To take my kids to the park?

[tabithasweet]

With playground equipment etc. They are 2 & 4 and getting them to go on "walks" is pretty hard but I worry about them not getting exercise.

I had the same thought yesterday, my 6 year old begged me to go but I had to say no :( this is our new way of life I guess x

To all those that think going out to open spaces is ok/essential - you do realise that many European countries have totally banned that as well? And people from those countries are imploring us to stay home before our situation becomes as bad as theirs?

@Aragog, self isolating means you or someone in your household has symptoms and you DO NOT GO OUT. For 14 days. If you are all symptom-free, then you can go out but must practise social distancing. 6 feet apart from other people, do not use play equipment.

I haven't seen any countries banning people from going for a jog

Yabu! Avoid parks but do different things instead. Woods/bikes/geocache etc

You can go for a walk and spot rainbows, as a pp said people are putting them in their windows.

Yesmate, we are playing those games in a totally isolated area. There are no other people there at all. We go at 5/6pm and there are vast expanses of grass around us(think huge park like bushy park). We are not near any people. We go, play games and come home and don’t touch anything. We are not breaching the terms of self isolation which allows you to exercise outside but not go anywhere where there are other people eg shops/playground. There has literally not been one other person at the place we feed the ducks all week. If there was I would not go/move away. I will find the government advice and post it here when I have time today. It is very clear.

Our local playground was empty when we drove past yesterday so I let the kids have a quick ten mins on the equipment but the deal was they had to wear gloves and not lick anything 🙄. I also explained if anybody else came on we had to come off.

Social distancing is not the same as self isolating.

Obviously, in what’s mr the time mr wolf I am catching my own children! Not random people.

@Isthistrueor self isolation doesn't mean stay in the house and don't put a toe out. You can go in the garden if you have one. That's still your property. People with farms can go on their land. You can't be near others but in your own garden is fine

My kids are the same age as yours and we have some national trust parkland next to us with a play area. I've just told them the play area is closed and they accepted it without question. Yes they'd rather be on the swings than going for a walk, but we're making it work. Taking a bag and letting them collect stuff along the way is a good incentive. Sticks, stones, interesting leaves etc, then we take them home for craft activities.

I don't think some people are realising that not being stuck inside all day is a necessity. Getting fresh air is a necessity. Children having space to run around is a necessity. Staying at home and being sedentary isn't good for either mental or physical health. So no, I wouldn't use the play equipment or let them play with other children, but feeding the ducks, riding bikes etc a decent distance away from other park users - that's not against guidance and i think it's important for children's mental health.

Also you can get mini trampolines. We got ours from argos for about £30 and it even fits in our tiny living room when it's raining.

Our council has chained the gates of all the playgrounds and put a sign up saying closed due to corona virus

I’d avoid parks/equipment small kids have used/places with kids just now.
Can you take them on a “nature trail? Make a list of words/pictures of stuff to find and go to the woods/nearest national trust grounds (free at the moment!)

@tabithasweet European countries are in lockdown. This means you have to stay at home apart from a few very specific reasons to go out (which you must do on your own) eg to go to the supermarket for essentials,to the chemist or for healthcare. Some people are allowed to go out for work, lots more aren't. You certainly can't go for a jog and will face a huge fine if caught. Even with all these rules in place for the last 7 days there are still new cases and more deaths. The schools were closed a couple of days before lockdown started, when schools closed they advised against using parks, soft play etc. The more people that ignore the rules the longer this lockdown will last.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

See the section on why staying at home is important.

That's not true. Solo exercise is one of the official reasons you can leave the house in Italy and France.

Yes mate, I'm sorry to hear you have had bad news today. I hope you're ok.

@tabithasweet I live in Spain and can 100% guarantee that is not the case here.

@Winifredgoose I have already apologised for being a dickhead. The advice you have just posted states you must stay indoors though? It does say about going out for supplies and doing exercise indoors when you are feeling better. Am I missing something?

Thanks @Winifredgoose Knocked the wind out of my sails a bit. Spiralled into a whole”when will this end” scenario in my head and need to pull out of it. It is no excuse for me acting like a wanker though

@Winifredgoose my comment about the advice was because I thought you were the OP. I’m clearly not on the ball enough to be on here today.
That advice should be on TV every hour, people need to know it inside out

Read the third paragraph in the sub heading of why staying at home is very important. I cant get my copy and paste on my phone.

Obviously, in what’s mr the time mr wolf I am catching my own children! Not random people.

This made me laugh.