My child has been selected for a Covid test!

[Livingmybestliferight]

He's 10. Does not want to do it. Am wondering why they are doing this and whether it has anything to do with schools opening or not?! Would I be unreasonable to refuse this opportunity?

I don't understand why anyone would refuse to do this tbh. Do you want to help the situation or not?

purplepandas I'm also a researcher and agree with everything you say. Even though he is a child I think consent is important here. If your son doesn't want to participate it isn't compulsory, so respect his wishes.

It really isn't that bad. The diameter of the swab is tiny - a NG tube is bigger and that does go all the way down to the stomach from the nose. It's uncomfortable, but it doesn't go anyway near your brain.

I would love to have the opportunity to do something to contribute to saving lives. I would convince my 10-year old to do it and TBH I don't think he would need convincing. It's not taking blood, its a long baby bud down your throat and up your nose.

I hope we get one of these letters as I think we all had it in Feb. Not been tested though and desperate to know if we have had it or not.

This is a really small sample of responders who've had the letter on this thread, but I tell you what, I'm glad I don't have a suspicious mind
I might start wondering why their random sample is so heavily weighted towards children and key workers....
(The answer being, of course, that there are doubtless a higher concentration of key workers and parents on MN!)

It tests for both whether he has got it or has had it

Yes and wouldn't you want to know? After all, what if you yourself had already had a fairly bad sore throat and headache or were breathless and had mild chest pain? Imagine if you'd had all that yet continued to exercise twice a day most days, go to the shop about 2 - 3 times a week and even visited another household?

Having said that, if you were the type of person with that attitude, I doubt you'd give a shit about helping the rest of society.

My child has only left the house three times since 20th of March- when I say that I mean the boundaries of our property so my child has been running around in the garden, jumping on the trampoline etc all outside in the fresh air - maybe that's what the OP means?

Thisismytimetoshine

That is what the health care professional told me to do!!!

RadioactiveHead the letter we’ve had (I assume they’re all the same?) is for an antigen test rather an antibody test, so will only tell us if shes got it now, not if she’s had it.

@Iwalkinmyclothing @FudgeBrownie2019

She wouldn’t have taken no for an answer I’d imagine. Surely as a kid you were made to do things you didn’t want to do...,swimming lessons, tuition etc. I remember being dragged from the car park to go swimming. But It was good for me!

I’ve done the test. As we were doing it on ourselves I imagine it wasn’t as painful as if someone was doing it to us. The swab definitely doesn’t go up to the brain as its over in a matter of seconds.

If the mother is fine with him not doing it then what do I care.

altough consent is of course essential - its not informed consent if you havent had a good discussion with him about the pros and cons. also , sadly , its the poorly educated / ethnic minority who often dont participate in trials so we dont get a representative sample of the population .

Happy to have the benefits of research but not to contribute , in a very minor way ? Not the way to bring up a decent member of society , OP.

@MissConductUS I'm assuming the antibody testing is a blood sample one? Desperate to get my mom tester as she's In the shielding group but is certain she had it earlier in the year (symptoms all match and still not recovered sense of smell/taste)

We received a letter too, it clearly explains it is random how children are selected. Discussed with said child who agreed to the test so we are going ahead.

Assuming it's this test, this may reassure him. www.thesun.co.uk/news/11260521/coronavirus-test-home-kit-uk/

Consent in a child is important. It is important to be honest with them too. DS has a heart condition and had to have a heart procedure a few years ago. His consultant was very honest with him, told him what they were going to do in a year 5's language, told him to ask anything he wanted (DS was concerned about pain and they reassured him). The consultant was very open and honest and DS felt happy with what was going to happen.

You can't teach a child that it's OK to say no then over-ride it UNLESS it's to save their lives (DS didn't have the choice to say no as he would have died without the procedure). But a child should be comfortable that they are listened to.

If it were DS I'd be showing him the video, explaining that it will be a bit uncomfortable but that he'd then be able to tell all his friends he was helping to find out what the virus is doing in the country. Ramp up the 'how amazing is that'. But if you or he doesn't want to do this then he doesn't do it. It's not for anyone else to remonstrate with you or him. His body, his choice unless it's a matter of his life or death.

My DH received the letter just now! Not a keyworker (and obviously not a child).
I'm kind of jealous.

Wow some very odd assumptions being made on my parenting skills!
He has been in the garden and on the trampoline yes. But he doesnt want to go for walks so I go either with his dad or alone. He stays with his older teenage sister.
Yes he has all his immunisations but I can't see the relevance in that?
Of course it would be very interesting to know if he had had it, particularly as the other week my husband had a sore throat, headache and mild chest pain. In fact i did too just before him, but not as bad.
He's scared because he is a very sensitive child and a wuss!! I could explain about the importance of it but i would never force him, I couldn't. Do some of you really expect me to force a swab down his throat and up his nose whilst my husband held him down?! As if, that's bloody abuse.

It’s random.

* He doesn't want to do it as he is scared and I'm not going to hold him down!!*

I would be really bloody upset if my 10 year old son was scared about this. Why? Because it meant that my fear (or rather yours) has been absorbed by him rather than teaching him the reality of the reality, which is that even if he hasn’t had it and gets it - he would likely get very mild if any at most on

I've conducted research with children and for researchers it's crucially important that the child consents. No harm will come to your son by refusing the test, so it's not comparable to a parent insisting that a child take medicine or get vaccinated even if they don't want to.

By all means encourage him, but forcing him would be completely wrong.

symptoms

My teenage DS has been included. He was very excited to be involved.

I agree that consent is important for all ages, but my question is why any children would feel afraid of doing this? It's all down to parents' attitudes and how they put it across.

Given this is a simple swab test and won't be painful at all and has no risks attached to it, plus helps our understanding of the virus, I really cannot see why parents cannot convey that simple message to the children.

If they are scared of the very simple test it is because they haven't been given adequate information. If not, why not?

I understand a small number of people, whether adults or children won't give consent even in full receipt of the info. However, the numbers on here seeming anxious or suggesting people don't want to participate just seems very odd to me.

It's an exciting opportunity to be involved for any adult or child. It's useful and painless and very simple - and if people or their children don't know this, they just need to read the info that come with the invitation.

There’s no issue with “forcing it”

The administrator of the test simply would not force a 10 year child to do anything.

@WombatChocolate

My view too. It’s indicative of the child feeding off the parents

OP what year is your son? Is he yr 5 or yr6?