{"id":4356,"date":"2019-01-02T16:38:03","date_gmt":"2019-01-02T21:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mlparentcoach.com\/?p=4356"},"modified":"2019-01-02T16:38:03","modified_gmt":"2019-01-02T21:38:03","slug":"should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Should you move closer to your kids\u2019 school? Maybe, but consider the alternatives first."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Q: <\/b>We are seeking your opinion on how school proximity affects kids. We live a half-hour-plus, depending on traffic, from our kids’ school. We suspect this is detrimental to their social lives, for lack of spontaneous get-togethers and not being able to make friends with schoolmates in the same neighborhood. We’re more aware of it because there are few kids in our neighborhood. A lot of our kids’ “socializing” is electronic, through video games and the like. They do get invites to parties, but that is infrequent. Should we move closer? As it is, they will attend the school for another six years.<\/em><\/p>\n

A: <\/b>Does your proximity to your children\u2019s school affect your children\u2019s lives as well as yours? You bet! Your children\u2019s social lives are greatly affected by the distance you must travel, but unlike families from 20 to 30 years ago, you have realized that the replacement for in-person friendships is online interaction. And that\u2019s not so great, is it?<\/p>\n

For as long as children have been going to school, they have been traveling significant distances to get there, by walking miles or sitting on long bus rides. As our country and educational system have grown, we have opened and closed schools to accommodate ever-changing populations. And if you choose a private or magnet school, you may face the challenge of a long distance as well as few school friends in proximity.<\/p>\n

Back in the day, even children who didn\u2019t attend the local school went outside and played with the neighborhood kids. And because children didn\u2019t sit on gaming devices, they roamed neighborhoods and found other children to play with, no matter where those children went to school. You had school friends and neighborhood friends, and it worked out nicely for everyone.<\/p>\n

Now, throw in a long commute, busy schedules and technology, and your children are doing a lot of sitting around.<\/p>\n

So, should you move? It is absolutely an option, but let\u2019s look at some others:<\/p>\n

Have you considered significantly limiting the technology to allow for other activities? Aside from weekends, it isn\u2019t like you are trying to fill hundreds of hours between the end of school and bedtime. Between Apple\u2019s newest Screen Time function (which allows for restrictions on apps and shows time on the device in general) and Disney\u2019s Circle (which also helps manage phone habits), there are a number of simple and effective ways to control the amount of time spent on apps and games. It isn\u2019t easy, but it is possible for your children to spend a little bit of time on technology and then just .\u2009.\u2009. play. The boredom may be excruciating at first, but your children will find a way to be creative.<\/p>\n

Have you considered an activity closer to home? A recreational team? Taekwondo? Art? Swimming? There must be something to do around your house, or something between your house and the school. This would accomplish two things: First, the children would not be on tech 24\/7, and second, they would meet other children. Finding activities near your home could get pricey and tiring, but it\u2019s much cheaper than moving.<\/p>\n

[sc name=”Button Conflict to Cooperation Right”]<\/p>\n

Or, could you host more play dates at your house on weekends? Offer to pick some children up so their parents don\u2019t have to drive both ways? I am not suggesting that you need to do this every weekend, but you could create an easy schedule to host play dates at least once a month.<\/p>\n

I am also wondering: Are you sure you\u2019re dedicated to this school for the next six years? If you had asked me where my kids would be in school six years ago, I never would have guessed they would be where they are now. Life, learning issues, social issues, giftedness, complete school administration meltdowns \u2014 these are just a few challenges you could face that would change the trajectory of your children\u2019s academic futures. Moving because you are absolutely sure you will be at that school for the next six years is a bit of gamble.<\/p>\n

I am trying to offer alternatives to moving, because that is a big decision. If you create your list of pros and cons and there are numerous reasons to relocate closer to the school that don\u2019t have to do with the school, then go for it! You may find a different type of community, more children, more resources and a house that suits your needs, and that could be a great decision for your family. But unless there is a compelling reason (learning needs, specialized schooling, etc.), relocating just to satisfy your children\u2019s social needs is a dicey move. Zoom out and look at all of the options in front of you, and place your own needs (work commutes, etc.) high on the list.<\/p>\n

