10 Reasons to Start a School Carpool for Moms

Driving back and forth across town several times a day gets tiring. Having to wait in line to pick up the kids after school is a waste of gas. And doing it every single day can start to wear on even the most patient of moms. There are probably dozens of other reasons why starting a carpool makes sense, but here are 10 of the most important things to think about.

1. It saves time: If you are like most moms, there are never enough hours in the day to accomplish everything on your to-do list. You have people to see, things to do, places to go, and not nearly enough time to do all of them. Joining a carpool will free up at least half of the time you would have normally spent transporting your children back and forth from school. Moms typically have two choices when it comes to picking up the kids from school every day: either go half an hour early and sit in line with the car turned off waiting for school to let out, or wait in a line that wrapped around the block an hour ago and inch forward bit by bit with the car on, burning gas. You can save two hours or more per week by carpooling instead.
2. It saves gas: Utilizing a carpool will save you at least half of the money you normally spend on gas because you are trading off driving with other parents. This is a win-win situation for all parents involved.
3. You can reduce your carbon footprint: Fewer cars on the road mean fewer emissions in the air and less pollution in our environment. Just think how much cleaner the air would be if there were even 10% fewer cars on the road on any given day. If we don’t start taking care of our planet we won’t have one to take care of.
4. It will help lower your stress levels. Getting up and taking the kids to school every morning means that you have to rush around getting not only yourself ready, but also your kids. Trading off carpool days with other parents gives you a couple days per week when you don’t have to rush around quite as much to get yourself and your kids ready, and allows you to focus solely on your kids. Even just a few days of taking so much pressure off yourself can do wonders for your overall stress levels.
5. It teaches organization: When you are taking your kids to school they know that they can piddle around and waste time because you will take them whenever they are ready to go. If you are in a carpool then not only do your kids have to be ready when their ride gets there, but even on the weeks you drive you will have to leave earlier to pick up the other kids. The kids will need to be more organized with where they leave their shoes and backpacks so that they can find them quickly in the morning.
6. To enforce organization. If your child has to be ready at a certain time, you will have to make sure that you have properly prepared what they need for the day. Bagging up snacks, fruit and other things the night before will help speed up the process of lunch making in the morning. Making sure that homework is in the backpack the night before will help everyone have less stress in the morning.
7. It’s fun! It’s always more fun when you’re a kid to be in the car with your friends in the morning than to be by yourself. You can catch up on whatever they did the night before and plan your adventures for the day.
8. It will help your kids make friends: If you form a carpool at the beginning of the school year, you may help your kids make friends with the other kids in the carpool. Riding with other kids every day can provide an opportunity for friendships to be made more quickly than if they saw each other at school alone.
9. It gives you a back-up plan if there’s an emergency: Avoid having to run down the list of who could possibly pick up your child if you’re stuck in a jam. If you are part of a carpool, you will have someone who can pick up the kids and possibly keep them until you are able to get home.
10. It helps the school: The school drop off and pick up process can be lengthy. If there are fewer cars going through the line then it will allow more students to be dropped off and picked up faster.

Taken From Nanny Pro