Carpool Woes

Wednesday is my carpool day. I have always hated carpool. The act of driving around the neighborhood to pick up five grumpy pre-schoolers before I've even had my morning coffee is a miserable one. Add to the mix the apparent requirement to make small talk with other grumpy mothers/fathers/caregivers while they strap their equally grumpy, squirming spawn into my car. Then, of course, there's the refereeing between squabbling children during the ride to school. Not a treat.

So imagine my chagrin when New York State passed a child seat law. This law states that all children, 6 and under, must be strapped into a child safety seat. Noncompliance can get the driver 3 points on his/her license. Now, I am not one who has any objections to laws that protect us and our children, but let me tell you, carpool was a dream before this. Try to imagine the extra time it takes every parent to drag the child AND the carseat out to the car. Try to imagine the extra small talk required with grumpy parents while they strap said children into said carseats. Try to imagine the extra time required for me to strap children OUT of carseat at our destination. Try to imagine the extra time required to hand each child carseat to bring in to school, (someone else was driving them home) only to realize that they are incapable of carrying carseat themselves. Try to picture my irritation at realizing that every child's carseat must be brought into the building FOR them. By me. Sucks to be me on Wednesdays.