I am selfish for not wanting sixth formers and students to work in supermarkets

[Peaseblossom22]

Around us the parents of lots of year 12s and 13s are all bragging about how they are now working 40 hours a week in Tescos . What is the point in them being out of school if they are just exchanging one Petrie dish for another ? I don’t want ds bringing home the virus I have asthma and anyway surely they have just left physical school not school in general . Apparently though I am told it is his public duty . 🙁

If this is the case they should provide accommodation as well .

This seems to be a problem unique to this country because no other country has gone mad stockpiling food And therefore other countries are tuning supermarkets with skeleton staff not recruiting hundreds of young people who think they are invincible and are therefore not as careful as they could be and will spread the virus willy nilly

[Needmoresleep]

This is a negotiation you need to have with him. The virus is not going to go away until either there is a vaccine or enough of us have built up immunity.

If you are vulnerable and need to self isolate, that is what you need to do. If he is your house, he needs to respect this. However we do need people to carry on working, and young people with no underlying health issues have the lowest risk.

[Itsmybirthdaytoday20]

I agree. Plus it leaves the jobs for others who need them more.

[cinammonbuns]

It’s nobody’s public duty to work in the supermarket and your son doesn’t have to at all but also it’s those teenagers decisions if they want to work there.

Not many jobs going now, do you expect them to sit at home doing nothing till the next school year. They are the ones least at risk so better they do it.

[Peaseblossom22]

Yes but just at the moment we need to stop the peak and slow the rapidity of transmission, surely adding a whole load of new people into the workforce most of whom will live in family homes rather than alone or with other young people will do the reverse.

I can see that it will be here a long time and they will need workers in the medium to long term but at this emergency stage of the pandemic I think this is massively irresponsible of the supermarkets. I would shut the supermarkets and give everyone a box of basics instead actually .

Ds has not mentioned it but some parents seem to think that I should be pushing to get a job .

[Peaseblossom22]

I don’t think it is a 16 year olds decision actually and it’s a myth that they are least at risk , they are the least at risk of dying but the most likely to spread it . In the US apparently 40% of admissions are of those between 20 and 40

[noblegiraffe]

Y12s should be at home studying what they would have covered in school.

Y13 on the other hand now have literally nothing to focus on. Young, healthy child-free people doing essential work is surely preferable to vulnerable people being encouraged in.

They have to do a risk assessment though. If they have a vulnerable family member in the home they should be sensible and stay at home.

[cinammonbuns]

16 year olds are not between 20 and 40.

Also the idea about closing supermarkets and instead giving people a ‘box of basics’ is ridiculous and I’m sure you know it. Would they give everyone the same ration? Have to account for how many people in the household, allergies, religious dietary requirements, sensory requirements for those with autism etc etc. It’s completely impractical.

I think you just need to ignore those pressuring you to make him get a job. If you don’t want him to have one then don’t make him get one. I don’t see why you think it’s any of your business what other people’s children do. If you minded your business and those other parents minded their business there is no issue.

[turkeyontheplate]

I agree, I have a Y11 and a Y12 and I'm not having them going out and putting themselves at risk unnecessarily. If we became desperately short of workers I'd rather do it myself. I want them safe at home, I don't much care if that makes me selfish.

[Peaseblossom22]

200 teenagers working , and then going home to families with 4 members , that’s 800 new cases . Teenagers still get the virus they are not less likely to get it only to die of it , actually so far all the people I know of personally who have it are teenagers and by all accounts it’s not been pleasant.

Other countries are not going mad in the supermarket and emptying the shelves so it is not a necessity . If supermarkets closed for lack of staff maybe people would get the message

[Peaseblossom22]

Oh and everyone in the war had the same ration so it’s not ridiculous

[cinammonbuns]

Yes it is impractical. This is not the 1920’s many more people with allergies now and with different dietary requirements such as Muslims who would require halal food.

This is exactly why no countries have imposed supermarket closures, neither China or Italy. It is not practical.

[oneteen]

Supermarkets need to expand their click and collect and have more drive through stations.. This would stop panicky buying and also protect staff.... No one needed on tills..

