Keeping children at home until September

[Witchcraftandhokum]

I work in a school and I'm seeing and hearing a lot of this both on here and in the contact I have with parents. I am worried about how we will manage social distancing and whether we will have PPE if the schools open soon, but I do appreciate the need for kids to be in school, particularly Year 6 and 10.

I also don't know how it will work if a lot of parents chose not send their kids back until September. I wonder just how many parents will do this?

So...
YABU - My kids won't be back until September.
YANBU - My kids will go back as soon as the schools open.

LittleBearPad
and that's exactly why teachers are trying to reach out.

If this country relies strictly on school to do all our social work , we really need to rethink the entire education system.

Yes we probably do. What happens to the children whose parents ignore the teachers and the efforts to reach out?

You really are hard of thinking

So let me get this right.. some posters think 6 months at home will be more damaging for children then let's say them catching it, bringing it home and a family member passing away?

I dunno about you, but in my family we value human life more then our personal short term gains.

Also I dont think this is reflective of how children are coping. On other threads, sites, forums, most children are coping well, but it is also a reflection of parental attitudes. If parents are stressing, pulling hair out, ranting about missing friends/being in lock down then children will reflect these attitudes.

Children can cope with current circumstances and there has been plenty of evidence that suggests many are. Also this completely ignored the huge amounts of children who are upset and stressed, not because they are at home, but because they are scared of the virus and of family/themselves getting very ill or dying. So we are suggesting that these children should have their anxieties ignored because it dosent align with the narrative of a small percentage of parents who want their children back at school, regardless of the risk, and thus support the claim that the only cause of mental health in children currently is because they miss school as that allows them to justify schools opening asap.

But we should ignore all the other children. The children who will find schools opening while theres still a high risk traumatic (most high school children will understand the r value and will discuss how its increasing, and what that means for infections and deaths, they will know that although its unlikely they will die they may still get very ill, or pass it to a family member who may die), or the children who have actually seen their mental health increase in this time, as its commonly reported that current school culture is very detrimental to mental health for the average child, so add in a child who is mildly disabled or a bit different who gets bullied, the ability to do school work at home, while being around parents and only communicate with the few close friends without contact with all the others, will have been a godsend for mental health.

You can always tell when someone has lost the argument when they revert to such tactics one

Biscuit0110
It would just suit you perfectly

What do you mean it would suit me perfectly? I am not selling anything, I have a different point of you than yours.

I also think, and that's not new, that the confusion between education and social services is seriously wrong.

Maybe my children have been lucky but our holidays don’t tend to be spent at home with them forbidden to see their friends or go to a playground...

At the start of the shutdown a 12 year at DD's school took her own life so I don't think its correct to poo poo the idea it will case trauma to some families and children. Some families are under alot of stress - trying to hold down jobs, entertain and school children at the same time. Its a pressure cooker.
Some MNetters assume everyone else is a SAHM / working part-time. Its not the case some of us work full-time and need to. I am the sole breadwinner in our family as DH is not well enough to work. He's also not cut out for looking after / educating small children for an extended period of time.

Biscuit0110
You can always tell when someone has lost the argument when they revert to such tactics one

such as? writing down the opinion showing you that you are being overly dramatic? Children being damaged because they are a bit bored at home when their parents are working? Really?

A child needing to be in school at the moment does not mean there is a problem with parenting. There are lots of reasons a child can be in the vulnerable category.

I am pointing out that being hysterical is unhelpful, and really unnecessary

Right, firstly the only person being hysterical here, is you.

It's not ideal. We are all missing out on a lot of things
However, it's up to you to present the situation to a very young child as a holiday, something positive. Not to make it a dramatic situation when it really isn't
Thats how i am presenting it to him, but he's not thick. He knows "holidays" dont go on this long. He wants to go back to nursery.

At worst most kids are bored. It's hardly likely to cause long-term psychological damage because they have to entertain themselves a bit more than usual, with books, tv, internet, and still thankfully some access to outdoor exercise and fresh air
Its not about boredom as well you know.

It's embarrassing to read how hysterical some people are

yes, it is isnt it?

So let me get this right.. some posters think 6 months at home will be more damaging for children then let's say them catching it, bringing it home and a family member passing away?

The chances of this happening are tiny.

