What is your threshold for dropping off vs waiting @

[expectantsteelerfan]

If you are driving your kid to an activity, what is your threshold for sitting and waiting for them to be done vs dropping them off and coming back to pick them up (assuming drop off is appropriate).

My Dd dances at a studio 3, sometimes 4 times a week. It takes 14-17 min to get there (based on traffic). If her class is 45 min or less, I sit in the parking lot in my car reading or playing on my phone instead of going home. If it's an hour or longer, I drop off and go home.

Sometimes I'm tempted to run an errand while she's at class, but the studio isn't by a lot of stuff, so usually I just sit and wait. Luckily I enjoy the time to read, but to ight I can't focus which is why I'm posting instead.

[erbear]

Twice as long as it takes to drive there and back for me.

[bittybomb]

I hate sitting in traffic so I'd generally stay. My daughter's soccer training was easily an hour away in traffic and she practices an hour and a half three times a week. I was in a carpool so I only did once per week. Sometimes I would bring work, sometimes I would walk the track, sometimes I would read. There was also a costco and target nearby so I would also do errands sometimes. Thankfully her practices have now moved to about 10 minutes from home so I drop and go home.

[dontlook]

1 hour or less I’ll usually wait. Activities are usually close to stuff so I can run errands if it’s longer. I do enjoy the quiet time to read or scroll the internet in peace.

[smock]

I want to avoid driving, so I usually hang around. Luckily my kid's 2x weekly sport is across the street from an amazing bakery. In fact I'm heading there shortly! 😄

[7costanza]

My son did tae kwon do 5 minutes from our house, the class was 40 minutes and I usually waited. Golf is an hour, 15 minutes from home, and I wait for that too. I generally enjoy the time to sit in silence and read (or have a snack at the clubhouse.)

[plutosmoon]

An hour or less I usually wait, anything longer I drop and go. DD also dances, she is at the studio 6 days a week, we live about 5 minutes away so I either go home, run errands, or take a walk. On Fridays while the girls are in class, I join the other dance moms for dinner across the street from the studio.

[beerlover]

If it’s an hour I’ll usually wait and go for a walk.
When he had his 1.5 hour baseball practices, I’d sometimes go home or run errands.

[jinkies]

I am trying to remember if they have ever been in an activity that I would just wait for. I can't really think of one. If it's a shorter time frame, I try to find a place nearby to go for a walk. Other I run errands or go home.

My kids' activities are mostly a minimum of 90 minutes though.

[Jalapeñomel]

Everything takes 20-30 minutes to drive here, so if it’s less than an hour, I’m finding something to do by whether I drop off.

[meanie]

Hmm...under an hour and 15 mins away I am definitely staying. Less than 15 mins away and over an hour I will maaaybe go back home. 

Karate is ~45 mins and close to stores, I needed a few things at CVS (literally across the street) and I was in a panic the whole time. I got back with like, 30 minutes to spare. H drops them off all the time and barely makes it back in time and it doesn't bother him at all.

[sdlaura]

We live in a climate that’s nice year-round, so sometimes I use those short times to go for a walk. Or read my book.

[starburst604]

If it’s in our town I leave and outside of there generally it’s a 20 min + drive so I stay since most practices are 60-70 mins.

[Gato]

My 12 year old has one 2.5 hour activity during which obviously I go home. Her dance class is 45 minutes and 15 minutes away, so H and I stay and work there, although sometimes I will pop over to a nearby grocery store.

[livinitup]

I would bring a pillow and sleep over if traffic was involved.

Fortunately, where I live now does not have a traffic issue. I still prefer to wait in my car when I wait at karate. It’s 12 minutes there and 12 minutes back or an hour wait. I’ve come home a few times and think “oh, shit, time to go”. I really just prefer to sit and chill. My H will go in and watch. It’s actually quite nice.

Oh, and sometimes H takes the dog and goes for an hour walk. He likes that it’s a different view for walking. I’ve done that, too. But not often enough to say I “do” that. Haha.

[mae0111]

It depends on how long. Basketball was only an hour, but the gym was 2 mins from my house. Always dropped off. Soccer was 3 miles away, but in rush hour, that’s 20 mins each way. So most of the time I would walk for an hour and watch the last 15 mins of practice. Softball - same field or one .5/extra 5 mins at rush hour, so I would stay and walk.

