10 things you’ll only know if you’re back on the school run
The early morning chaos returns.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.As many mums and dads breathe a huge sigh of relief at not having to homeschool any more, alarms have been set and school run is back – bringing with it what feels like long-forgotten memories of that early morning mayhem.
Here are just a few of the things that may resonate…
1. What time do we go?You can’t remember what time school actually starts or ends, and neither can your child. Do you set off at quarter past, or was it quarter to?
2. They’re not up
After so long off school, it’s even harder to get kids up than it used to be. The older the child, the less likely they are to rise and shine without you having to throw the quilt off them, open the curtains and make threats.
3. Where’s their stuff?You or they can’t find their school shoes/bag/coat/PE kit. You blame them, they blame you, and you end up shouting when they’ve still not been located and you should’ve set off five minutes ago.
4. Their uniform doesn’t fit
You never thought to get them to try their uniform on last week and now it barely fits. They say they’re not going to school in half-mast trousers and you promise no-one will notice (when secretly you think they look ridiculous). But there’s no time to buy any new clothes this morning!
5. They’re not hungry…
You want them to have a full stomach before school, but they won’t eat their breakfast because it’s not Coco Pops.
6. They’ve gone into sloth modeYou leave them to get dressed while you make their packed lunch, only to find that when you’ve finished, they haven’t even taken their PJs off, because they turned the TV on, were on their phone or have been staring into space.
7. They haven’t brushed their teeth
You say, “Have you brushed your teeth?”They say, “No”.You march them to the bathroom…
8. The packed lunch burdenYou hate making packed lunches, and really wish you’d done them last night, but what was on TV was too good and you were too tired once it had finished. So, you throw together an offering which includes white sliced bread, ham and crisps just like you always used to – you know it’ll be the unhealthiest in school, but your kids just won’t eat ‘good stuff’.
9. You’re not the only one who’s stressed…You feel a sense of relief when you get to school and see all the other parents at the gate, looking just as frazzled as you feel.
10. Peace
And once your kids vanish through the school gate and you can rejoice in the fact that there’s no homeschooling to do or any kids to supervise or nag, you feel even more relief. Listen to the peace. It’s total bliss…