UK parents will apparently spend almost a full year and travel over 62,000 miles doing the school run!

This staggering nationwide study by webuyanycar.com, revealed that British parents who drive their kids to school, spend an average of one hour and 14 minutes a day during term times (25 days a year) on the school run, amounting to almost a full year (351 days) throughout their kids’ education (*between 4 and 18). Wow….!

….. And not only that, but they will drive an eye-watering 62,026 miles to and from their children’s school on average, before their little darlings leave home, according to the report.

The study by webuyanycar.com, also found that over one academic year of school runs, there will be 86 arguments, a whopping 1,550 cries of ‘hurry up!’, five hours and 51 minutes spent returning home to pick up forgotten kit or homework – and 15 hours and 14 minutes will be spent sitting in static traffic.

It’s no surprise that over a third of British parents (35 percent) admit they absolutely dread the return to the school run every September.

Parents will also spend six hours and 12 minutes a year dealing with sibling arguments about who gets to sit in the front passenger seat, and six hours and 26 minutes attempting to get their little one to stop crying.

And a frustrating six hours and 55 minutes per year will be spent trying to find a parking space near the school gates, while families on their way to school will get stuck in traffic at least three times a week – mounting up to 117 times a year.

The study also revealed the nation’s parents confess that they’ll waste four hours and 51 minutes every year looking for their car keys, while the kids will have to eat their breakfast in the car 38 times a year on average.

The average British parent will have to turn back home during the school run 37 times a year so their little one can make a quick pit stop to the toilet, and homework will be completed in the car at least 18 times annually.

Little wonder then, perhaps, that 67 percent say the best thing about the summer holidays is saying goodbye to the school run for a couple of blissful months.

Richard Evans, head of technical services at webuyanycar.com, commented on the findings: “While it may not be a surprise to learn how much we dread the return of the school run each year, it’s amazing to see just how many miles and hours are clocked up as the nation’s families make their way to and from school. It’s also interesting to find that 42 percent of parents wish they had a bigger or newer car to tackle the school run each day.”

The study found that three in 10 parents (31 percent) have found themselves wistfully looking back to the days of homeschooling whenever they think about the school run. However, 56 percent admit that despite the stresses of it all, they do enjoy spending time with their kids during the school run each day.

In fact, over a fifth (22 percent) even go as far as saying that the school run is the best part of their day, while four in ten parents (40 percent) describe it as “enjoyable chaos”.

The study found that the number one delay on the average school morning is kids playing in their rooms instead of getting ready for school (53 percent), followed by kids dawdling in the bathroom (47 percent) and temper tantrums (36 percent).

Meanwhile parents admit they are late to pick up their kids from school at least three times a month, and are delayed dropping them to the school gates at least three times monthly.

The data also found that Leicestershire is the school run capital of the UK, with parents there spending the most time on the road driving to and from school (one hour and 41 minutes per day), followed by Greater London (one hour and 29 minutes per day) and Buckinghamshire (one hour and 28 minutes daily).