Parents on the internet think Washington’s video should be required viewing for all parents
As parents gear up for back-to-school, there’s one thing that causes more stress than anything else—the school drop-off line. It’s that small but critical time of the day where parents try to hang onto their sanity as we watch other parents try, and fail, to efficiently get their kids out of the car and into the school.
Lateasha Witherspoon, a Texas mother of two, decided to be a helper and show us all how drop-off should go. The video shows a real-time school drop-off in action with sons, Jason, eight, and Jeremiah, six. Washington came, she saw (and judged), and showed the rest of us how it’s done.
@teashawitherspoon This is how you do it!!! #schooldropoffsbelike #schooldropoffline #tuckandroll
♬ original sound – Witherspoon’s Favs
“I’m tired. It’s the third week of school and people still don’t understand how the pickup/drop-off line goes. So I’m going to help y’all out,” she said during her video. “First thing first: put your kids on the passenger side of the car. If you’ve got multiple, teach them how to one-two step on out. Slide. Shuffle. Whatever you got to do. Get them out the car!” she continued as her sons looked on, clearly understanding their mom was not here to play.
“Two: Teach them how to hold the latch,” she said. “When we get about three-four cars out from our turn, they know what to do. Third: Stay with me. They should have their backpacks on. In the car. It’s okay. It’s working on their posture. let them sit up. They need to be read to go!” she said. It goes without saying this is done only after the car enters the school grounds and they are safely out of their carseats/seatbelts. Kids should never wear their backpacks with their seatbelts.
“Four! Y’all got to stop getting out of the car and opening the doors for them. Let them open their own damn door! It’s taking too much time!” Washington continued, a very important part of this process. Do not, under any circumstances, put your car in park and help them out of the car.
“And five. Most importantly, we are yielding. It’s not a stop. It’s a yield. We’re already going 5 miles per hour. We’re going to reduce that thing down to about 3, but we’re not coming down to zero,” she said. “We’re going to teach them how to tuck and roll.” Lol. We’re going to assume this is a joke. Please bring your car to a complete stop before letting your kids out, parents.
The biggest takeaway is efficiency. If every parent was like Washington and her sons, school drop-off would be a semi-pleasant part of the day instead of one that reduces us to small, bitter versions of ourselves, screaming,
“Why is your engine off!”
