A PLEA

[YukoandHiro]

Please, if you have a garden or any alternative, do not go out and use parks etc.

My husband and I live in a damp, dark two bedroom flat with no outside space with a 2.5 year old.

A no outside exercise edict Will drive us to completely mental breakdown.

Stop being selfish and think of the people who really actually need to leave the their property to keep their child well.

YABU people are allowed to go out and exercise whether they have a garden or not.

Take sensible precautions and enjoy the sunshine.

Is your landlord refusing to sort out the damp?

We own the property. We're having trouble sorting out the damp because of the corporate freeholder (we are top floor and it's to do with guttering on the roof).

Presume you've seen the news that a full, total lockdown is coming.

Yesterday 3000 people were sunbathing in our local park and now it's been gated - including groups of teenagers.

It's selfish and I'm angry.

I disagree. Op is NBU. It's only logical that if someone has adequate private outside space, they should leave communal one to people who need it.
Obviously it's hard now whole UK suddenly took on exercising which just requires park.

I absolutely get where OP is coming from.

Presume you've seen the news that a full, total lockdown is coming

No, I've not. Do you have a link?

YANBU OP, we are very close to losing our ability to exercise outside because of a minority of selfish people abusing the rules.

No, I've not. Do you have a link?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52172035

Presume you've seen the news that a full, total lockdown is coming.

No it isn't.

I completely agree, OP. People going out for walks in the way we are allowed is fine. People congregating in parks, sunbathing and meeting friends is not fine and that's what will get us a full lockdown. I was just saying to DH when watching that on the news this morning, they're really going to ruin it for people who live in flats without a garden, it's so thoughtless and selfish. We are lucky that we have a big garden and we've spent almost all our outside time there, we've been for a couple of short, very local walks but we're taking the chance to do a lot of gardening at the moment. OP, I really hope these idiots don't get us put on a full lockdown.

I understand what you’re saying and you have my sympathies. My partner and I used to live in a city centre flat with our eldest daughter when she was a toddler and we’ve said a number of times how we don’t know what we’d have done if we were still there - any green space in the town centre is going to be crowded and no-one is allowed to drive anywhere for outdoor space.

We have a very small garden now and we are trying to use it more than going out and about, but with 2 kids, 5 and 11, it doesn’t give them much space to stretch their legs so about twice a week we are walking to our local park. We have also been out on the road outside our house because our youngest (with classic timing) has finally decided he wants to learn to ride his bike.

I don’t think you’re unreasonable in what you’re saying, but I do think some people with garden may still need a bigger space to exercise in.

Good luck and stay safe.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52172035

Link here.

People are still allowed (for now) to go out and exercise outside of their own gardens.

The people who are just going out for a walk or a run are not the ones who are going to cause the restrictions to tighten.

This really isn't the OP scaremongering, this is something the UK Health Minister stated this morning.

I agree OP, access to outdoor space is essential for many, especially for kids, and it's appalling that a minority taking the piss are spoiling it for others.

3000 playing in a park, in groups, is very different to people walking or running outside, obeying all the instructions.

I live in a rural village. On the odd occasion that I have left my house recently, I have walked on country roads and seen only one or two people the whole time I have been out. My walking on country roads, legally and responsibly (even though I have a small garden) is not what is going to get us all sent into a total lockdown situation.

I am however very sympathetic to those who are stuck in urban areas and who have no garden and little access to outside space. That is a very difficult situation to be in.

People need to start realising that they must stay at home unless absolutely necessary, not go out as much as they think that they can get away with. If you can go out into your own garden rather than the park/beach/other public place, then that's what you should do.

I’m not sure how I feel about this tbh. I go to work every day and have a ‘normal’ life in that respect. Plus a very large garden. But people stuck Indoors day after day and with no or small gardens, well they probably really really need to go out every day.

YANBU.

We live in a small house in an urban area with no garden or outdoor space and bars on the downstairs windows. We rent due to being on a 2 year temporary post away from our hometown and find it difficult living here.

If we can’t let our 2.5 year old have a run around the green space opposite or a scoot along the cycle path for 30 mins or so a day, it will have probably a huge negative impact on our mental health.

I agree OP. We're less than a minute's walk from a park but we're not going because we have a garden and the people who live in the flats down the road need the park a lot more than we do.

Totally agree OP.

I’m in a very privileged position in that I have a large house with a lovely big garden. However previously I lived in a very small flat and I’d have been climbing the walls in it with a toddler.

I agree OP.
We live in the countryside and have a garden. I would absolutely need to leave the house if I lived in a flat with a small child.
If you have the space you need at home, stay at home.
People who need to escape their 4 walls with no outside space should be able to. The gates are being closed because every man and his dog are going out regardless of situation.

YANBU OP.

We have a garden and we’re using it. We didn’t start from any major philanthropic point, but a couple of weekends ago we couldn’t get out due to masses of people driving and parking to use the nearest outdoor space.

It makes more sense that those who have space to use, do so.

We've had total lockdown in Spain for 21 days now and its awful. Quite a lot of families live in apartments and use our parks and beaches a lot, so being stuck in with children for 3 weeks has been terrible for them. We are being policed quite heavily as well, dh was checked going to the supermarket yesterday.
It's really worth sticking to the rules in the uk to prevent a lockdown .

Since just before the lockdown, ds (15) has walked to the shop once (bread and milk). And I’ve not left the garden. Why? Because of the amount of kids from different families out playing together and the groups of different families walking to the shop several times a day (they walk past my home so I can’t miss them). So I’m at a stage of ‘do what you want’, but I personally would like my family to get through this and out the other side.

Ds19 is with his dad (my ex), and thankfully me and dad’s views are exactly the same. I can’t control what others do (bloody wish I could!!) but I can control what my family does, and right now that’s making things as safe as possible, even though I’m not seeing dp, ds19 is not seeing his girlfriend and ds15 is only seeing his dad twice a week- whilst dad stands in the garden and ds talks from inside his bedroom. It sucks donkeys to be fair! But living is far better.

YANBU. We have no useable outside space, but have been avoiding parks and open spaces as everybody and his dog is out there. Of course, some won’t have their own space either, but it’s pretty leafy where we are with more properties than not having access to private garden spaces. This has shown how selfish people can be.

You can see Matt Hancock's statement in one of 2 ways: that this is something that is planned; or this is try to make more people to comply with existing guidance.

My personal view, fwiw, is that it is the latter. And they using behavioural science to push grater compliance.

To ban exercise outdoors they would need to change the actual legislation and parliament is on extended Easter recess.

They might try to tighten up the guidance by imposing a distance eg, writhing 500 m of home address.

Yanbu op