Dropping off & Picking up

In San Diego, I sent my son to afterschool program because of my daily studying at school. After dismissed at 2:10pm, my son was taken by the staff from SAY, one fo the afterschool programs in San Diego, to the afterclass. And, then, I went there around 5pm to pick him up. Therefore, I could not see thronged parents, waiting around school in groups of twos or threes to take their children.

However, here, I am a pure housewife so I come and go to School to drop/pick my son everyday. In fact, my husband is responsible for driving my son to school in the morning while I am preparing the meals. My duty is picking him up after school.

Many American parents come to school every weekday to get their children attend school or home. The main reason might be really, really long distance from school to home. In most cases, it takes them 10-15 minutes in a car. Too far for a child alone to walk over to school. Another ground could be security; fearing to be abducted. For these reasons, parents come to school; therefore, there is always a jam at the around roads of school. Quite a lot of parked vehicles and standing by parents nearby the doors. It is disturbing.

On the contrary, Korean parents do not usually go to school by the time their children schools are over. A few parents could pick up thier kids from the main gate, yet they are not many. Some part of students walk home all by themselves, the others go to the private school in order to get more learning. At the time of afterschool, a great many walking kids are very easily spotted everywhere around school. In other words, we do not have "picking up" concept, which the American parents seem to follow. I heard that it has been banned for chidren under a certain ages from being left alone in the United States. Is it ture?

Unlike the Unites States, all the way home from school, I'll bet there are many pedestrians and stores on the streets in our country. Also, school is just little way from houses. It might be a 5-10 minute walk between school and home. A different circumstances, a different consequence.

Needless to say, we do worry kidnapping as well, so we all the time tell them about the abduction to make sure that our kids watch out for cars and stangers while coming back home.