Please stop going on about how you won't be sending your children back

[Ultrasoft]

If you make that decision that's entirely up to you and absolutely fine but do you have to keep telling people? People are being really nasty about it with a definite undertone of I'm a better parent/I love my children more than you do.

Lots of people will have to send their children back for all sorts of perfectly reasonable reasons. Some children really need to be back at school for their own safety and wellbeing.

Parents taking those decisions have enough on their plates, why would you want to add your judgement to that? And why would you want social stigma to prevent children who need to go back being sent back?

Stop looking for validation for your decision and trying to take it away from theirs. If you're happy, that's fine. Making other people miserable helps you how?

RaggieDolls, we have had the opposite and our head has asked parents if they could indicate their intentions as it would 'help' with planning but there is no instruction as it were.

We are not facing this problem in Scotland yet, but I don't see any problems with parents stating their intention to return their children to school, or not, and their reasons behind it.

There is no right or wrong answer, everyone's opinion is valid and attempting to silence those opinions, on either side, by suggesting they are competitive is narrow minded and shows a lack of confidence in your own decision.

Why I don’t do Facebook

Well said OP
Even in Aus and in a state with such low cases when term 2 started anyone who sent kids back it was strongly implied we letting them be guinea pigs, we didnt love our kids as much, hadn't considered our options thouroghly. Funniest bit was day 1 term 2 dd class only had 3 kids missing lol. So seems at least locally nearly all were happy to go back
Everyone should feel free to make a choice they comfortable with, free from judgement, be that keep them home or send to school

Thanks for the post OP - completely agree, people need to make up their own minds and get on with it. I also think there is a difference between debating the issues on threads on mumsnet (where some of the "judgement" comes out on both sides) and using IRL WhatsApp / FB groups (where we actually know the real people and the real kids) to launch into a full scale rundown of all of your rationale for your decision including statements that can offensive and sometimes not true or logical.

Our WhatsApp group had been a polite exchange of yes / no until someone had to jump in with the full "guinea pigs", how well homeschooling is going for them, how no one will comfort the children if they fall over etc etc. just not needed.
Make your decision and be confident in it, don't try to reassure yourself by creating a pile-on that can cause real anxiety amongst other people who have fewer options than you.

Where I am it also does seem to be based on circumstance. I don't know anyone who is trying to juggle full time WFH and full time childcare / schooling who wants to continue like this until September. The ones who are SAHP, on furlough or mat leave are tending to want to keep home.

Agreed.
You don’t want to send your kid? Great. You’re perfectly entitled to home school. I can fit you in for a round of applause next Saturday.

Our local schools aren't taking any kids back bar year 6 come June, so the choice has been taken out of our hands anyway. I have year 1 and year 3 children, we're fortunate in that we don't need them back at school to work, and the kids are doing well at home anyway

@HelloMissus

@WeAllHaveWings

This isn't an "attempt to silence" anyone.

It's a hugely privileged position to be able to decide not to send your children back, and the OP is right to point that out.

@Ihatemyseleffordoingthis it is still a valid opinion that people can and should add to the voices. "I don't want to send my children back, I am scared, but I have no choice." They don't need to pretend they are happy to send their children back.

But there is the choice not to send them back. Fines have been stopped. So there IS choice.

It's about priorities and balance like parenting in normal times. You weigh up your own priorities and come to your own compromise.

Having it perfect in every way is a very rare state of normal for most parents surely?

There is no real choice if you have to send back because you have to go back to work as you no longer have the excuse schools are closed and you need to earn a wage to keep a roof over your heads.