Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

How many of you have broken lockdown rules?

465 replies

vulvic · 09/05/2020 17:27

I'm just wondering. I thought the vast majority had stuck to it but seeing more threads and hearing more stories, it seems there is a lot of people still seeing close family.

Anyway, I'm in the Channel Isles. Still in lockdown but slightly easing.

I'm not interested in shopping, garden centres or more exercise. I'm not even interested in socialising or catching up with friends.
I just want to see my mum.

I think it's badly affecting her mental health now as she was depressive anyway, and my DS is struggling having not seen her for 2 months.

So, I'm just wondering, have any of you still been seeing close family? Or were you sticking to it and now given up and started visiting? Or are you encouraging to stick firmly to it for as long as possible?

I've been a firm sticker to the rules but now starting to feel the negatives are outweighing the positives but still completely paranoid.

OP posts:
Titsywoo · 09/05/2020 19:24

We have broken the rules a couple of times. Drove somewhere further than we should have done to get some food (it wasn't essential), let a friend into the house to carry something through (he then left immediately and didn't touch anything but that's no excuse really!) and yesterday we dropped something to MIL and spent 30 mins talking to her from about 3m distance.

That's it though so not awful. We mainly stayed home and have only been shopping once a week. Most of our neighbours haven't been following the guidelines at all (lots of friends over, parties yesterday etc) so I'm staying away from them.

Blondeshavemorefun · 09/05/2020 19:26

I have seen my dad whom lives alive since my mum died and is self isolating due to being over 80

I take Food to him once a week / leave at his door

And go back to road and stay by car and talk to him For 10/15m with my 3yr who stays by me and never runs to him as I have explained

Far less risk to me then going to a shop for food

Original poster
vulvic · 09/05/2020 19:26

@Boredtobeers I'm 20!

OP posts:
bigmamama · 09/05/2020 19:28

@vulvic
Yep.. I have 2 children, 4 year old and a 9month old and it's been extremely hard on my eldest as my mum is/was his childcare after school, so as she lives alone is not old or in any vulnerable category iv been seeing her probably every other day and my kids have stayed there a few times a week. I struggle with depression and anxiety.
Iv had my meds upped and new tablets and also sleeping aids so I need her more than I'd like to admit!
I do have a dh who is working from home and he is also fasting as we are Muslim so it's pretty tough. I haven't seen anyone else though and neither has my mum.

Menora · 09/05/2020 19:28

@Hoggleludo

I agree with you - there are some good solid cases which people have weighed up the risks and made a decision based on the greater good and it was the right decision.

But we can’t all keep wailing and hand wringing about the state of the economy, and how our MH is suffering, how we all wish the kids could go back to school now, how we went into lockdown too late, clapping for the NHS every week and then at the same time doing things that are not for the greater good at all

Megatron · 09/05/2020 19:30

Why are people saying they 'broke the rules' by going shopping or going for a walk? That's entirely within guidelines, I don't think anyone will think you're a renegade for taking Fido for a walk.

IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 09/05/2020 19:30

Stuck to them, I don’t want someone else’s ill health on my conscious should I be carrying something I don’t yet know about and I want to protect my household.

It’s made me reassess some people though who I know haven’t stuck to them.

Yoyoallovertheshow · 09/05/2020 19:31

My PIL's came in my back garden today (through the side gate) to say hi to my DC's. Huge garden, much more than 2m away and zero physical contact.

Tomorrowillbeachicken · 09/05/2020 19:32

Tbh some of these aren’t breaking the rules as you are allowed to provide care to those in vulnerable groups (such as older ppl) like delivering food or providing companionship.

Teddypops · 09/05/2020 19:32

We live 15 mins walk from a beach. We went today, glorious sunshine. Stayed for 4 hours, sunbathing and had a swim too.

Might have sat 3 or 4 meters from some friends.

Picnic too.

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 09/05/2020 19:38

I’ve stuck to it. I have to go to work occasionally and I’ve been to the supermarket for food for us and for an elderly neighbour. I talk to said elderly neighbour from the bottom of her path when I leave her shopping on the doorstep. I’ve “zoomed” with friends and my daughter. My daughter would normally have come home at Easter and this weekend ..... but she hasn’t. We had a barbecue in the garden this evening, just me DH and DS..... a couple of doors away are also having a BBQ... they have both sets of parents, their son and his wife and children and another couple who don’t live there..... it makes me cross because I REALLY want to see our daughter... it was her birthday last week....

bananaontoast1 · 09/05/2020 19:38

Yesterday, when I saw how much VE Day street parties were being encouraged (and social distancing definitely not being stuck to) I decided I was going to take my child to see my parents for the first time in two months. We all sat in the garden more than 2 metres away from each other and chatted, and it was absolutely lovely.

