Self isolate an 11yr old?

[BebeBelge]

Hello.

My 11 yr old daughter has developed a temperature today. Obviously we all need to self-isolate for 14 days now. My question is do we need to get her to stay in her room for 7 days? I don't want to scare her and part of me thinks it would be kind of pointless as if she has covid, chances are we all already have it (me, DH and 2 ds) as we've been living on top of each other 23 hrs a day for 3 weeks already. I don't want to be irresponsible but equally i'm thinking of my daughter's mental well-being.

We are all otherwise well, fit and no underlying conditions.

WWYD?

Thank you x

No absolutely not. You cannot ask an 11 to stay in her bedroom for 7 dats, like you say the effect on her mental health would be horrendous. You all now self isolate as a household as a precaution for next 14 days.

You can't isolate an 11 year old. You all need to isolate for 14 days but don't isolate her.

That's what I was thinking. We could try and minimise hugs with her brothers etc and just wash and disinfect communal areas more often? Would that be enough?

In all honesty, having read about the viral load I would be making sure she was at a physical distance and preferably in a separate room as far as possible. Clearly not to the detriment of her mental health.

Personally I would be careful but not fully isolate. Separate towels, no sharing food etc.

If any of your family member is still going out for work, etc, I think that person needs to stay away from 11 years old, since he or she may pass it on to others. Otherwise, you can all self isolate together in the house, I think. If the symptom started to show, chances are, you all have it already.

No, we're both working from home now. I had a quick Google about vital load and didn't really understand it.

I will clean and disinfect as much as I can and encourage kids to play seperately. I think that's the most realistic option?

Sorry viral load!

I think so. Take care.

Agree witj everyone else, isolating her for seven days is not realistic. Isolation is a punishment in prison for a reason, we are social creatures. Adults have the fortitude and understanding to self isolate for a few days if needed but it's unreasonable to expect that of a child, let alone a sick child !

You can suggest she spend more time in her room (she may want to, depending on how sick she is) and ask her and brothers to limit touching and hugs. And get everyone to wash their hands/not share toiletries, etc. But don't have unrealistic expectations either. If your daughter has it :

• chances are everyone's been exposed already
• she was contagious before she had symptoms
• you're all on top of each other so it won't be possible to cover all paths of infection.

So, do what you can and try to not sweat it, though I realize it's easier said than done...

Viral load in your situation basically means that if your DD does have covid and you she doesn’t isolate from the rest of you, you could have higher viral loads and develop worse symptoms. Viral load is the amount of virus you have. It’s not just a case of catching it or not catching it. You catch more or less of it. If you caught it from the supermarket your viral load would be low, if you caught it from living closely with a family member your viral load would be much higher.

Distance from her as much as possible. Use separate towels, bathroom (if possible), wear masks and gloves if you’re around her.

The whole family needs to self isolate for 14 days. That means you stay in - no walks, no shopping trips. work from home is fine, have to get food delivered or get friends to pick up.

If your dd feels better after 7 days, she can go back out for exercise or shopping.

If anyone else shows symptoms, they can go out again after seven days if feeling fine.

If someone shows symptoms on day 13, they have seven more days in isolation.

I am slightly surprised that a pp suggests or at least implies that anyone still going out to wrk would be OK to continue. Everyone has to stay in.

Guidelines here PHE ,including a great diagram we all love (I work in NHS comms so this is my specialist subject!)

We’re discussing an 11 year old here, not a 6 year old, unless she is immature for her age? While locking her into one room is far from practical, she should be mature enough at 11 to tolerate and understand a week of minimal contact with others if you really explain it well, no? Also I’d try to get some treats or things she would appreciate like having a TV in her room or other things you might not usually allow.

DD2 developed a high temp and a cough before lockdown, she’s 4. We self isolated as a household for 14 days but didn’t encourage her to stay away from the rest of us or wear a mask around her, she’d have been petrified. Anyway whatever she had we all caught (don’t know if it was COVID19 obviously), DH had a high temp and cough, I had a cough and shortness of breath, DD1 and DS both had mild sniffles/cough, but all fine now.
We just stayed at home but otherwise interacted with each other as normal.

I'd try and minimise contact, esp bw her and

her brothers, without going for full isolation, esp for the first few days. It could make you or her dad very sick.

Keeping rooms well ventilated will help.

She certainly can hugely limit her interactions with the rest of the family. Or, rather, you and dh can limit them.

As children of the 60s, my siblings and I had many illnesses, such as measles, where we basically spent at least one week in our own bedrooms, with only mum coming in to look after us. Our siblings might talk with us from the doorway, or even play games that way, if we felt up to it.

I don't see why that wouldn't be possible now, especially with the availability of laptops/a second TV/phones etc to make it easier.

Thanks all for the replies. I'll talk to her. She is very sensible but also very sensitive and can be a worrier. She can have her laptop (Netflix) in her room and I'll try and keep brothers out.