Find this on <\/span>The Washington Post<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking for more parenting support? Click <\/span>Here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q: We are seeking your opinion on how school proximity affects kids. We live a half-hour-plus, depending on traffic, from our kids’ school. We suspect this is detrimental to their social lives, for lack of spontaneous get-togethers and not being able to make friends with schoolmates in the same neighborhood. We’re more aware of it because there are few kids […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,348,301],"tags":[1130,1131,584,8],"class_list":["post-4356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting","category-school","category-washington-post","tag-kids-and-friendship","tag-kids-and-screen-time","tag-meghan-leahy","tag-parenting"],"yoast_head":"\nShould you move closer to your kids\u2019 school? Maybe, but consider the alternatives first.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How does school proximity affect kids? We live a half-hour-plus from our kids' school. We suspect this is detrimental to their social lives.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Should you move closer to your kids\u2019 school? Maybe, but consider the alternatives first.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How does school proximity affect kids? We live a half-hour-plus from our kids' school. We suspect this is detrimental to their social lives.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Meghan Leahy Parent Coach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-02T21:38:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_79134970.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"333\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Meghan Leahy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Meghan Leahy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/\",\"name\":\"Should you move closer to your kids\u2019 school? Maybe, but consider the alternatives first.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-02T21:38:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-01-02T21:38:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/#\/schema\/person\/74ff7f6e6196b92bb9881fbaff25225d\"},\"description\":\"How does school proximity affect kids? We live a half-hour-plus from our kids' school. We suspect this is detrimental to their social lives.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Should you move closer to your kids\u2019 school? Maybe, but consider the alternatives first.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/\",\"name\":\"Meghan Leahy Parent Coach\",\"description\":\"Helping parents. Plain and simple.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/#\/schema\/person\/74ff7f6e6196b92bb9881fbaff25225d\",\"name\":\"Meghan Leahy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4109b08a6ecac6d5c68c5d4a8c8372dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4109b08a6ecac6d5c68c5d4a8c8372dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Meghan Leahy\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Should you move closer to your kids\u2019 school? Maybe, but consider the alternatives first.","description":"How does school proximity affect kids? We live a half-hour-plus from our kids' school. We suspect this is detrimental to their social lives.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Should you move closer to your kids\u2019 school? Maybe, but consider the alternatives first.","og_description":"How does school proximity affect kids? We live a half-hour-plus from our kids' school. We suspect this is detrimental to their social lives.","og_url":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/","og_site_name":"Meghan Leahy Parent Coach","article_published_time":"2019-01-02T21:38:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":333,"url":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/shutterstock_79134970.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Meghan Leahy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Meghan Leahy","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/","url":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/","name":"Should you move closer to your kids\u2019 school? Maybe, but consider the alternatives first.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-01-02T21:38:03+00:00","dateModified":"2019-01-02T21:38:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/#\/schema\/person\/74ff7f6e6196b92bb9881fbaff25225d"},"description":"How does school proximity affect kids? We live a half-hour-plus from our kids' school. We suspect this is detrimental to their social lives.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/washington-post\/should-you-move-closer-to-your-kids-school-maybe-but-consider-the-alternatives-first\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Should you move closer to your kids\u2019 school? Maybe, but consider the alternatives first."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/","name":"Meghan Leahy Parent Coach","description":"Helping parents. Plain and simple.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/#\/schema\/person\/74ff7f6e6196b92bb9881fbaff25225d","name":"Meghan Leahy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4109b08a6ecac6d5c68c5d4a8c8372dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4109b08a6ecac6d5c68c5d4a8c8372dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Meghan Leahy"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4356"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4359,"href":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4356\/revisions\/4359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}