School pick up is a part of schooling activities. Underaged children who are unable to go back home after school activities are usually picked up by parents, guardians, caregivers, etc.
A parent is said to be late for a child’s pick up 15 minutes after dismissal. Late pick-up impacts children’s overall well-being.
Children thrive on routine and do not like to stand out from their friends. They usually feel embarrassed and worried when they have to wait 5 minutes, 10 minutes or 15 minutes after dismissal.
You make them feel insecure and unsafe when they have to wait long after school.
Hence, parents are advised to pick up their children on time.
Reasons to Pick up your Child from School in Time.
A parent who arrives in time at the end of a long day at school builds trust with the little ones. Their children are eager for their mommy or daddy to come and take them home.
Also,it establishes good rapport with teachers, who have worked tirelessly to provide the best care for their child.
It is very important that parents and caregivers pick up their children on time at the end of the school day.
Children not picked up promptly get upset and distressed especially if they do not know where their parents are.
Also, staff members have to attend meetings and complete work for the next day. This implies that members of staff are likely to give little attention to children after school hours.
The staff sometimes have to leave school on time for their own childcare arrangements and personal family activities.
See also: Ways to Support Children through Learning Anxiety
How Late school Pick up Impacts on children
Have you ever been late for pick-up? Children expect their parents to pick them up on time. No child wants to be the one looking out in the audience to see if mom or dad showed up.
Being late to pick up a child from school impacts children’s wellbeing and learning.
As an educator, I see the cool and happy expression on the faces of my students whose parents weren’t late for pick up. These students get to say Goodbye to other friends of theirs.
For a child whose parents are always late for pick up, the first two sentence conversation between parent and child would include;
“Why did you pick me up late?”
School pick up requires a plan. When you enroll your child in school, make plans for pick up.
Late school pick-up can have several negative impacts on children.
Let’s review how parents late pick up impacts their children.
- Late Pick up creates anxiety and stress on children. They become anxious and stressed waiting for their parents. Anxiety is at its peak if they are left without adult supervision.
- Late pick-up can disrupt a child’s daily routine and cause confusion. A child is expected to return from school, get a nap, engage in exercise and games. Other after school activities such as house chores, music club, dance club, football and basketball training.
- Late pick up affects learning in children. Other forms of education still exist outside the formal school settings. If a child is frequently picked up late, they may miss important activities or homework and other after school learning which affects their education.
- Strained relationship with teacher: Late pick-up can strain the relationship between the teacher and parent, as the teacher may feel frustrated with the disruption to their daily routine. Educators and teachers also have family, late pick up can steal their time with family. These can affect the wellbeing of the teachers and in turn affect children’s learning process.Hence, leading teachers to frustration in career.
- Picking children up from school impacts on children psychologically. Consistently being picked up late can have a psychological impact on a child and harm their sense of security and well-being.
Ways Schools can Discourage Late Pickup
- Charging late Pick up fees is a way schools can discourage late child pickup.
Lateness fee also ensures that staff are adequately compensated for the overtime hours they must work to oversee a child whose parent is late.
A high fee structure has the benefit of making it clear to parents that you value your time and expect them to value it as well. Parents may learn fast that you do mean business and make more of an effort to appear for a timely pick-up if school management are consistent and quick to enforce late pick-up policy.
- Arrange meetings either virtually or in person with chronic late pick up parents. Let parents know that you are there to discourage whatever will distort their development.
- Send a little reminder to parents on the impact late pick up has on their children. Schools can have a reminder notice in the morning for parents to see while they drop off their children
However, late pick up is not easy to deal with, without proper planning.
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