Do your kids stand on the seats of the school bus?

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> School age children

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amother

Lilac

Thu, Mar 02 2017, 5:45 pm

Am I the only one that really cares that my kids should not stand on the school bus seats? The peer pressure is tremendous. I have no idea how to motivate/ensure my kids will stay seated.
I'm not looking to alienate my kids, but really really want them to be safe.

octopus

Thu, Mar 02 2017, 5:45 pm

Mine sit. There is a bus monitor on the bus.

MrsDash

Thu, Mar 02 2017, 5:50 pm

Our bus driver would kick the kid off the bus (assuming this was at pick up) and never allow them back unless they agree to the rules of the bus. No nonsense where I live. Kids come from all backgrounds and walks of life, they somehow manage to uphold the rules. There are no excuses for this behavior and allowing this bad behavior as well.

cnc

Thu, Mar 02 2017, 5:53 pm

Yes and it drives me insane.
I don't understand how the driver is able to focus on driving with kids standing on the seats and in the aisle (and once in a while on the steps!)
I tell my kids not to stand and they claim they sit, but when the bus comes I definitely see the ,majority standing.

Laughing Bag!

Thu, Mar 02 2017, 5:56 pm

I believe my kids sometimes do as much as I teach them otherwise. My husband is a bus driver and I used to do bus monitoring and so did my Mom. I teach it and explain it but I cant say they don't. It bothers me to no end I hate to think of it but its really out of my control.

amother

Lilac

Thu, Mar 02 2017, 6:10 pm

Being that there is no monitor - and literally every other kid is standing, how to motivate my kids to be the only one sitting?

amother

Tangerine

Thu, Mar 02 2017, 6:40 pm

The one who has a bus monitor doesn't but the others who don't have do all sorts of crazy things on the bus. I complained to the school numerous times but nothing was ever done

Rutabaga

Thu, Mar 02 2017, 7:21 pm

Is this a thing?

Call the bus company to complain about safety issues. They'll probably tell you there's nothing they can do. Then call the school and insist they do something. They should talk to the boys very seriously about safety and halacha.

If you think it will help, then you can show your own children videos of what can c"v happen if they're not sitting down.

amother

Babyblue

Thu, Mar 02 2017, 7:49 pm

Yes sometimes, and I'm the bus teacher so I need to make sure that they all sit... not easy. In the morning there is no bus monitor on the bus with the kids and they stand and there aren't enough seats.

amother

Orange

Fri, Mar 03 2017, 9:57 am

amother wrote:

The one who has a bus monitor doesn't but the others who don't have do all sorts of crazy things on the bus. I complained to the school numerous times but nothing was ever done

I would get in touch with the bus company and find out what they are responsible for in terms of student safety.
Are they required to be sure that all students are seated?

Our bus driver will not drive unless all students are seated. Seatbelts should be buckled but they do not check. My kids as well as their peers know to sit down in their seats and not distract the driver.

For the record when I went to public school as a child (middle school) the bus driver could care less if anyone was seated or not. In fact it was not "cool" to sit on the bus. We all stood up in our seats. While the annoying bullies danced up and down the aisles.

Get in touch with the company and talk to your children about sitting on the bus.If they stand make sure to stand only in their seats (not on their seats!). If the school has done nothing. I would call parents whose children ride the same bus and explain to them what is happening and that this needs to change. I would also give the school more of a problem and not let this go. But start with your kids first and insist that they sit down or else you will personally make an announcement each time they enter the bus. "X and Y you need to sit down now and not stand in your seats, ignore the children around you they dont know what their doing. Safety first! In fact be sure to say this while wearing hair curlers in your hair/ sheiltel and your house slippers.

Or better yet "Children, be sure to sit on your tushies....."

JoyInTheMorning

Fri, Mar 03 2017, 10:14 am

I have never heard of such a thing. Standing on the bus? That can't possibly be compliant with regulations, can it? More importantly, it is dangerous. We have a halachic obligation to conduct ourselves safely. Kids have to be taught that standing on the bus is a greater aveirah than eating bread without washing or turning on a light on Shabbos.

HonesttoGod

Fri, Mar 03 2017, 10:15 am

Mine do sometimes.
They know they are not supposed to, we have told them several times and one time he got in trouble for it when he was on a different (longer) bus route he was really upset but he knows it is dangerous.
Like you said though, the peer pressure is terrible.

JoyInTheMorning

Fri, Mar 03 2017, 10:19 am

HonesttoGod wrote:

The point is to direct the peer pressure in the opposite way. "What, you're standing on the bus! What kind of a frum Jew does that? You're doing 3 aveiros at least, endangering yourself, endangering others, and creating a chillul Hashem!"

I have really never heard of such a thing as kids standing on the bus. They should be seated with their safety belts on.

Last edited by JoyInTheMorning on Fri, Mar 03 2017, 10:20 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Powderblue

Fri, Mar 03 2017, 10:19 am

I was definitely a kid who stood all the way home. After a long day at school I needed tho move around and relax. I couldn't stay sitting the whole way home.

simcha2

Fri, Mar 03 2017, 10:34 am

if my kid did this the school would legitimately kick him off the bus.

Of the school sends a letter
saying any kid standing will be banned from the bus for two weeks and the parents will have to get the kid to/from school and the school followed through, this would be done with very quickly.

OP, why not ask the school to do this on halachic and liability grounds. Yes, you might get caught in the net and have to drive your kids for a couple weeks, but you could legitimately be saving their, or someone else's, life. And prevent the chillul Hashem of having kids acting like vilde chayas...

HonesttoGod

Mon, Mar 06 2017, 11:44 am

JoyInTheMorning wrote:

If only the bus HAD seatbelts.
I actually think that half of the schools put way too many kids on the buses to fit into the seats.
It makes me sick every time which is why my son mostly sits and he also tells me when he stands because he knows it is wrong. I just wish his friends parents told them the same.

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