Sister tested positive. Can she put her DC in the garden for me to watch?

[PourOutTheTea]

My sister sounds v. poorly :( Her DC are 5 and 3 so not old enough to do much unsupervised.

Could she put them in the garden for me to watch? I would come in through the back gate and try my best to distance from them but again they're 5 and 3.

Hi OP, don't understand why some previous posters are saying you shouldn't look after the kids. These are young children who need care. You need to work out what works best for you and discuss with your sister. Might be best for you to move in with her until she's feeling better. FWIW I wouldn't hesitate to go indoors in your situation and just accept that there is a risk and try to minimise by banishing your sister to a different room with window open, hand washing like mad and spending time in the gard

garden

Of course you can care for people in the Pandemic
I’ve added this for advice, but of course you can help family or friends in need of assistance

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-providing-unpaid-care/guidance-for-those-who-provide-unpaid-care-to-friends-or-family

I think single parents can bubble up for support in you situation either just you or both you and dh move in with her and isolate for 14 days.

It's all well and good sitting for hours in the garden with a picnic watching them but what happens when it's time for you to go home?. DS is still going to have to sort meals and bedtime.
She needs another adult in the house.

The rules don't apply for caring situations - you would be caring for the children as she is too ill to do so herself.

You would of course need to move in and WFH / take leave from your work and then isolate with the family.

I would move in with her if your personal circumstances allow you to do so. She stays in her bedroom while you looks after the kids, plus you can look after her if necessary. When you're feeling ill there is nothing like someone else making you a drink and a snack!

I'd just go collect them and keep them a few days tbh.

If she is a single adult you can be in a support bubble with her and look after the children. You and dh will have to self isolate at home though, so looks like you can only go between the two houses.

I'm not sure that you are supposed to go between the 2 houses, I think members of the bubble are supposed to self isolate in their own homes - the rules say you aren't allowed to leave your home at all so you can't leave your home to travel to hers. That said, in this case if it is a newly formed support bubble (so you haven't already been in close contact with her, so aren't yet at risk of having caught covid from her) you would I think be OK to travel to her house to form the support bubble. You would then need to self isolate there for 14 days. Technically your DP would need to self isolate at yours as he would also be part of the bubble.

Maybe OP is high risk and doesn’t want to go indoors with someone with covid and her children possibly have it as well.

Or maybe OP isn’t high risk but equally doesn’t want to get ill and be bed ridden.

Cummings travelled all the way from London to the North East because his partner had it, he might get it and they might both be too ill to look after their son. His niece was then going to take on the responsibility of childcare from a different household. So to be honest I think you’ll be ok to look after the children either by moving in or getting your sister-in-law to stay upstairs in bed and you taking as many precautions as possible while your there.

You sound like a great sister and a super Auntie! It’s such a lovely idea and means your sister can get some rest and hopefully after a while in the garden they will be tired and a bit easier for her to manage. I’d love a sister like you, I’ve been on my knees poorly and would of done anything for an hours rest.

@DonnaDonna01

I guess the rules are irrelevant if OP may not want
To take the indoor risk herself.

Just do it and isolate for 2 weeks after

@ApplePenPineapplePen

Childcare is exempt from distancing I believe. If she can't look after them then you must. Indoors.

This. Search ‘informal childcare Covid’ - you can look after them 💜

The OP is not obliged to power in and risk infecting herself if another solution can be found. Where is the children's father in this? Could they stay with him?

A couple of hours in the garden was be a good first step OP but your sister could feel pretty lousy for a week or more, so what comes next?

Gosh if this was us I’d wish I had a sister like this. Fine IMO If a. You are happy with the risk to yourself and your household and b. You can self isolate for a fortnight

You’re allowed to form a childcare bubble. Your household and theirs, for the purposes of childcare. Doesn’t matter how many adults in each house as this is different to the “single adult” type of bubble. You can then look after the children in your home or theirs. But as a member of your bubble has covid you’ve all got to isolate for 14 days from the first day she had symptoms. I guess you can be in either house as long as you’ve got a car to move in between.

Yes you can and you could also go in the house but you need to assume they have it and isolate for 14 days. Are you healthy enough to risk catching it?

@OverTheRainbow88
With a 5 and 3 year old to care for, I would imagine she is at some risk even outside. She won’t be able to keep 2m away all day with children that age. If the house is well ventilated and a mask warn she would reduce the risk.

This all depends on your goal. It’s sounds like you are just hoping to get her a break for the length of a meal and some play time. In that case it should work with moderate risk to you. I would definitely not go out and about afterwards, just home and stay there.

If it were me, I would not do this because I gave my own household to consider with high risk members, but if I were younger and healthy would probably take the risk.

You could ring your surgery/nhs direct for advice, but I would do what was best for the little ones. Monitor the situation and if necessary move in, quarantine your sis in her room and then assume parental responsibility while she recovers.
I really don't think they should be left with an ill parent, too scary if she deteriorates.

The “informal childcare” thing is the childcare bubble. You can look after them indoors but then your household is linked with hers and all members of both households need to isolate.

I would not go into the home unless there was a true emergency.