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Original poster

Teen wants to go out with his friends locally tomorrow for an.hour ... should I keep him.in?

80 replies

Overseasmom100 · 18/03/2020 21:24

We are all well. Im working from home.
DS is collecting books from school tomorrow then wants to go to the skate park for a but with a few friends.

Should I let him go? I just not sure what to do.

OP posts:
NoKnit · 18/03/2020 21:25

No. Did you not watch the speech from prime minister earlier today?

One2Three4Five6 · 18/03/2020 21:30

Are you for real?

Original poster
Overseasmom100 · 18/03/2020 21:33

I said no but he said he would be in the open air with teens. Not in crowds...

OP posts:
OlivejuiceU2 · 18/03/2020 21:34

Honestly. What about non essential contact do people not understand.

Wolfiefan · 18/03/2020 21:37

Yes you should.
He can be in the fresh air but not with other people. It’s not hard to understand.

ChickLitLover · 18/03/2020 21:37

🤦🏻‍♀️ No, you don’t let him go.

forrestgreen · 18/03/2020 21:38

Will he be talking to people at all...
Jesus people can't be this dim.
SOCIAL DISTANCING!

ChipsAreLife · 18/03/2020 21:39

This is why we will need a lockdown. No he can't. It's crap of course but we need to stop the spread

Cheesypea · 18/03/2020 21:39

Please tell him he has to come straight back from school.

Jonb6 · 18/03/2020 21:39

Take some responsibility at least!

shutupsteph · 18/03/2020 21:40

This is ridiculous. No. Of course you shouldn't let him go.

AlternativePerspective · 18/03/2020 21:43

People aren’t going to be able to stop teens going out. For those over about fifteen parents may not necessarily be working from home, in which case they will be being left to their own devices.

Bear in mind we’re not in lockdown at this point. People are delusional if they think they will be able to keep teenagers holed up for four months.

At the moment the advice is to keep non essential contact with crowds to a minimum. The only people who are being suggested to not go out at all are the elderly and those at risk.

Restaurants, bars, cafe’s etc are all still open, and while I wouldn’t want my teenager going to a concert or the like, in the open air in a park should be ok.

We need to save being ultra restrictive to when it becomes the law, otherwise we are at risk of causing serious mental health issues in the younger generation.

Emmy2020 · 18/03/2020 21:44

No definitely not! My children won’t be at school from tomorrow as it’s closed now but they will be indoors! Not meeting friends.

Wolfiefan · 18/03/2020 21:46

@AlternativePerspective I absolutely can tell my teen he’s not going out. If he does he could bring home a virus that kills me.
No to concerts and restaurants and bars.
It’s that or thousands dying.
Not hard to grasp.

ChickLitLover · 18/03/2020 21:49

I absolutely can tell my teen he’s not going out.

This.

I’m really starting to despair.

Beansandcoffee · 18/03/2020 21:50

No. I’ve just told my 17 year old he can’t go out Friday night.

Moo7878 · 18/03/2020 21:52

So the advice applies to everyone, except you?

AlternativePerspective · 18/03/2020 21:54

Nobody said he should go to a concert or a bar.

My teenager is going out the bear minimum as I am at risk.

But we do need to tread the line between managing people’s MH and protecting against the virus. After this period is over we are going to have many people with some serious MH issues, we need to be aware of that pre-emptively otherwise this is going to be about far more than just Corona.

Many teenagers have part time jobs for instance, jobs which they are using to save money for when they go to uni next year. Or are people suggesting all children should be on full lockdown from tomorrow and those teens should give up their jobs as well?

Original poster
Overseasmom100 · 18/03/2020 21:55

Ok. Just wanted clarity....DH is taking him to get books in car then back home

OP posts:
iVampire · 18/03/2020 21:59

Teens are in school and indoors with these same people.

I don’t think they are adding to their risk by spending some time in a small group (which has already shared exposure) in the open air poses an additional risk to them.

Whether a skate park should be open at all is another question.

And I would give a different answer for days on which they had not been together in school anyhow

AlternativePerspective · 18/03/2020 22:00

What about parents who work? Those teenagers are going to be t home alone, what are the chances of making them stay home or not having friends round?

There are absolutely sacrifices to be made. I am not going to be able to see my partner for the foreseeable future as we don’t live together and he has to travel on public transport to get here, but while bars and restaurants etc are open people have mixed messages about what kind of travel is ok and what isn’t.

JemimaPuddleCat · 18/03/2020 22:00

People are delusional if they think they will be able to keep teenagers holed up for four months.

If I am told to keep my teenager in for 4 months, I can all but guarantee you they will be in for 4 months!
What's with all the "oh, its impossible to parent a teen" bullshit?!

LizzieMacQueen · 18/03/2020 22:07

How is it different to walking home from school which my son will be doing tomorrow, a 40 minute walk in the fresh air chatting to the same school mates he's just been in class with for 6 hours. Schools not closed until Friday.

Kateplaysrugbyinmydreams · 18/03/2020 22:09

People need to calm down. If he was in school, which lots of kids are, he would be alongside people. A quick chill in the park makes no odds. I would let him go, reminding no hugging etc and to wash his hands when he's home.

Valkadin · 18/03/2020 22:10

My teen is not going out plus as his college, cadets and sports stuff is all cancelled he understands the gravity.