She doesn’t want to touch the ball-y’know, because of covid

[Thecarobsarefalling]

We were at the beach last night with toddler Dd, she was happily running around the beach and fairly nearby was a family with two girls, maybe 8/9 years old.
Dd ran near to them (does this fairly frequently) to say hello/wanting to play. The older girl looked almost scared and backed away and said ‘I can’t’ we called Dd away as it felt like an awkward situation. The mum then cheerfully called to me that she probably didn’t want to touch the beach ball, because of covid. She then told her daughter she’d done the right thing. They left, saying a cheery goodbye and for us to enjoy our evening.
Aibu just to find this so very sad.

Indoctrinated is exactly the right word.

How sad that any parent has scared their child from playing with a ball.

@CharityDingle It’s really worrying 😟

@Everanewbie So very sad to see

It's about risk vs reward though. Most people are happy with the additional risk that going on holiday brings, because it makes them happy. A lot of people don't want to take the (albeit small) risk of getting close to an unknown toddler, who arent rebound for their hygiene, because it's not something they're that bothered about doing in the first place.

@YouMeandtheSpew

Can you even catch Covid from touching a beach ball?

Unlikely to. And they were all outdoors too so also lower risk

Its very sad that she has been so brainwashed into being scared of touching a ball.

I'm just so fucking pissed off that anyone who dares to show a shred of caution is mocked and laughed at

Far from it. Its not funny that a family are worried about catching Covid from a ball on the beach.

Maybe she just didn’t want to interact with your toddler?

Im on holiday in Spain, DS has played with local kids on the beach and the park. Wouldn't stop him from having fun for fear of possibly touching something and getting Covid.

@Ionlydomassiveones Quite aware people aren’t there to amuse my daughter! Ffs, she’s a little girl who saw a bigger girl, it’s natural for children to gravitate towards one another. We called her away and Dd had shown her ball and asked if she wanted to play catch.
Is there any need for such nastiness 🤷🏻‍♀️

@JMKid I can’t stop her, I’d find that more damaging.

@YouMeandtheSpew

Can you even catch Covid from touching a beach ball?

@YouMeandtheSpew I think you are more likely to be eaten by a shark in the U.K. than get Covid from a beach ball. In 10 years time the MH crisis in this country will make Covid look like a walk in the park.

@sammylady37

Maybe she just didn’t want to interact with your toddler?

I was wondering this.

Perhaps the mum was a bit embarrassed that her daughter didn't want to play with the toddler?

Not that she should've been embarrassed but it's an excuse I could see some people making.

It feels very much like the surface transmission theory was so heavily pushed at the start of the pandemic (and continually pushed since then to be fair) that people can't get their heads around the fact that the actual risk of surface transmission is pretty low. (And I include myself in that, I still find myself shouldering open a door).

Aren't there studies suggesting that the risk of surface transmission leading to infection is about 1 in 10,000 if the surface is contaminated?

Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’m all for people taking whatever precautions they feel comfortable with, we all have different levels of risk tolerance and that’s fine. But if you’ve travelled abroad and are on a crowded beach then a beach ball poses a comparatively tiny risk. And it seems sad for a child to be terrified by such a small risk.

@Megan2018

It’s not sad, it’s sensible. Your toddler is hardly going to be scarred for life. The family were friendly, what more do you want in a pandemic?

This

@BrilloPaddy

Indoctrinated is exactly the right word.

How sad that any parent has scared their child from playing with a ball.

It’s not necessarily the parents though is it?

Children have been surrounded by messages at school / on news / via friends etc ( age dependent) and during lockdown were told to “stay home” , we’re unable to visit grandparents etc. This will have had a profound impact on some children.

My child has developed severe OCD as a result of the pandemic. We have been extremely measured throughout and certainly not over cautious. If anything we’ve been on the relaxed side.

I think she just didn't want your child near her. It's normal for 8/9 year olds to not want to play with toddlers.

I agree OP, it is sad that normal interaction between children on a beach has become something to be fearful of. I totally see where you are coming from.

I find that sad too. Given everything we now know about how little surface transmission takes place, I can’t believe people are still indoctrinating their children to be so fearful of touching something someone else has touched.

It’s not sad, it’s sensible.

The two are not mutually exclusive. You can take what you feel is a sensible precaution whilst also feeling sad that you have to do it.

yanbu

@Thecarobsarefalling

Gosh, I found it so sad. It was strange to me that she was told to not touch a ball and yet had gone on holiday abroad, sat on a beach in August with people all around them, presumable visited the packed restaurants and shops, stayed in a hotel or villa I imagined, been on a plane and through an airport..but too scared to touch a ball and play with a toddler. Dd not bothered at all, she was soon playing with another set of children. These are anxious times, I just felt sad for the girl and found it a very sad situation.

For all you know they may live there. The may have a child or family member who is immunosuppressed. They were polite and friendly. Stop creating a back story that you know nothing about and stop being so judgy. They're not obliged to engage with you on your terms. As for feeling sad for their child the next day.... I sure she was perfectly happy playing on the beach and hasn't given a 2nd thought to how that lady with a toddler felt on the beach yesterday - get over it.

Some of the responses to the Ops, perfectly reasonable, assessment are mental. It IS sad, it's sad that children have been brainwashed into being terrified of a virus that poses very little harm to them (and most of the population now vaccinated) and the chances of catching it outside on a ball are miniscule. This is going to damage huge swathes of the population as many people can't seem to assess risk anymore and are terrified of social interaction. There is no mocking or judging for those still scared, the government and media has raged a psychological war against us for 18 months so obviously that has consequences but it is sad.

If they are at school, they will have seen school staff running around cleaning everything several time each day. I can’t tell you how strange it has been to have to sterilise hockey sticks and tennis racquets between children. And yet, that is what we have had to do.
It’s not surprising that this has rubbed off on children. I haven’t read the guidance (yet) on managing the classroom next year, so I don’t know what we will be doing about sharing equipment from September.

@HeyDugeesCakeBadge

Some of the responses to the Ops, perfectly reasonable, assessment are mental. It IS sad, it's sad that children have been brainwashed into being terrified of a virus that poses very little harm to them (and most of the population now vaccinated) and the chances of catching it outside on a ball are miniscule. This is going to damage huge swathes of the population as many people can't seem to assess risk anymore and are terrified of social interaction. There is no mocking or judging for those still scared, the government and media has raged a psychological war against us for 18 months so obviously that has consequences but it is sad.

All of this