Things that drive me mad about being a school mum

being a school mum
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It’s about this time…as we approach half term and every mum up and down the land is pretty much gagging for a break from the daily relentlessness of school life that I start feeling particularly miffed about being a school mum.

Don’t get me wrong – my daughter’s school really is fantastic. The teachers are great. The kids for the most part are happy and thriving, and I know we are truly blessed to have access to such a great state school.

Yet whatever school your child goes to – and this is particularly true of the primary years – there will be things about being a school mum which will drive mums of junior school age absolutely mad. It’s bad enough having one – trust me. But once you start adding siblings – then it’s enough to make you completely deranged.

You know it, and I know it. There are some things that drive us absolutely mad about being a school mum. Here are just a few of them:

The school run

Let’s get the most obvious one out of the way here. The school run feels like one big Challenge Anneka-type situation as you try to get unwilling kids ready and out of the door on time, whilst trying to bundle your child/children around loads of other parents doing exactly the same thing, whilst trying not to trip over dogs, scooters and small people or getting run over as you cross the road.

All of that while having to be jolly, smile, and make polite chit-chat with people when all you want to do is hide under the duvet in your pyjamas simply because the school run is such a daily ordeal. The bottom line is: it’s enough to make any school mum sweat bullets!

Admin email avalanches

I wonder if anyone ever spares a thought for the state of a parent’s inbox? Especially when they have siblings in the mix too. The sheer relentlessness of emails from the school on some weeks about the bajillion and one things of extreme importance is enough to make you want to hire a PA!

All the things you need to remember, the staff updates, the Covid policy updates, the payments, the fundraising updates. Take those all and shuffle them in with your barrage of work emails for extra bamboozlement and the opportunity to miss out on that vital information about the next bake sale becomes a sure-fire certainty.

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Which brings me on nicely to my next point….

All those bake sales

Life before Covid, and it felt like a bake sale was happening pretty much every day. OK, a bit of an extreme exaggeration but you get my point. But now we’re starting to throw caution to the wind once again, I have a sense of foreboding that the deluge of bake sales are ramping up behind the scenes for which you always never have time to bake for/forget to buy for and/or forget to bring money for.

The PE Day shuffle

Just when you start to get used to your children’s PE days, it’s time to keep you on your toes again with a schedule shuffle. Is it PE day or Monday, Wednesday or Friday? Quickly ask the class whatsapp group that morning and stalk your phone for a reply.

Oh and sorry that your siblings’ PE days no longer coincide. You didn’t think you’d be able to have it that sweet forever did you?! Queue evil mwah ha ha laugh!

Ridiculous scheduling

All the things scheduled at ridiculous times – school concerts and showcases during work hours, parent welcome meetings after school pick up. At least for now while we’re mainly working from home we can accommodate it, but what about if we all go back to the office?? That is, if we can even get on a train to get there due to the diabolically skeletal train schedules running these days.

Dress up days

Egyptian day, Roman day, Victorian day, oh no not World Book Day again! Then there’s we have nothing spotty to wear Children In Need Day. Cue either frantically rifling through the dress-up box to find anything that resembles a Gladiator-esque outfit or something fit for a Victorian.

Failing that, pleading on your road WhatsApp chat group to beg and borrow something that will loosely resemble this year’s theme. Is it too late to buy that costume on eBay do you think? Oh yay…another costume that will only ever be worn once in a lifetime. God help landfill.

Money money money

Have you remembered to pay for those seemingly endless extra things – school lunches, voluntary donations, book sales, fruit stalls, fundraising events? No thought on. Not to worry because there will be plenty more opportunities to forget to pay!

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Mountains of admin

Disclaimer forms, opt-in forms, school trip forms, photography ordering forms, school club forms. You name it…there’s a form for it! And yes you will spend your school mum years constantly having your inboxes clogged up with….you guessed it….forms!

Homework

All I have to say on this one is “Have you done your homework yet?” on repeat ad infinitum. The true meaning of a broken record. Every. Single. Damn, Day.

Which of the above things irks you the most about being a school mum? Why not let it out in a comment below!

Business photo created by dashu83, Background photo created by freepik

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