Genuine opinions wanted. Should I let my daughter come to stay

[Progress2019]

My daughter is 18 and lives alone in a flat 25 minutes walk from our house. Shes self isolated since the 17th March, only going out to the shop, on her own.

She wants to know if she can come back for the rest of the lockdown as the loneliness is getting to her. Her mental health isn’t always brilliant, but she seems ok, just wants to be with us. She usually wants her own space, so for her to admit this is quite a big deal.

Her sister and I haven’t been outside (apart from the garden) since the lockdown started. My husband goes to the shop and for walks in the evening. He and I are working from home, both daughters places of work are currently closed.

I think its fine for her to come back. We would all rather shes here, but my friend has made me doubt myself. She says we’re putting ourselves at risk, and breaking rules. I know some uni students are still making their way home, so I can’t think this is different, apart from she doesn’t need to use public transport to get here.

I’d be interested in hearing opinions.

That's the right decision, OP.

Definitely the right decision, glad she’s coming home OP

Absolutely the right thing to do OP, especially as she’s been isolating since 17th March anyway and won’t be going out to work. Hope you enjoy the time together.

Sorry. I said she and my husband had been isolating, when they've both been buying food. What I meant was, they haven’t been mixing with people for work, or any other reason, and have stuck to the guidelines.

Its really refreshing to hear that the majority of people would do the same. Its really hard to know what to do for best, but I’m positive that her coming home is best for her.

Thank you all.

My son was away at uni and we collected him yesterday. He was left in his house on his own as all other house mates had left and he suffers with anxiety so I was worried about his mental health. We had planned to get him before the lockdown but as I am in the shielding category we wanted to make sure that he had no symptoms first. He and us completely isolated for 10 days to make sure we were all clear then made the journey yesterday to collect him.

I picked my dd up from university, it's allowed to collect adult kids

She says we’re putting ourselves at risk, and breaking rules.

I mean, your friend is completely correct. If you're going to let her come home then you and everyone else need to stop pretending this is not true. The rules are pretty clear, and households are supposed to stay separate.

You're simply deciding the risk is greater to your daughter if she stays put, sounds like this may be true, but by doing this you also increase the risk to everyone else including people outside your family. She's not been self isolating because she's left the house for food and therefore been amongst people.

To those saying she needs to self isolate, why?

You self isolate if you are vulnerable, if you have symptoms or are living with someone who has symptoms. Social distancing and self isolating are two different things.

Unfortunately people do still need to go outside for lots of reasons and don't lock themselves up for 14 days every time they get in.

Yes, absolutely. Bring her home. I brought my son home from uni, it’s a relief to have him home.

Now that there’s a lockdown, she needs to self-isolate for 14 days after combining households to avoid negating the benefits of the lockdown. That way if the daughter has caught the virus while shopping, OP doesn’t pass it to others when she is shopping.

I'm glad she's coming home.