ADs skipping to school - and that's only the parents

[RealityExistsInTheHumanMind]

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Link to previous thread bum tomatoes

Horrid school drop off this morning - Head had made a general comment that school bags were banned and DD2 has taken this to heart, despite us already having negotiated an exception for her on SN and a fucking broken wrist grounds. Cue DD2 in floods of tears this morning refusing to take her bag, which has everything organised and accessible to her and she can manage, in... and she's taken a carrier that she's tripping over and everything's going to fall out all over the place.

Then lots of kids refusing to go in - one physically clinging to the fence while two members of staff attempt to negotiate her in (she's often reluctant but it's ramped up massively after such a break). Parents desperately trying to juggle un-orchestrated drop offs at the infant and junior school leaving kids on the pavement outside school and running - and the head being angry about that - I ended up with at least three I'd wrangled together as I know the kids very well and figured they were better off waiting with me and DD1 at least.

DD1 happily tells the Head she's getting a chromebook today and I commented I was getting things organised in case the world goes crazy again as they'll all sell out if it does - Head's getting their contingency planning in order and I very much suspect her mindset has now changed from "if" to "when".

Thanks all. I'm seeing it as 6 from an extended household at any one time, but that may be a misunderstanding. Unfortunately they're all over 11. We'll probably still bubble with them and just not all meet at once, but it makes life a lot harder.

ugh i am not in a good place this morning. Everyone seems to be oh lets just do this until a vaccine... i mean i dont want to piss on anyones parade but - what if there is no vaccine? what if it takes years? I cant carry on like this. My life is empty. I love DP and DS but i need other people too. My mum wont let us visit because we are STILL under local restrictions, and by the time we are out, if that actually ever happens because apparently numbers are going up now, then her area will no doubt be under local restrictions.

I am planning for a small christmas with just me and DP and DS and usually i am not that fussed but this year its one fucking thing that nobody can take away from me.

I want to book a holiday for next year but i daren't - im sorting out WFH now just in case DS gets sent home from school immediately. Dont know what we'll do if the need arises for us all to isolate for two weeks. I'd get paid but DP would just get SSP and fuck knows how we will survive on that!

Everythings shit and i hate this life.

The no-bags is doing my head in.
DS1 has had no complaints about his streamlined computer bag. TBH, it's smaller than half the lunchbags that go in anyway! But we are strugling with the seperate water bottles and jumpers and waterproofs that I dutifully send in each day incase my hot-blooded children might need them. Oh, and the reading records/ books...

After day 1, I've been using DS2's rucksack then trying to remember to siphon the contents off to the appropriate offspring as they try to bolt in.

Last night I had both children howling before we left the school grounds! DS2 because he'd stripped the skin off his knee playing football so he had a piggyback all the way home and in addition to carrying a 7yo, there was the bottle and the reading record and the coat... DS1 then ended up throwing himself to the floor and howling because I expected him to carry all his own gubbins! It sounds horrid, but he is best left to it. We live 300m away and have one reasonably quiet road to cross. DS1 is generally capable of safely delivering himself home but doesn't want to, so he doesn't need close supervision and when he's in that mode it is best not to interract which further over loads him until I can get him to his room and give him food and drink.

DS2 was on a Friday, I hurt my knee yesterday and I'm snotty and knackered go-slow this morning. He just made it in through the doors before they shut and then he cried. He will be OK, it's the kind of day that he'll be better off being busy and distracted than moping at home in bed without TV or tech (which they would be allowed if they were genuinely ill rather than under the weather).
Years of doing Brownies before becoming a parent hardened me up nicely

@DominaShantotto That sounds awful! We're lucky that our primary school has been fab within the limitations of the guidelines - no distancing within bubbles, normal PE provision, hot meals almost as normal etc. Both mine are really enjoying being back and the whole atmosphere is just friendly - all the kids seem happy at drop off & pick up. Even back in June the HT made it clear she was happy to be opening up again and got as many kids in as quickly as possible. But then an identical-sized school the other side of town is being a total 'mare. They refused to even try to open to anyone before the summer & now apparently the atmosphere is awful. They're genuinely trying to enforce SDing on even the little ones within their bubbles, which is going as well as you can imagine! I honestly have no idea why kids are magically more infectious on that side the naice side of town but not on our the council estate side?

Sorry, that turned into a rant. Its just mystifying to me? Like people will Sadly Die if you change into your PE kit on site in School A but not in School B.

It is broadly a step back to that uncertainty that we all struggled with at the start.

