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Original poster

Neighbour isn't a key worker

351 replies

TrulyOutrageousJem · 03/04/2020 12:36

Since working from home I have moved my desk into the bay window. It's nice to see cars and occasionally people and to not be staring at a blank wall. I'm new to the street and only moved in two months ago so I'm not on chatting terms with anybody yet just a polite hello.

As I'm in the window I have noticed that my neighbour facing gets up each day, takes her small baby (younger than one) to the nursery and her kids to school then comes back home. She isn't working outside of the home as far as I can see and both her and her partner are there all day. She drops the smallest off at 8am and picks up at 5:30pm Monday - Friday so not even a reduced time. I like to keep to myself but it's driving me insane that she is playing the system while I have my small children, yes driving me insane, while trying to work and homeschool but that is just the way it is.

Today it looks like they are doing a spot of DIY because they are childless for the day/week?!?!!!

I desperately want to say something.

OP posts:
Sn0tnose · 03/04/2020 12:53

How many schools open for key-workers are accepting children on the basis that their parents are at home but could do with a bit of free time to get the decorating done? I mean, I’m sure some may have tried it, but how many schools have actually admitted such children?

Until she asks your opinion, or someone gives you a tin hat with ‘Warden’ written on it, perhaps you should just stop making assumptions and mind your own business.

GertrudeCB · 03/04/2020 12:54

Mind your own business, you literally have no idea of the circumstances.

HoffiCoffi13 · 03/04/2020 12:54

x2boys our school is most definitely open to those with EHCPs, those considered ‘vulnerable’ for any reason, those under social care and a variety of other reasons that aren’t just ‘children of key workers’. I suppose it must depend on the individual school and their capacity. Even covering all the above scenarios we only have approx 20 children in a day (school of 300).

JustInCaseCakeHappens · 03/04/2020 12:54

well, even if you are a key work but work at home, you really shouldn't use the emergency child care!

MrsG010814 · 03/04/2020 12:54

Maybe more working, less curtain twitching? 🤷‍♀️

Ginfilledcats · 03/04/2020 12:55

I'm a key worker working from home, if I had kids I'd be putting them in the childcare allotted to me to enable me to get the most out of my wfh day to support my colleagues still based in the hospital.

twinnywinny14 · 03/04/2020 12:55

Even if you are a key worker, the guidance says if you are at home then the children should be at home too, that said it may be that it is impossible to complete key worker role at home with small children around, so its a balance. In my nursery, parents who are at home or working from home are keeping their children at home, it is the safest option for them and for staff

ZeroFuchsGiven · 03/04/2020 12:55

How Neighbourly of You.

Shitsgettingcrazy · 03/04/2020 12:55

well, even if you are a key work but work at home, you really shouldn't use the emergency child care!

Ideally not.

I am not doing. But it doesnt take a lot of Brain power to imagine that not all jobs or employers will allow children around while working.

CaryStoppins · 03/04/2020 12:56

How do you know she’s not a key worker?

I’m a childminder only open to key workers at the moment and all my families have at least one parent working from home.

TheOrigBrave · 03/04/2020 12:56

It is very unlikely that both the school and the nursery would take their children just on the say so of the parents being KWs.
More fool them if they have.

MintyMabel · 03/04/2020 12:56

I desperately want to say something.

For what purpose? To let them know you are better than them? To interfere with half a story? To piss off new neighbours?

Because it isn’t so they will change their behaviour - why would they? It isn’t to educate them because they would be living under a rock if they didn’t know what they should be doing.

Mind your own business. You speaking to them won’t change anything, except your relationship with them. You don’t even know if the baby is being dropped at nursery.

JassyRadlett · 03/04/2020 12:56

My friend is a key worker. She works in the pharmaceutical sector and is currently adapting two existing clinical trials for COVID-19. She works entirely from home (and mostly from home even before COVID-19) but it’s quite hard to argue that the work she’s doing isn’t critical and has the potential to save lives.

What does your neighbour do for a living?

Hotcuppatea · 03/04/2020 12:56

Mind your own business.

HoffiCoffi13 · 03/04/2020 12:57

well, even if you are a key work but work at home, you really shouldn't use the emergency child care!

Even if you are carrying out confidential online appointments with patients? Telephone calls with vulnerable people? There are various reasons why a key worker may not be able to work from home with children around.
In the most part, if you’re at home then your children should be too. In some cases, this isn’t workable.

FabulouslyElegantTits · 03/04/2020 12:57

Made up bollocks designed to cause a frothfest! 🙄

FloreanFortescue · 03/04/2020 12:58

@JustInCaseCakeHappens yup that's it. Everyone who is working from home is having to manage children and work. Loads of people are "key workers". I'm a teacher and keeping my children off because DH and I can manage between us and don't want to risk our DC in childcare. That should be reserved for the key workers who are IN WORK and have ABSOLUTELY no other choice. This was stated by the government. It keeps the numbers to a bare minimum in schools and other childcare setting which is safer for everyone.

SugarSugarShimmy · 03/04/2020 12:58

@JustInCaseCakeHappens don’t be ridiculous. If you’re doing an important job that can’t be done with a child around then of course you can send them to school. I know a number of key workers wfh with their children in school.

Also only one parent has to be a key worker. This is to enable the keyworker to focus on their job and not have to share childcare

WhateverHappenedToMe · 03/04/2020 12:59

I am a key worker, in medical research. I am working full time from home.

Not all key workers are public facing.

Nat6999 · 03/04/2020 12:59

Stop curtain twitching, get your work done & mind your own business. Too many people have too much time on their hands while under lockdown.

MintyMabel · 03/04/2020 12:59

how many schools have actually admitted such children?

Our initially had quite lax criteria. When they had all the applications, they had to tighten it to only category 1 key workers and even then only if there wasn’t another working adult in the home. They still struggle for spaces using that criteria.

backinaminute · 03/04/2020 13:00

Both me and my partner are key workers. He's out the house but I'm at home (for now).

The expectations are that I have a job to do that is important in our field and we have childcare and it is to be used if we cannot do our jobs.

My kids are actually with me at the moment but it's a challenge because the work I do is highly confidential and also of a subject matter that isn't suitable for children to hear.

Of course I want them with me and they are most of the time but sometimes there are virtual meetings that would be highly inappropriate for them to over hear and so yes, I will be at home and they will be at school and maybe my neighbours are bitching about me from behind their curtains. I've got enough guilt about them having to go without that additional stress.

Surely the vast majority of people are just trying to do their best.

everpessimistic · 03/04/2020 13:00

Maybe on the child protection register. Maybe parents have additional support needs. You don’t know what’s going on and it doesn’t affect you so maybe just focus on your own life

CaryStoppins · 03/04/2020 13:00

If you have a job that is important to the COVID response and you can’t do it well while caring for small children, then they need to go to childcare.

We as a society need essential workers to be doing a good job at the moment ffs!

cabbageking · 03/04/2020 13:00

You don't need to be a key worker to qualify to send your children in to school or nursery.