Very true @underhisi - was one example

some people need the drama to make their life feel more important, what can you say. It's a great pity it's their kids who will suffer.

What kind of home life do your inflict on your poor kids if you think that a 6 months break at home is causing so much damage?!?!?
There are people coping, there are many not. A friend of mine used to say her few hours without the kids was the only thing that kept her able to be a good mum, to say I have to talk her down daily is an understatement. She said her husband is so worried about her and is doing everything and she cant cope. To the people saying they feel locked in, I honestly feel for you, deep breaths and big hugs and try to do something nice or even just take a walk around the garden or a shower or something tiny

so let me get this right.. some posters think 6 months at home will be more damaging for children then let's say them catching it, bringing it home and a family member passing away?

well, yes.

My son is on the list due to an underlying health condition, so mine won't be going back until July at the earliest, and probably not until September.

some people need the drama to make their life feel more important, what can you say. It's a great pity it's their kids who will suffer

what is this even supposed to mean?

i dont want any drama in my life (if you can call losing your job and your house drama) so i would like to go back to normal please so that my child doesnt suffer.

Biscuit0110

the report that you linked to is an amalgamation of cherry picked small samples that really doesn't prove anything.

There is still no confirmation either way about whether children are super spreaders.

You really are lovely aren’t you @OneandTwenty - Biscuit is right.

some people need the drama to make their life feel more important, what can you say. It's a great pity it's their kids who will suffer.

Remember the threads before the schools officially closed to non-key workers and families in need?

We had plenty of hysterical posts ranting how it would not be possible, going into great length to explain how it would never happen and so on.

6 weeks on, barely the length of a summer break, not only it has happened, but it really has not been as bad as they claimed it would be. Parents still manage to work, teachers still manage to teach, kids are still educated when parents are willing to be a bit flexible and not stick to school hours clashing with their own working hours...

It's only the same parents who have always been against school holidays full stop - just read past threads... - who are being more dramatic than usual.

I haven’t read the full thread but on the issue of PPE my understanding is that the benefit of masks is that it protects others from the person wearing the mask. That is where the benefit lies. You can see that it might be beneficial on public transport if most/all people wear them but as a teacher being the only one wearing one whilst none of the children do it seems that might actually have the potential to increase the risks to the teacher rather than reduce them.

I’ve never really understood the benefit of gloves. The virus doesn’t enter through your skin, you need to touch your face. I suppose if gloves make you touch your face less there might be some benefit? But otherwise how do they help? You’d be better off washing your hands than wearing dirty gloves all day.

but it really has not been as bad as they claimed it would be. Parents still manage to work, teachers still manage to teach, kids are still educated when parents are willing to be a bit flexible and not stick to school hours clashing with their own working hours...

Maybe it hasnt been bad for you. Its been very bad for others.

Some teachers are teaching, some arent. Some kids are being "educated" some arent.

A lot of us CANT WORK btw. I am currently furloughed, not because i want to be but because nursery is closed.

I want to go back to work.

My son is 4 and due to start school in September. Before lockdown he was attending pre school 3 days a week. If preschools are opened before September I don't think I will send him back. But that is for a few reasons: they close over summer so he wouldn't have very long there at all and it would take a while to readjust and then adjust to another new school in September, he never really liked it that much and it would be very difficult to motivate him to go back, I have now psyched him up for 'big school' so it would be a step back, I'm actually really enjoying this time with him and only work very part time in the evenings so it's possible for me to continue.

Some children have better mental health being off school though. You can't use mental health as a reason to go back because it's not true for everyone. My daughter has only stopped self harming since lockdown.
I'm sure some children are suffering but a lot are probably relieved they have a break from bullying and peer pressure.

"Child mental health experts have urged the government to prioritise children’s play and socialising with friends over formal lessons and academic progress when schools in England reopen and lockdown restrictions are eased.

They say they are “extremely concerned” about the impact of the lockdown and more than six weeks without face-to-face play with peers on child mental health. They are calling on ministers to ensure that play is at the top of newly permitted activities."

www.theguardian.com/education/2020/may/07/prioritise-play-when-schools-reopen-say-mental-health-experts-coronavirus-lockdown

(but no, no, I'm sure they're all having a lovely holiday and the child mental health experts are just being dramatic.)