I'm fortunate to finally get the school routine back, a few extra curriculars/ groups which is the main backbone of my social life and structure. I don't regularly hang out with lots of other people, but 2 families generally exceeds 6 so that tips us over, and it's the principle of indefinitely restricting us. They aren't even putting in a review retraction/ extension date at this stage which is worse than the initial 3 weeks at a time.

All the talk about vaccines. Great. But we still have tens of thousands per year dying of flu despite a vaccine and Covid 19 with no vaccine still hasn't reached the 50,000 that died of flu in 2018 when the flu vaccine wasn't an ideal strain. Nobody batted an eyelid in 2018!

@ISaySteadyOn

I try to look for hope and find joy. So here is what I have for today:

-My 3rd try at growing spinch is working beautifully. Little cotyledons are popping up everywhere.

-I am really enjoying a new computer game I have that DH and I are playing together.

-I have a DH who I can be my whole self with and who I love and who loves me.

-My best friend and I started couch to 5K today and I enjoyed it.

• I have 3 DC who can, at times, be PITAs but who have good hearts.

• this is silly but I was waspish about staggered times in the pickup queue today and nothing horrible happened.

-you all exist so I know that I am not alone

Could all thosr things make a decent Patronus? I think so.

You're born and then you die. But the bit in the middle is called Life David Lister (Red Dwarf)

I like this. Now more than ever it's important to try to focus on the little things that make us happy .

That's really sad about your parents @Strawberrycreamsundae and I am sorry that your sister is treating you like this .

I don't know if this will help at all but I have been doing video calls with my elderly mother which i have found really helpful as I can see that she seems very relaxed and comfortable with the carers there . And given the wearing of masks and SD I didn't actually find the visit in person I had to be very beneficial to either me or my mum given her dementia.

In my experience most care homes relax the visiting rules if a family member is unwell or end of life

Coronavirus: Face masks in shops to be mandatory in Wales

People in Wales must wear face masks in shops and other indoor public spaces from Monday, the first minister has announced.

Mark Drakeford said the change came as 20 people in every 100,000 in Wales now had coronavirus.

Indoor meetings of more than six from an extended household will be illegal from Monday.

The rule will not apply to children under 11 and up to 30 people from different homes can still meet outside.

Mr Drakeford said the rate of 20 people in 100,000 was the "threshold we use for people to have to quarantine coming back into the UK".

He said if the figure fell, the advice on face masks could be looked at again.

There's another secondary school in our city who have sent home an entire year group - so figures are picking up for Autumn. Not my DC school yet and it would be two weeks at home not the previous months if and when it hits their school.

My most recent school has a child off with a positive test result. His year group hadn't been in before he went off so no bubbles have been compromised.

Strangley we and the kids have had to sign a form about new rules -oddly it says nothing but a water bottle is supposed to come between home and school but they've all got bags full of school books and equipment.

It's odd as they are supposed to be in bubbles but mix at lunch and break and the entire local authority area has taken view one postive test in year group entire year group off.

We don't have to keep our other children in different year groups in same school off though - so that's something.

@LadyOfTheImprovisedBath
Mr Drakeford said the rate of 20 people in 100,000 was the "threshold we use for people to have to quarantine coming back into the UK".

That is 1 in every 5000 people - any yet people seem to think you can just catch it if you get close to 1 other person.

My dad is really mild-mannered and wouldn’t say boo to a goose. But I’d not like to be in his shoes if my dad’s in line with him at click & collect. 😂

The peasants truly are revolting.

@TrustTheGeneGenie I have similar doubts regarding a vaccine.

Positives from the day:

1. the emmental I had on my crackers was lovely and nutty

2. I am burning my ridiculously frivolous Tom Ford candle and the house smells a little less doggy

3. my veg box should arrive shortly and be filled with healthy shit

4. my skin is glowing

His = Drakeford’s

We've started watching The Crown on netflicks - last night was 1952 and the great smog and Winston's plucky secretary was in hopsital asking what could be done - more masks - no they do nothing they are only there to make it look like the government is doing something.

I don't mind masks as much as many on here and I think on public tranpsort they do make sense - but I wonder if they're becoming like the plague posies - talisman to ward of unseen evil rather than actual protection.

Question for you anyone who might know? I'm sure I read somewhere that Matt Hancock said children must stay away from grandparents. Does that mean I can't take him to school and look after his baby sister? I do it one day a week as my daughter is a teacher and has gone back to work. Her mil does one day as well. How's that gonna work? Thanks.

