As of: February 29, 2024, 8:00 a.m
By: Michelle Anskeit
Comments
Press
Split
The Ministry of Transport in North Rhine-Westphalia is taking action against “parent taxis”.
The BuzzFeed Community shows how parenting behavior differs from past to present.
Have you or perhaps one of your children ever had a negative experience with the so-called “parent taxis”?
They seem to be causing more and more problems, which is why the Ministry of Transport in North Rhine-Westphalia is now taking action against them.
A decree now allows municipalities to regulate themselves whether certain streets in front of schools are closed with signs or bollards.
This is intended to help limit car traffic through parent taxis.
Parents' taxi © picture alliance/dpa |
Thomas Warnack
In the past, school principals have banned parent taxis for first graders because the children were repeatedly brought to the school entrance.
There are usually two opposing sides in these discussions: the parents who insist on their right to bring their kids safely by car and those who let their children go independently.
We at BuzzFeed Germany also wanted to get different opinions on the topic on Facebook and therefore asked:
The answers show how different the experiences were and how the parents' attitudes have changed compared to today:
1. “Never.
My parents didn’t even have a driver’s license.”
“I walked almost two kilometers to the elementary school in all weathers.
Then later by bike or bus.”
-Geri H.
2. “Yes and no.
In elementary school, if I had school at 7:40 in the morning, I was dropped off because it was too dark to go alone.”
“And when we had classes until 12:50 p.m., I was picked up because I would have gotten home very late on the bus.
From secondary school onwards I was able to ride my bike.
I was picked up there when there was something to do on my bike or in the winter when buses were canceled.”
-Rebecca K.
My news
Eruption overdue: Supervolcano in Italy swells, steams heavily and spits out more gas
Avalanche alarm: Italy evacuates valley – read curfew for residents
Danger of rock falls at a tourist hotspot in the Alps: Unusual measure for mountain lake hut readers
Illegal pastry shop busted: Austrian woman sells 800 cakes – and makes a fortune
Lotto winner and husband died: mystery about the whereabouts of the 192 million fortune
Six correct numbers and still no lottery jackpot: pair is left empty-handed due to an error
Some parents prefer to take their children to school by car.
(Symbolic image) © Herrmann Agency Photography/imago
3. “Only very rarely.
There were only a few cars on the road back then.”
“From the 1st to the 4th grade I was able to ride to school on a purely pedestrian and cycle path.
There was no fear of being run down by a car.
From the 5th grade onwards I was a bus child.
From then on I was often picked up because the bus was always so late that the next bus was already gone."
-Sandra H.
4. “Didn’t pick up, but drove there every day.”
“The school was on my father's route to work anyway and the journey time by car was 15 minutes.
It would have taken me 50 minutes by bus and I would have been there 20 minutes early.
I am very grateful that my dad gave me an hour more sleep."
-Maria S.
5. “I always ran 2.5 kilometers there and 2.5 kilometers back, no matter the wind or weather.”
“Since first grade.
Mom came with me two or three times and then I had to be alone.
It didn't hurt, but my kids will be fully accompanied for at least a year."
-Xuall X.
It was often normal for children of previous generations to go to school alone and then go home independently.
(Symbolic image) © Zoonar.com/Max/Imago
Parents also report on how they handle this task in our collection of 13 tweets about children and school routes.
6. “Even when I was in a walking cast because of a broken ankle, I was allowed to ride my bike.”
“I can’t remember ever being dropped off or picked up from school by car.”
-Gisela T.
7. “No.
We walked to the elementary school.
Then by bike or bus.”
“It was rather the exception that students were driven to the schoolyard.”
-Katja P.
8. “No of course not, I had to run to the bus after the last lesson and beware the teacher missed two minutes.”
-Angie K.
Bus children often have to be prepared for long waiting times if they miss a bus.
© imago
9. “My elementary school was directly opposite, and the nearest school was only a ten-minute walk away.”
“I would have been ashamed if my parents had taken me to school.”
-Ilka F.
10. "When my father was a caretaker's assistant at my elementary school for a year, it sometimes happened that he at least took me home with him on the way back."
“The rest of the time I had to first take the bus, then later walk or, alternatively, cycle, because 'exercise doesn't hurt you.'”
-Annika S.
11. “Yes.
My journey to school took just 1.5 hours and I always had to pray that all the buses would come on time.”
“When the first one was late, it often took 2.5-3 hours, so my mom preferred to drive me whenever possible.”
-Leelou L.
Waiting forever for the bus can be extremely tiring.
(Symbolic image) © Marijan Murat/dpa
12. “Maybe once a month on Friday when my dad got off work early.
Otherwise by bus.”
-Martina W.
13. “We went to school in groups of four to six children.”
“We had a walk to school that lasted a good hour, and I walked alone for 15 minutes.”
-Ta N.
14. “No.
I was allowed to walk with my classmates.
I thought it was great.”
-Brigitte S.
Did you used to walk to school with your classmates?
© Michael Gstettenbauer/Imago
15. "In first grade, my mom actually drove me before she had to go to work."
“But back then she was always upset about the 'wild parkers' and stuff like that in front of school.
She parked properly and let me get out or walked me the rest of the way if the parking lot was a little further away."
-Anya G.
Parents who bring their children to the school entrance are often accused of being so-called "helicopter parents “.
You can read about how the behavior is similar and what makes it so in our post, in which teachers share 10 of the worst experiences they had with helicopter parents.
Subscribe to our channels: The best of BuzzFeed Germany is now also available on WhatsApp and Telegram.