I love my sons' schools, but some days the carpool line makes me want to scream. There's the mom who puts her makeup on in the morning sitting in her car, which is PARKED in the drop-off lane. There's the dad who puts his son in the car during the after school pick-up and then goes BACK to talk to the duty teacher, leaving HIS car parked in the pick-up lane. There is the family with three kids all in the primary division who settles each of them lovingly in their car seats and distributes snacks and juice boxes and packs the backpacks in the rear of their SUV, all while PARKED IN THE PICK-UP LANE.

Please, for the love of all that is holy, don't park in the pick-up lane. I'm begging you.

Other things to remember when you are dropping off or picking up your beloved offspring:

Follow the established traffic pattern. If everyone drives around the school from east to west, don't cut in at the west end because it's closer or easier. For the first semester of this school year, there was one mom at Henry's school who came in the wrong way EVERY SINGLE MORNING, driving against the traffic, to drop off her son. I don't know how she avoided a head-on collision, but it was NOT safe.

Keep your kids in their seats until they are ready to get out of the car. I've seen kids hanging out windows and standing up through open sunroofs in the carpool line. Again, not safe. Buckle up.

Get off your cell phone, especially during carpool pick-up. Seriously, take five minutes to wish your child a pleasant day or say hello and ask what he did at school. You can call people back. Really.

Pay attention. One day last week, another mom nearly backed into my car in the pick-up line. A teacher standing next to my car laughed and said, "Oh, on Tuesday she hit that post over there!" Yesterday, the SAME mom nearly hit a kid. I don't know what's going on there, but when you're in the carpool line, particularly at schools where kids and parents and teachers are milling around, keep your eye on what's going on.

If for any reason you need to park your car, park it in a designated space, not the carpool line. I visit with my son's teachers on a regular basis, usually at the end of the day. If the conversation is going to last longer than a general "How was his day?" while he's buckling his seat belt, I park the car and walk up to get him. If your child is too small to buckle her own seat belt or she needs a snack or she just wants to hug you when she gets out of school, park and walk. Please.

Finally, be patient and be polite. Different schools have different rules about carpool pick up, most of which are designed to promote a safe, efficient system for drop off and pick up. When you follow the rules respectfully, you teach your child a good lesson about being polite and being safe, and about how those two things can go hand in hand.