@Supermarketworker06
I think that was mainly around people with older grandparents or those who may be vulnerable due to other health conditions . So maybe for people to think twice before visiting those who are vulnerable .

If you are the grandparent in question it's entirely up to you if you see your grandchildren (unless your family situation is that the children themselves are vulnerable or your children request you not to, of course )

[quote shinynewapple2020]@Supermarketworker06
I think that was mainly around people with older grandparents or those who may be vulnerable due to other health conditions . So maybe for people to think twice before visiting those who are vulnerable .

If you are the grandparent in question it's entirely up to you if you see your grandchildren (unless your family situation is that the children themselves are vulnerable or your children request you not to, of course ) [/quote]
Thank you. I'm working (in a supermarket, funnily enough!) , am under 60 and no one in her family or ours is vulnerable. My mil is a bit, but there's no mixing between my grandchildren and daughter and her, the only common point is me and dh. (second marriage for both of us, so not a family rift just a different set of relatives).
My daughter hasn't said anything but she doesn't watch the news. If we're not supposed to look after the kiddies she's buggered. Can't see that happening but she's anxious about a lot of the whole virus situation so i don't know if she'd change things. Though what to I don't know.

Wales - well if anyone can be arsed because I cannot I made a bet with you all back in end of June beginning of July when Wales was still locked down much harder than england that by early autumn we would all be in masks and gloves so enjoy your summer!!!! I am still waiting for gloves so presume we have a glut of masks UK wide.

I was expecting this and enjoyed each and every day I could go out freely. Now it seems I cannot.

BUT!! my grandkids are back at school, my youngest DS is off back to uni. tomorrow, if he gets sick he cannot come home which is so difficult for me as a mum.

I accept my lot, wore masks in England this week, my cold is so vile in Wales, I actually wore one at the chemist, flower shop, butchers, hairdressers yesterday so as not to give them my cold lurgies.

If anyone on here insinuates I might be a deep planted dementor well they can just give their heads a wobble.

Oh and I am still waiting for the gloves talk any bets it will be in six weeks or so???

@justasking111
I accept my lot, wore masks in England this week, my cold is so vile in Wales, I actually wore one at the chemist, flower shop, butchers, hairdressers yesterday so as not to give them my cold lurgies.

If anyone on here insinuates I might be a deep planted dementor well they can just give their heads a wobble.

We'll give you a bye on that one. Believing the mask will help isn't being a dementor. Insisting others do is

Besides, even if it didn't do any good it will have made them feel better

I wobbled my head whilst I considered it though.

@Supermarketworker06

I think you are fine, it was guidance, not law and was about protecting the vulnerable. Clearly doesn't apply to you - you've been thrown in the firing line from the start.

Could a Dementor be deep planted? I don't think so. They wouldn't be able to hide their glee for long enough.

Me, I want to just scream with rage and frustration. DS wouldn't go to school again and I tried to work out going for the second run with my friend while also taking DS. But it didn't work because DS ended up needing the loo just as we started.

One of my DDs tells me that some of her classmates have been essentially told by their parents to treat others as pre-contaminated which makes being friendly difficult. I know the DC in question, and like the school mentioned in @SomewhereEast's post, they all come from naice areas.

DS is going back into halls with girlfriend in a 7 person flat, someone is arriving from Asia, supposedly will isolate for 14 days. I shall give DS the talk later about stupid 1st years, socialising madly, well he did last year. He is now boringly faithful to his lovely girlfriend. So over the nightclubs after three months in which he burned through a lot of his hard earned summer money last year. He is going to Leeds which is teetering on lockdown. The nightclubs are closed but the pubs still open. I do not know what to suggest apart from keeping clear for a fortnight until they are spent up. They as first years will need a handhold perhaps. It is shit for first years, DS got it out of his system and bemoaned his shrinking finances. Funny to think of him as the Abe Lincoln in his flat

2 people in my county of 400k tested positive yesterday (both of those in the city). Schools have been back 3 weeks.

Ou est le wave secondaire?

Things are creeping up again aren't they? Feeling claustrophobic again today. Even though kids are starting playgroup next week, I just doubt it will happen. I know schools with confirmed cases where bubbles have been sent home. I feel like I can't breathe and on the verge of a panic attack.

Anyone see the panorama advert with SEN kids. Reduced me to tears. I've worked with SEN kids and I'm also a parent. I just can't imagine zero support with challenging kids. Heartbreaking.

But at least we are all "safe".

I'm sorry, bad day. I'm tired. I need a life.