[redheadk]

DD’s studio is an easy 12 minute drive, max, in traffic. It’s rare that she’s there for less than a few hours but occasionally she’s only there for 30 minutes. I just wait in my car or sometimes run to the drugstore that doesn’t require me to get out on main streets. For an hour, I typically run an errand but will occasionally go home, just depends on my mood. This studio has a drop off culture so that helps a lot.

At her old studio, I stayed if it was 1.5 hours or less. It was 20 minutes away and the parking lot was atrocious so I had to allow for extra time for that if I left. There wasn’t much near by so I’d occasionally go to the drugstore or Starbucks but mostly just waited in the lobby and hung out with friends.

[ECB]

If it’s much outside of a 10 min trip, i wait.

[gerberdaisy]

Most everything is less than 5 minutes from the house, so I usually drop off. If I stay it’s typically because there are other parents there I like to talk to, or the other child wants to hang out with other kids.

[minniemouse]

For 1 hour or less I stay or find something to do in the immediate area, like shopping or going for a walk. Or just sitting in my car and scrolling on my phone. The exception is school clubs or practices, because it’s only a 2 minute drive.

[Covergirl82]

If it's an hour or less, I wait. I will try to run an errand if I can do it in 45 minutes or less. Unfortunately, where DD's current dance studio is, there really isn't much close enough where I can do that.

[lavenderblue]

The majority of the time I just stay, unless we are talking hours and hours. I would sit and read or scroll on my phone.

[4speedy]

I look at it more as opportunity cost rather than by minutes. It all just depends on what the opportunity to sit in the parking lot will cost in terms of the opportunity to be doing something else. For instance, if DS had an activity 30 minutes away but it’s a really busy week, I might drive all the way home, even just for 15 minutes there, if it means I can put another load of laundry in the washer and/or dryer. It might be worth it to me if it means I won’t have to stay up an extra hour that night to get laundry done because we need something clean for the next day, or because I want the house in shape before we leave on vacation, etc.

There are other days when I could drive back home and have an our or even two there but it’s not worth it because I am just done with the day and it is more worth it to me to buy a gas station fappacino and veg in the car than drive 30 minutes each way when my nerves are frazzled from a long day.

So it’s not a function of time for me, it’s a function of how much capacity do I have left for more that day.

[bex1973]

I've spent so much of my life in the dance studio parking lot LOL Depending on the length of class I'll either hang in parking lot, run errands or go for a walk. Or just sit in my vehicle playing on phone. This year one class she has is only an hour and H has been coming along and we go for a walk together while we wait - it's been a great way for us to spend time together.

Her other activities are usually closer to home and a 5 minute drive so those are typically drop off.

I generally don't mind waiting because I enjoy the quiet.

[osulori]

It depends on how long the drive is and how long the activity is. For example, Saturday kid #1 has an option indoor soccer training with his soccer club that's 55 minutes long and it's roughly 10 minutes from our house. I'll probably either run an errand nearby, sit in my car in blissful silence, or walk and listen to a podcast if the weather's nice but it's not worth it for me to go back home for half an hour or so. His outdoor soccer practices are at the same school and those are 90 minutes so I will absolutely go home for a while on those days.

[hbomdiggity]

For an hour practice that is 15mins away, I will likely stay and watch or run an errand. Target is super close to the ice rink. But I am typically dropping off and H comes for pick up which has worked out well.

[waverly]

We drop off for a 90 minute practice. We would probably stay if it were 45-60 minutes. DH and I alternate the longer drives.

[Susie]

I usually stay for DD's 45 minute swim practice because I can usually at least respond to an email or two while I wait.  If I drove home, I'd drive, unload the car, and turn around and go back.  

I also often stay when I take her to her 1 hr XC or track practices, but I use the time to walk or run myself.

If I have a relatively compact errand I can run in that time I go do it instead of stay.  Go to CVS to get a vax myself, go vote in an election with evening hours, that sort of thing.

It's all about how I can best use the time.

[leahcar]

My friends and I started walking from the dance studio to a nearby Mexican restaurant to drink margaritas during the 1 hr 15 minute class. Much better than waiting in my car/the lobby or driving home! 😂

2x the length of the car ride for time I can have at home (10 minute drive = 20+ minutes at home) is my usual barometer. With the exception of the one dance class/margarita drinking or my other DD’s half hour piano lesson, I usually don’t wait. I run errands or come home.

[sandandsea]

I need to have 30-40 minutes of available time to do something for me to leave. So total time -(driving time x 2) > 30 for me to consider leaving