We have decided....

[whodunit3]

We have just had a family meeting and made the decision, the children will be kept off from tomorrow

Youngest has a chesty cough so wouldn’t be going in anyway but the other two will also be off for the foreseeable future (two primary and one secondary)

We live in an area where parents and grandparents are older, I have 0 confidence that BOJO, government informants or any scientist in the world really knows how this new virus works and I’m scared!

I read today that the reason behind lots of parents stopping doing what they though was right for their children was fear of judgment, doing the wrong thing, or more importantly doing (for you) the right thing.

I just wanted to share, that we are standing up and doing what feel right for us, do what’s right for you.

But if you are honest, you aren’t really doing this altruistically because you are worried about your children spreading germs to teachers, dinner ladies etc are you? You don’t want your kids to catch it, which is understandable, but why not own that and say “I am keeping my kids off school, I am worried they will catch Coronavirus and potentially give it to me” instead of framing it as some sort of public service? Nobody would deny you the right to protect your children if you were anxious about theirs and your health.

@category12 my husband is military and has absolutely 0 option, he is however showering at work before he comes home, wiping down steering wheels, washing hands with an alcohol based gel before he touches me and kids.

Who knows if it’s enough but unfortunately it’s the best we can do for now.

Sorry, I didn't get further than family meeting , do you have a code name for your meetings too?

I just talk to my husband, I feel so inferior.

@beebyjeeby are you forgetting all the vulnerable parents with health conditions, or those children with elderly carers like their grandparents? All of those people come in to contact with not only their own children but others too when picking up/dropping off at school.
Any household who has a vulnerable member of the family should be allowed to keep their children home.

@Rhinosaurus But they do not need to decide to keep their kids off for months. Keep them off for 2 weeks, then 2 weeks Easter holidays.
A month is a long time. Then reassess.

@Rhinosaurus

You really are putting words in my mouth now, at no point in any of my posts have I suggested I’m worried about myself or my children becoming ill with CV. I’m under 40, we have no underlying health issues, my children aren’t infants, what have I got to be worried about?!

However I do feel a duty of care, in a position where I can to remove my children for the time being and not contribute to the spread of people that are not so lucky.

Unfortunately the most vulnerable including the elderly are the least likely to comply to a lockdown.

That doesn't make closing the schools a solution though.

Any household who has a vulnerable member of the family should be allowed to keep their children home.

Where did I state otherwise?

I decided to keep my kids off initially for my sake, I am in a vulnerable group.
But I have now decided it is also for their sake. There are reports of some people with long term lung damage including children and possible male sterility. Why would I risk that?

www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/f94c3c90da5b4e9f9a0b19484dd4bb14

Graph showing exponential rise of cases- from public health uk

Map of cases in uk by area and city

www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/f94c3c90da5b4e9f9a0b19484dd4bb14

@beebyjeeby you really aren’t getting it are you, there is no great solution, no one has a fucking clue, most of all BOJO and his bunch of “behavioural” scientists (that incidentally no one agrees with)

Everyone has to pitch in!!

no one has a fucking clue

You do apparently

Everyone has to pitch in!!

I agree with this but there isn't one way of doing this. It's you prerogative to take your dc out of school early as i'm sure the schools will close at some point however my decision to keep mine in until that point doesn't make me an idiot or deluded.

@alloutoffucks
There are reports of some people with long term lung damage including children and possible male sterility. Why would I risk that?
This is not true. Please stop with the rumour-mongering.
i appreciate you may be in an at risk group and you must proceed according to your situation.
The problem is, eradication is impossible. This will infect most people at some point. There is no getting around that.

I work from home. But DH is a Police Officer, and they obviously have to work. The Police have no hand sanitiser, no face masks, and absolutely no extra precautions.

They went to take a statement off a man the other day, who announced at the end of the visit that he was isolated due to suspected CV.

They are still sent to calls from Junkies who are making stupid complaints about each other over fights over drugs. Guess what, I don't think heroin addicts are suddenly going to stop doing drugs together and self isolate it they are ill.

So, I think it's pretty likely, that my lovely hard working DH is going to catch this virus off some scumbag. And then bring it home to me. Lovely Jubbly.

@Alice02132354 If you understood what this virus does to the lungs, long term lung damage for some is a logical consequence. It causes pneumonia. Some people with pneumonia are already left with long term lung damage. Why would the pneumonia caused by this virus be any different?

@whodunit3
I apologise for earlier. I don't want to be rude.
Just because we don't agree with what the gov are doing we can't just say that we know better. We have to accept that we don't and someone has to be in charge... and it's them. We have to stick together or it doesn't work.
Old people have to stay in or they are at risk of death.
They are not closing schools because they think we are still in the flat part of the curve and want to wait till the steeper part of the curve for it to have the most effect... whilst also ensuring the "curfew" will be more dilligently observed if it's for an effective, shorter period of time.
Easter is coming up we're going to be off anyway in a few weeks and they think a lot of kids will be visiting grandparents if they're not at school. All other countries have isolated with 0 concern about what their long term plan is.
You might not agree, but to imply they are dumb, they don't have all the info, they haven't considered all the info is well.... unrealistic and sowing panic.

And the rest of the world is looking at the UK aghast at our bloody stupidity of trying to spread the virus.
All I am trying to do is make sure my family is not one of the half million who will die (governments own figures) or left with any ling term affects.
If you want to risk your families health, go ahead.

They are not closing schools because they think we are still in the flat part of the curve and want to wait till the steeper part of the curve for it to have the most effect...

Yes because they want most people to get infected with the virus. And to hell with the half a million who will die (governments own figures)

@alloutoffucks
It doesn't develop into pneumonia for the vast majority of people. You're only at risk if you have underlying conditions.
Ultimately, this is not going away. It will not be eradicated and they're expecting 2 peaks. They're also trying to ensure the 2nd peak is not during winter when the NHS is already under stress. Summer is when the NHS is least under stress. They believe other countries have quarantined too early and will pay the price on the 2nd peak.

The thing to really understand here is that this is not going away. It's a hard thing to have to swallow. It started with hundreds of cases only in Wuhan.. look at the map now.. it's global. Genie is out of the bottle and it's not going back in.

If you want to risk your families health, go ahead.

Let's hope the key NHS staff & emergency services workers who are parents don't take that approach.

I've kept mine off. They will go back when things calm down, I can't really say when this might be. I think at this point we are taking it day by day.

Genuine question OP. How long do you envisage keeping them off school for?

I'd like to keep DS home. DD is immunocompromised and has already self isolated for the foreseeable future (her decision). In reality, this isn't a big change for her as she's predominantly housebound anyway and only leaves the house twice a week for a hour. But if I keep DS home it's restricting his daily life for her benefit. And for how long?

Not to mention that DH is at the coal face as a teacher mixing with 1500 students every day who the nation is willing to contribute to herd immunity. So it seems a bit futile to keep DS home when DH is just as likely to bring it home. DH is a dept head with staff off sick already, so it's hard to see how he could in good conscience stay home and leave them and the students to get on with it.

OP your doing the right thing, its not bad where i am but im thinking of doing the same soon as its getting worrying.
Family meeting i think thats great u do that & make a choice together.

I'm in Canada and there is no school for three weeks. Given most countries are implementing school closures I don't get why the UK isn't.