Covid & The Childminder

[GAL8]

I'm sure there are lots of us going through this scenario so sorry if there's a similar thread already out there.

We live in the countryside, in the sticks. My now 18 month old, was going to a nursery in our nearest city pre Covid. We pulled her out in March & have been at home with her since. Myself & my OH work from home so have been sharing childcare & work between us like so many others I'm sure.

A month ago we put her in a local childminders. Nervous at first as we have been very mindful of Covid but she hasn't seen other kids much for 6 months, & it's given us some work life balance.

She has settled in very well. Happy days. However, got a call yesterday from the childminder saying one of the other children's parents had come in to close contact with a now confirmed positive case. The Dad has had a test also & is now waiting on results & we won't be going anywhere till we know as our daughter has come in to contact with his recently.

Talking to OH today about putting her back in childminders next week (assuming all ok) & he's now against the idea of her going back, out of fear of rising cases & in his opinion the inevitability of this happening again.

I am inclined to agree with him but at the same time I worried so much about DD not seeing other kids & she's settled so well. We do have to be careful, as OH's parents are elderly & live very close to us (too bloody close sometimes)

Trying to weigh up the two sides. You could say it's an easy decision, health comes first, etc, but as we all know there is the mental health/socialising side of things too.

We have been lucky where we are, hardly any cases throughout but now these are on the rise.

Sorry to ramble on. Just hoping for some help to make my mind up!

I don't think it matters that much tbh, either way.

Your baby will probably be pretty content whichever you choose.

I don't mean to be flippant, but I think you can worry worry worry but really both are safe decent options, if you took covid out of the mix?

If it was me I'd be weighing up the actual risk to DD if she caught it, then the risk to you and DH. For a young ish, fit ish, no under lying conditions person the risks are minimal. So for me the benefits to her social well being would take precedence.

At 18months there is no benefit to nursery or childminder, unless the home is unsatisfactory i.e. chaotic.

Thanks both.
She was in ICU as a baby for 16 days so it's done my anxiety towards her no favours. The thought of her getting poorly terrifies me. Even if she has a cold & a temp I'm a nightmare.

I guess lots is still unknown about the virus but thankfully it doesn't seem to pick on kids as much as adults.

There's no problem with it either I should add before I get branded anti-childcare!

You are allowed to just please yourself imo, if you can have her home and want her home, that's fine.

@PracticingPerson Thank you, makes me feel better what you said. Purely the social side for her is all I'm thinking. I would prefer her to still go, but it does worry me. I.E, if she caught it how poorly would she be, & if she passed it on to me & OH, would we be well enough to look after her. This virus treats everyone so differently it's just unpredictable isn't it. Oh come back, Brexit.

Good luck making your mind up. Also, you can always have a rethink anyway!

I'm surprised a childminder even told you about a contact of a parent of a child testing positive.

It's unlikely to do your child any harm either way, whether you send her or not.

I'm surprised you were informed too. The only reason to inform you would be if a child at the setting tested positive.

@StellaGib and @Comefromaway businesses - and the childminder is a business - aren't always clear on what they are supposed to do in a Covid situation.

our daughter has come in to contact with his recently.

Why has your daughter been in contact with another child’s parent? I wouldn’t be happy about that. Our nursery is only allowing drop off and pick ups outside so other parents aren’t near my kids inside.

@OverTheRainbow88 As in our daughter has come in to contact with his daughter at nursery.

Why is the dad testing does he have symptoms? Even if he's negative he must isolate for 14 days from his contact....a negative test does not shorten isolation. So your child has been in close contact with his child unless he tests positive you shouldn't have a problem directly as your daughter hasn't been in close contact for more than 15 minutes with anyone displaying symptoms.
I understand your anxiety but this virus may well be with us for a year or more there may never be a vaccine like there isn't for the cold or sars so you need to decide how your going to manage going forward

Whilst attending childcare is not necessary to your child's development some amount of social contact is. You could get this from going to toddler groups...if they open, soft play...limited social value as many isolated play, playmates...if allowed and you know people. But all have risk your meeting a wider number of inconsistent people and extending your bubble. Your also not working while doing it.
Other than that you need to provide opportunities for all types of play particularly messy and sensiry play can you do this whilst working?
A nursery will have a much bigger bubble...all the children and the staff and any cover who come in to cover isolation and illness. My daughter works in a nursery 5 staff and the manager 4 have already been in isolation due to their families being in contact with a positive case. None of them have had covid as a result.

The dad hasn’t tested positive

He’s been in contact with someone who has

He needs to self isolate

Therefore no risk to your child

Yes he may come down with symptoms - then his child will self isolate

I get uou are worried due to her start in life , but as someone else pointed out c is here to stay for a long time , till a vaccine is made

Unless you never take dd out there is always a small risk she may catch c

It’s good for a child to socialise and as she gets older it will be harder to work with her at home

Tho again not sure why the CM told you. Till dad shows symptoms his child is no risk to you

If he did then his child wouid self isolate for 2w and then I would expect CM to mention it