To suggest we storm the parks (armed with hand gel and cleaning wipes)

[TotorosFurryBehind]

Maybe light-hearted, maybe not. In the past week I'm increasing frustrated that children and their well-being are being left behind, as golf courses, garden centres etc open. But no timeline in sight for playparks, zoos etc.

I walk past the park most days on our walk and am increasingly tempted to snip the plastic ties holding the gate shut and take my daughter to play on the swings. I think the only thing stopping me is that is socially taboo and that someone will call the police.

I'm such a law abiding person normally. But I think the anxiety and depression of lockdown is really getting to me. I don't understand the logic of the way things are reopening.

Does anyone else feel like this?

I think it depends on where you live how much you “need” playgrounds. I live within walking distance of a country park, the play equipment is closed but there is loads of other space to run and play in the trees etc.

Where I used to live in London the only “parks” within walking distance were 90% playground with some benches a flowerbed and a basketball/football court. No space to play unless the playground bit was open. If I still lived in this area I would be going mad especially if I did not drive.

I think playgrounds should open to the under 12s with no adults allowed, which should reduce the risk. I realise this excludes the very young but might be a good compromise

If you care about this, email your MP, don't moan on here. Especially in London, for the reasons given above.

don't moan on here

Who are you to dictate? Don't like the thread, don't read it.

Obviously you know more about my husbands work than he does then? Grass cutting is done in the summer months. They do a very occasional cut of bushes if they overhang a path but it's not part of their routine in the summer but it might be different in other areas.

@Homemadeandfromscratch all I can say is that your relatives with cancer must have been extremely lucky. The father of my children has had no scans for months and he has stage 4 terminal cancer. Anyway I sense the dementors are close so fuck this shit. Really no point in arguing to people who dont want to listen

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

This is the WHO definition of Health from the 1940s. We need to adapt to a

Sorry - posted way too soon. Was trying to say, that CV is going to be with us for many months yet and we need to adapt to a new normal. Play - safe play - is an essential part of child development and we absolutely need to get back to it.

We need to be asking how we minimise they risks. Not avoiding all activity within a low risk group.

Knucklehead101, have you Emailed your MP? I've had routine Vit B injections, had friends who've had no urgent hospital appointments and know people whose scans and hospital appointments haven't stopped. We are in the NW. Then again it could be why our R rate is the highest in the country.

Rosebel, it must vary place to place, the grass cutting is back on here and always happens through summer. Where are you getting your information from that children easily transmit Covid? Everything I've read, says otherwise.

Still waiting for the poster who questioned my intelligence re zoos vs garden centres to come and explain to me the difference between walking down a path and looking at a monkey vs walking down a path and looking at a plant

I can't answer that one Beatrix, but I believe zoos are actually pretty angry that they haven't been allowed to open as they desperately need visitors to raise money.

Anyone would think easing lockdown has been about appeasing older men...

@homemadeandfromscratch that may be the case in your area re treatment and testing, but I don't think you can answer for everyone. I received a text from my GP surgery today to say that smear tests would now resume. A quick look on the internet suggests the screening program has been paused in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Given that cervical screening reportedly saves 5000 lives a year a pause will have an effect and people will die as a result.

It is quite possible for children to have good mental health without access to play parks and soft play btw. Let's be honest, it's really parents who are suffering.

That's alright then. As long as it's only parents that are suffering.

Bottom of the fucking pile, even on Mumsnet!

Exactly, its summer now and it’s not being done. Are you on drugs?

Beatrix I suspect it is purely down to money. The Govt probably gets more invome ftom garden centres.
Re Cancer treatment I know a person with stage 4 cancer who is still receiving treatment. It will depend on a risk/benefit situation as getting covid would be very serious for immunosuppressed.

DisobedientHamster

Things ARE going back to normal! Have you missed the news?!? Schools ARE reopening, nurseries are reopening (to the children of non-front line workers) non-essential shops ARE reopening, and we never even had a strong lockdown in the first place.

It's pathetic that people are so used to not deal with their kids and dump them in nurseries, with grand parents or in soft play where they can ignore them safely for 2 hours that they struggle so much.

