my SUV, I don’t care if you don’t like the fact that i don’t want my kids on the stupid hot as heyal school bus, this is america I’ll say what I want, drive and gas up what i want, and take my kids to school or put them on the bus if i want. What is wrong with you judgemental, hypocritical, egotistical dumps on a hump?? Bunch of aholes…

By Tamika

August 22, 2007 2:32 PM | Link to this

I used to walk 12 miles a day to school— Give me a break!!! Those dumb kids can ride a bus. I smoke cigareets while I drive my bus to school and those kids are fine!!!

Shout out to my bobs

By Tamika