Children playing out

[brittabot]

We live in a cul-de-sac and will often let the children play out with a parent hovering around nearby. We are considering doing this while schools are shut, eg giving them breaks every couple of hours so they can play together. Don’t want to be irresponsible but their playtime is important to them. AIBU if I let them play out with their friends in current climate?

My DH was building up into a full Victor Meldrew at the sound of the skateboards going up and down the road just now - but when we looked, it did seem like a good idea : not a cul de sac, but a quiet London side road, with virtually no traffic atm. The boys ( early teens) are time trialling and doing competitive jumps, without actually being near each other. Fresh air, exercise and some kind of social interaction but without being close . ( The dad of a couple of them is keeping an eye out)

Can I just ask. What about the children that will still go to school? All mixing then go home to key workers....

Imagine they are carriers but have no symptoms. If they interact with say 10 kids at school and then go home, that's potentially 10 families. If they go to school and then the park and then the shops then that could be 30 people and 30 families. It's about minimising contact and minimising the chance of spread. Nobody expects no cases.

Please don’t do this!!!!

Because it's about MINIMISING THE SPREAD... basic maths..

If your child is amongst 1200 at a secondary school that's 1200 kids with the ability to spread a virus that is infectious BEFORE you even know they have it .

If that child is amongst 300 kids (keyworkers who have no other CHOICE). then that spread is reduced by a quarter.

That's why it's really important to understand that the school places/childcare isn't a REQUIREMENT but only for a last resort NEED.

Look at it like this... You send your child to school because you are a nurse, single parent, father won't help. No other family. No helpful under 70yr old family. He gets on the bus. He puts his hand on the back of a bus seat to sit down. He picks up the virus and heads to school.. messes around with his mates playing and touches 20 more kids.. 8 of them pick up the virus from him. He goes home and infects his family. The other 8 kids travel to school the next day, they are infected but don't know it yet. They travel by bus and walk. They touch the inside of the bus and pick up stuff in the corner shop. .. older person goes to the same shop or gets on the bus. They get infected but don't have the immune system to cope and subsequently die.

It's all down to numbers and a balance. The nurse had to work. She will save countless lives. Her child had to be out and at school. Did the other 8 kids HAVE to be there ? Some, of yes. but some not. They chose school rather than make other arrangements. That is the balanced decision everyone who theoretically COULD send their child needs to make.
This is the same calculation for kids with EHCPs are you sending your dc because you HAVE to or be cause you find it easier. ? Easier really isn't good enough.

Teach them semaphore and build a tin can and string telephone system.
They can play from their own gardens, each doing separate things together.

"Kicking a ball back and forth at a distance- surely is ok?"
Not until they pick up the ball with their hands

Kids mixing at school now is unavoidable unless you want far fewer NHS staff, staff in supermarkets etc. It's hard to see some people are abusing the use of schools now.

People need to stop wailing 'what about the children' and understand that EVERY SINGLE PERSON whether adult or child is going to have to deal with a change to their life and not be able to do some of the things that are important to them for the foreseeable future. It's shit, but it is necessary so people don't die.

People are sacrificing jobs
People are sacrificing businesses
People are sacrificing things that they have spent a huge amount of time and money planning eg weddings
People are sacrificing things they have been looking forward to - proms, holidays, festivals, parties, last days of school/college, graduations etc
People are sacrificing seeing their friends and family for months
People are sacrificing their mental wellbeing

It's shit but we need to do it so people don't die -it might not be you or someone you love, but every single unnecessary interaction we have puts someone at risk.

The sooner they lock us down properly so personal decision making is not a factor the better!

Scratch my post earlier!

'The UK’s National Trust has announced that it will close its parks and gardens from midnight on Saturday, to help “restrict the spread of the coronavirus”. The decision has been taken ahead of Mother’s Day, which the Trust predicts will attract more people to its parks despite government advice on social distancing.'

www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/mar/21/coronavirus-live-updates-deaths-jump-in-spain-and-italy-millions-locked-down-in-us

Just DON'T HAVE PLAY DATES OR LET YOUR KIDS PLAY WITH OTHER KIDS.....full stop !!!!!

Words fail me. No. Just no. Read the replies you've had already & watch the news once in a while - this is SERIOUS!!!!!

You are being unreasonable. You think the rules don't apply to you. If you and others with your attitude don't self isolate, we will still be in this situation in a year. It doesn't matter if you live on a cul de sac or a massive estate, the instruction from the government is the same. This is about all of unifying, not some of us thinking it doesn't matter

Yes yabu. Your children shouldn't be mixing with others. And as a parent trying to to keep their children in, thats made much harder when they can see other children playing outside our house 😡 Keep your children in the house or take them on a walk keeping two meters apart from others.

It was interesting that the Minister at the briefing yesterday did not answer the question about whether people can go to booked UK cottages for Easter. I would have thought if they drove with no contact with anyone and once there were isolated that was probably okay a bit like your own family going to its country cottage but he didn't answer yes or no.

Totally unreasonable.

Absolutely not. They can play with each other but not friends children

I would have thought if they drove with no contact with anyone and once there were isolated that was probably okay a bit like your own family going to its country cottage but he didn't answer yes or no.

Perhaps because he is expecting people to exercise common sense. That's been his biggest failure as yet.

I just saw this in Facebook. I think it's designed for every single person in this thread who is saying 'well yes, but...'

There are no buts. No exceptions. Be safe.

Isolation won't kill your kids ffs! It shows just how far some parents will go to indulge their children when they will risk others lives!
It's your job to entertain your kids at home if they can't entertain themselves.

The 8% voting YANBU - look up Nana Dalton on Facebook and read the post about what happened when her little boy had a serious accident last weekend. When you have stopped crying, maybe you will get why not playing out is important.

The idea is to cut down AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE the transfer of this virus. Key workers whose children have to go to school might well carry the virus home. But equally those key workers, front line staff, roll almost certainly, without question, carry the virus home.

So the idea is to slow down the amount of people who do get it so that the health service can deal with it. 5000 getting it over 2 months will be easier to manage than 5000 people getting it in 2 weeks.

Stay away from people. It's simple.

yabu

I can’t believe you’re even asking this.