We don't even have to stay local and haven't had to for weeks! The need of the dementors to exaggerate everything to portray a dystopian world that never happened is ridiculous.

That's alright then. As long as it's only parents that are suffering.

when parents suffer because they have to spend time with their own kids, obviously the children suffer to.

*too

Things ARE going back to normal! Have you missed the news?!?
Things are going back to normal... hmm. So we'll be swimming, going to the theatre, playing recreational sport, and going to church again soon, then? As in, sometime in July? Boris said "we can turn this around in 12 weeks", I haven't forgotten that.

It's these restrictions being of indeterminate length that makes this so hard to deal with (and don't bother with the replies of it's for the greater good, the virus is unpredictable, you're lucky to be alive, we don't know when it will end, blah blah, or that wretched Boris phrase "whatever it takes"). As seen on another thread, many of those who at first welcomed schools being closed weren't expecting it to be until September for many children. A few weeks, perhaps, but not a few months.

I’m confused - our local park (cheshire) is open? I presumed all of them were?

Hold ten can and are socialising now, but it requires parents to supervise and support that when the children are younger.

My 6y nephew has played in the park (not playground) with his friend. They stayed apart but had running races up and down the grass and hills. He's kicked a ball between him and his friend on the grass and he did similar on the beach with another. My sister and friends mum stood watching and chatting- but each 2m apart from one another.

My 10y niece has met with a friend or two, one at a time. Bil drove her to meet the friend and then sat and worked in his car for an hour or so, whilst the girls chatted and 'hung out.'

On our street the children are socialising, and majority are keeping sort. We have a lot of medics living here so the kids are really aware of the distancing thing. They are playing ball games, racing one another on foot, bikes or scooters or for the slightly older ones sat a little apart chatting . They are using the park and the football nets behind us to play, but haven't gone in the playground whenever we've been by.

But they can social with friends, but might need parents to help them do this if friends live further away or if too young to be able to distance independently.

explain to me the difference between walking down a path and looking at a monkey vs walking down a path and looking at a plant

The plants won't throw faeces chock full of corona-virus at you.

(I know of no evidence that monkeys can catch coronavirus, or that their faeces are full of it if they do, but it's a risk!)

The monkeys won't do that either, they're behind big plastic screens!

I have done a bit more research on the ICL who published the 'evidence' that without lockdown there would have been 470,000 deaths in the UK.

They also predicted 150,000 deaths from foot and mouth (200 actual)
50,000 UK death from BSE. (178 actual)
AND
60,000 UK deaths from Swine Flu (138 actual) (and Neil Ferguson of ICL wanted to close school and apply lockdown then too)

So perhaps you can understand why I don't set much store by ICL and Neil Ferguson. (who apropos of nothing also had his married lover visit him after lockdown and had to resign from the gov't advisory team)

[quote SusieOwl4]@MrsRogerLima

That also could be something to do with

If you don’t get tax and national insurance starting up again there will be nothing to pay for the NHS

Also you are not likely to hug or kiss or share utensils or anything else with your local car salesman

If the sales of cars drop you will have huge job losses in all the peripheral jobs that go with this industry and many others .

OF COURSE there has to be a correlation between economics and saving lives . That was made clear from the start.

No jobs , no roof over your head .
No allowing the NHS to cope then more likely you will die from covid or other services that have suffered .

It’s a juggling balancing act that is being played out in Many countries at the moment . I think we are extremely lucky to have the furlough system and extremely lucky to have the part time furlough that is being offered . The banks ( about time) in my experience are also being helpful .

To be honest personally I am sick to death of this “ we know now we did not need to lock down”: well yes in restrospect we all can suddenly become experts it’s so simple in hindsight isn’t it ?

We are one of the most densely and highly populated countries in Europe and the situation could have been a lot worse .

And I will say again in my humble opinion the government’s main error was overestimating the intelligence of a small portion of the population who either have no common sense or just think they know better .[/quote]
Couldn’t agree more with the final paragraph of your reply. And the guilty twit’s name is Dominic Cummings.