If it feels like you’re constantly in the car once school starts, you’re definitely not imagining it. Between morning drop-offs, afternoon pickups, sports practices, music lessons, and club meetings, many parents spend a surprising amount of time behind the wheel.
A recent Talker Research survey commissioned by Bob Evans Farms found that the average parent spends 38 minutes every school day driving children to and from school-related activities. Over a typical 180-day school year, that adds up to 6,858 minutes or nearly 15 full eight-hour workdays spent driving.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the survey and why so many parents feel stretched thin during the school year.
School Drop-Offs and Pickups Add Up Quickly
Driving kids to school may not seem like a major time commitment on any given day, but those short trips add up over months. Before parents know it, they’ve spent weeks of the year simply getting everyone where they need to be.
For many families, those daily drives become a fixed part of the schedule, leaving little room for flexibility.
Extracurricular Activities Keep Families on the Go
School doesn’t end when the final bell rings. Sports practices, dance classes, tutoring, theater rehearsals, and other after-school activities often mean another round of driving later in the day.
Many parents find themselves making multiple trips across town just to keep up with everyone’s schedule.
Every Minute Behind the Wheel Adds Up
Most parents don’t think twice about a 10-minute drive to school or a quick trip to soccer practice. But when those trips happen several times a day, five days a week, they quietly add up to nearly 15 full workdays every school year.
The survey is a reminder that one of the biggest commitments parents make isn’t always visible on the family calendar. It’s the countless hours spent behind the wheel, making sure their children get safely to school, practices, performances, and everywhere else life takes them.
While those drives can be exhausting, they’re also part of the everyday investment parents make to support their children’s education, friendships, and activities one trip at a time.
