Are you going to send your kids back in when they reopen?

[Keepdistance]

Wondering if people will send them back.
As they think only 4-10% of population might have had it. And this peak was only 4w of school.
Im not shielding but isolating as much as possible because im
asthmatic.

I hope they say attendance isnt mandatory so people who need to/want to or are still WFH can keep them home if needed.

Mm not sure at the moment. I don’t think it’ll be until June at the earliest.
DS is finding things hard so probably but I will take the advice of my friend who’s a virologist because I trust him more than the government.

From working, one of us is all it takes or both of us working pt.
very low income, because time with our family is preferable to running around like headless chickens, no quality of life, and buying stuff.
During times like this it pays off, we may not have much but we know we can keep our family safe, better than us being dead with a house full of stuff, or worse lining the fat man's pockets.
Must admit to using Amazon though, wish I could find an alternative.

I don't imagine year 11 will be going back, so yr11 DD2 is off until September. I would send yr12 DD1 in. I imagine if the schools reopen before the summer they will try to do A level mocks, which will give predicted grades for UCAS form.

No one can really answer this as we have no idea when or how this will happen.

There has been talk about ages, areas going from lockdown.

We are fine as we are got now. I work from home so can continue to keep Ds home if necessary some people don’t have that choice.

All these people saying they won't send their kids to school untill there is a vaccine, you do realise that could be many years away until a vaccination programme is rolled out? You do also realise that children may not even part of the state funded vaccination programme? And it is not clear whether the private sector would provide vaccinations for children? Especially a new vaccine, I'm not anti vax AT ALL but I confess the idea of a new vaccine made with the time pressures of an epidemic...that does make me uneasy and I can't say for sure whether I would want my toddler, 'vulnerable' DD to have it. I say this as the close relative of someone who has spent most of their career working in that sector who would likely advise me not to get her immediately vaccinated. You would keep your children off school for 2 years if it took that long? And what about if after the 2 years, a vaccination programme is rolled out which does not include children (other than shielding group or possibly vulnerable group, if your child isn't in either category and cannot access vaccination, what would you do then? I'm genuinely interested in your responses.

Also it is a privilege for anyone to be able to make that decision. Many people cannot make that decision without plunging their families into poverty. We all know poverty is the leading cause of poor health outcomes so it certainly wouldn't be in your children's interest to do that. Therefore those who can comfortably say they can keep their kids off obviously have the disposable income to maintain acceptable living standards for them whilst one carer stays at home. Not everyone has the financial situation for that, clearly.

Yes of course, being out of school is doing my children more harm than shielding would.

I mean more harm than not shielding.

Also how would you feel if key workers all decided to pack in their jobs to keep their children at home, rather than going to work, treating your children in the hospital if it came to that? Are doctors greedy, they don't need all that money, should they pack it in and keep their child at home?

The lockdown was never able making sure no one else got the virus. The government is resigned to people getting it and dying from it. Just not in larger numbers than can be treated if appropriate.

It's down to who is vulnerable in your immediate circle and how you evaluate risk, isn't it. It wouldn't be in my children's best interests to lose a parent and we're not interested in rolling the dice for the sake of a few months of our lives. Our figures are actually appalling in the UK and this is not an enemy you want in your home.

But if you're a single parent with no vulnerabilities and haven't ever seen someone struggling for breath, I can imagine it looking -and being-completely different. Everyone reacts differently to the thought of what might happen. Every parent has a different list of priorities when it comes to their children's best interests.

One thing I won't be doing though is saying "If the government says it's safe then it's safe". The government ending lockdown doesn't mean your family won't get COVID-19. They haven't suggested that. In fact you will certainly be at greater risk when lockdown ends unless it goes on for a very long time and there is a miraculous testing revival. Ending lockdown just means they think they'll probably have a ventilator available if you need one. Not that ventilators are very helpful anyway. Whether you take the chance is entirely down to you and there's no one right way to do it.

So people would send their kids to school, even though it wouldn't be safe, so they can both work.
Aw, poor kids and what a society.

Define ‘safe’.

We all put our children in risk situations every day. The risk from the virus to children is extremely low; schools are also modelled to be much lower than eg workplaces and public transport at spreading the virus and contributing to deaths (SAGE advice, Danish govt, etc.)

We have a choice about this particular risk - either isolating our children for what may be years, or returning them to school at a time when transmission has dropped to a much lower level and current restrictions can start to lift with a focus on rest and trace.

I am not willing to do the health and psychological damage of keeping my children at home and isolated from other children and from parks, sports and playgrounds for the potentially very long period until a vaccine is available. That’s entirely without the practical implications for me.

In much the same way, I let my children travel in cars despite risk, ride bikes, many many things. I mitigate the risks sensibly to minimise them as far as practical, while still living our lives.

I am hoping that schools don't go back until September. My children are so happy to be off, they're spending time doing creative things. They're using their imaginations and learning how to be children without the pressures of school.
I'm actually worried about how my 5 year old is going to cope with going back.

Mine would be due to go back mid-August after the holidays. That’s the earliest I’d consider sending them back depending on how things play out over the next months.

'Anyone who trusts the ‘science’ is an idiot they are making things up to suit themselves. '

Someone who puts the word science in inverted comas isn't really in a position to call anyone else an idiot.

Yes I will. Assuming school opening coincides with falling numbers.

I'm not sure that only letting mine go back to school just as flu season starts would be the wisest parenting choice either

No.

But I have a baby due last week in August so will be very cautious.

Perhaps when all the figures are analysed and we know more about who and why people caught the disease, why more survived in one group etc we can all make more informed decisions.

As yet we are all in the dark guessing about what will happen, when schools will restart etc.
Perhaps more parents will decide to Home school instead of sending their children back?
If you want to keep them home I completely understand this but there will be a date in the future where you will have to decide. By then we hopefully have more answers.

Depends when they reopen. I pulled my kids out of school early, they are not going back until it is safe to do so.

@DressingGownofDoom beat me to it - science in inverted commas 🤣🤣🤣🤣 must be lovely though, not to need two incomes (and believe you me, ours go on keeping a roof over our heads and food) or work for a company who despite the schools taking children back, will pay you to do childcare rather than focussing 100% on work. Super.

No, have you watched you child like shopping trolleys and every door handle, and that’s when you’re watching them?

@JassyRadlett That is scaremongering. It will not take years until there is a vaccine or until this is under control.
I am not expecting there to be no risk, but they are not going back until it is a low risk. And I will be reading WHO and what they say to guide when it is low risk.

Yes of course. If school reopens I imagine they will stop their online schooling program. I have no ability to homeschool them and would lose their place at school if I pulled them out.

cabbage but many don't want that. They don't want to make the decision.

They want schools to shut longer than needed because it suits them. They want all children to suffer, even if the risk is low, so they can keep their children safe.

I do understand that to a point. If I had concerns about my children I wouldnl chose to keep them home. But I would not call other parents bad parents for saying they would send their kids to school.

I think we can assume that people on both sides of the fence are doing their best to act in their children’s best interests, albeit with a different understanding of the problem.

I will trust the scientific studies and professionals that the government are clearly working very closely with and basing decisions upon

hahahahahahahahahahaha

They got it wrong for quite some time! And still are in a lot of ways.