There’s only so long people can be told they can’t see their loved ones but it’s perfectly acceptable to go to b&q for paint.

JinglingHellsBells · 09/05/2020 19:39

No.

Apart from a walk a day, and 2 trips to the supermarket, I've not been out.

willieversleep · 09/05/2020 19:39

I live on a farm as do my PIL (in a separate house). My DH and his DF work together to farm and it is often not possible to social distance. I'm WFH and have two young children. They go out to farm with their DF and sometimes go into their DGM house. We observe all other rules strictly but yes we do break the rules.

Inkpaperstars · 09/05/2020 19:40

A single chocolate bar could be essential. Depends on the circumstances.

squashyhat · 09/05/2020 19:40

Kept to the rules apart from a drive for some non-essential shopping. Asparagus from a local farm - I'm not letting the season go by without some.

luckylavender · 09/05/2020 19:41

@Teddypops - and what if everyone did that? I suppose you feel you have a right to a ventilator.

Yorkshiredolls · 09/05/2020 19:43

Today I broke rank and went to my mums for the first time in 8 weeks. Have followed the guidelines religiously all that time but Just feel I couldn’t do it any longer. I have a 12 week old she hasn’t seen since he was 4 weeks old and a 3 year old. she’s seen her every week of her life and babysat for me every Friday for 3 years upto lockdown. it’s breaking our hearts not to see them. I couldn’t do it any longer. So we went round and we kept our distance in the garden while DD played and she didn’t touch or hug either kid but it cheered her up so much to see them. She’s 60 and not in any vulnerable category although she does work in a supermarket. where she has to serve fucking muppets buying non essential cigs and scratch cards all day. but she can’t see her grandkids? nope

Elmerrrrrrrr · 09/05/2020 19:44

and what if everyone did that?

What if they did?

BreconBeBuggered · 09/05/2020 19:45

We've all been pretty compliant. Only been shopping for necessities, only out walking to exercise ourselves and the dog, usually one at a time. The dog, at least, is keeping fit. We haven't been inside another house or had anyone in ours. DH drops food deliveries for his parents but doesn't go inside. The only not-strictly-essential thing we've done is to drive to a supermarket 15 minutes down the road when, after a couple of weeks' waiting, the local one wasn't restocking some vegetarian staples (beans, pulses etc). I could have waited for those but to be honest I just wanted to get something a bit different both for ourselves and for MIL's birthday, so I jumped at the excuse.

isabellerossignol · 09/05/2020 19:46

I have only broken lockdown once, due to extenuating circumstances, which I mentioned upthread. But in all honesty where I live, the risk of catching it is extremely small even if most people ignored it. The vast majority of cases where I live are in care homes. The hospitals are not overrun, the Covid testing centres are empty, intensive care is only half full.

I know that's not the case in other parts of the country, and I'm not saying that it's fine for people to just ignore lockdown here, it's obviously not. But the handwringing and worrying that someone's death might be caused by going to the shop twice instead of once is quite extreme in the context of some areas.

Elmerrrrrrrr · 09/05/2020 19:46

And those of you saying snidely "oh I suppose you won't want a ventilator then" - do you also think the smokers shouldn't receive cancer treatment, alcoholics shouldn't receive cirrhosis treatment and the obese shouldn't receive treatment for cellulitis, gout and diabetes?

VerticalHorizon · 09/05/2020 19:47

If everybody broke rank half a dozen times, we would still have reduced the number of deaths, but we not have reduced them as much, thus more would have died.

However, the same can be said if we had even stricter lockdowns, we might have saved yet more.

It is all a balancing act.

Menora · 09/05/2020 19:48

@Elmerrrrrrrr

Clearly you are much more in the know than everyone else, do you have a top level position in Public Health England or maybe even the cabinet that qualifies you to goad people who are trying to be serious about this?

And yes I actually myself hold a management level position in healthcare, where we have had to redesign services due to corona virus. So I do have access to information and my opinions are based on that experience

SpeedofaSloth · 09/05/2020 19:49

Once. I allowed DD6 to play with her friend for a few minutes, when they were both in the street.