[Needmoresleep]

Eeeeh? Very few supermarkets round us have parking.

There is no, one size fits all.

OP and her son need to make their own decisions. Eventually a good proportion of the population will need to catch this and recover. Ideally not all at the same time, and ideally not people who are vulnerable.

[Peaseblossom22]

Other countries have not shut supermarkets because their populations have not gone mad , and they did reduce the number of supermarkets open in China and I think they have in Spain as well.

No wonder we are in a mess when people cannot u see stand a simple instruction to STAY HOME

[Bagelsandbrie]

I think this is a really difficult one.

We need the supermarkets to function well, to stop panic buying and keep stock levels up. Otherwise it just compounds the whole panic buying issue and they become crowded germ pits.

So the more people that work for them, the better this will be for all of us. Including people like myself who are very vulnerable with existing health conditions.

They should be putting measures in place as much as possible to enable staff to work safely - but yes of course there’s a risk.

Younger, healthy people are the least vulnerable in terms of the damage done to their own health by this virus. If anyone is going to do this job - and someone has to - it should be them. And it’s good for the economy.

But - as the mother of a 16 year old myself I wouldn’t want her to do it and won’t be letting her, as I have health issues.

It’s very difficult, isn’t it. It’s not a straightforward yes or no thing.

[Peaseblossom22]

Surely that’s the whole point this might be fine as time goes on maybe as we come down from the initial peak but injecting hundreds of kids into the workforce this week of all weeks is just going to escalate the peak and be counter productive to the self isolation message . I don’t think it should be the individuals decision

And those people objecting to supermarket closures and some form of basic rationing , get ready because I have it on very good authority that if people do not moderate their behaviour very soon is it’s coming .

[cologne4711]

no other country has gone mad stockpiling food

Not true.

[Peaseblossom22]

Hi that’s interesting Cologne which other countries , might reassure me ?

[cologne4711]

I have it on very good authority that if people do not moderate their behaviour very soon is it’s coming

also not true

[cologne4711]

Hi that’s interesting Cologne which other countries , might reassure me

Pretty much everywhere! Started off, oddly, in Australia, they had panic buying in Spain and Italy before lockdown and they've also had it in Germany. I doubt other countries have been immune. Oh and the US are buying weapons (not so sure about the food there but I suspect they're buying it too).

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

I don’t see an issue with teenagers working tbh. Equally a mother in her 30s could be working in Tesco and go home to 2 toddlers still in childcare.
The issues is More younger children spreading the disease.
Tbh I was more concerned about all the over 60s working the tills in M&S the other day

[Needmoresleep]

DS is studying in the US, and the panic set in very fast with shelves emptying in minutes. He is finding it hard to buy anything. We don’t seem to have much of a problem where we live, but the majority of people don’t have cars and there is only so much you can carry. And once you realise shops have food there is no incentive to buy too much. Things should calm down once people feel they have enough.

[oneteen]

Spain was in the same situation in terms of stockpiling until very recently... One of my friends was down nr Alicante and could only buy frozen meat and fish.. All fresh sold out.... Roll on a week later and the supermarkets had lots of stock but were limiting the people in store... Had lines both outside and near the tills for social distancing and they were also handing out gloves and wipes... So hopefully it will calm down here too... But the changes only happened in Spain after lock down.

[Peaseblossom22]

So clearly the only way to solve this is to limit access .

I am obviously outnumbered here but the most recent research coming out of Lombardy is saying that the superspreaders are not young children but young workers who continued to work and travel on public transport blissfully unaware that their mild symptoms were the virus. They then went home to houses and infected all the occupants who then infected their neighbours etc The public transport in Milan was still full because the factories were not shut down.

We need to stay home and operate a skeleton supermarket service, those people queuing in their four wheel drives to get into car parks are not the vulnerable they are the greedy . We will have to manage, maybe we won’t have everything that we want but as long as we have what we need or something we can substitute we will have to put up with it.

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

I agree we need to stay home, calm the stock piling. I wouldn’t say the issue is teenagers but people in general- selfish ignorant people exist in all age brackets