So they expect us to never see family?

[SpongeCake23]

Unless I missed it, I heard no mention of seeing family in the future plans.
Opening schoolswaa outlined, even possibly opening hospitality services further down the line came up, but nothing at all about seeing people. What does that mean? We’ll never be able to?

Dominic Raab on bbc breakfast has just said families can meet outside as long as they maintain a 2m distance.

You can meet family outdoors for a walk staying 2m apart.

That's all well and good if you can prevent toddlers and children who want to hug their grandparents doing so

Guess I won't be seeing my family for a while then. My kids are 3 & 4 and would find it pretty traumatic if I have to keep shouting "you're too close!" to their grandparents or cousins etc

I'm surprised people aren't more pleased about this - I'd love to have this option but my family live too far away. Haven't seen my parents since Christmas, no idea when I'll see them again.

Whatever we're permitted to do, it'll have to involve distancing or PPE, and stay at home with symptoms.

Dominic Raab on bbc breakfast has just said families can meet outside as long as they maintain a 2m distance

Has he? How many at a time?

My 3 year old has seen my mum at a safe distance when we are dropping off food as she is shielding. She knows that the nasty bug means she can't be hugging nanny. She is used to it now.

We will continue to do this.

The question was about whether could a man see both of his daughters and Dominic Raab said that was ok outside with 2m distance.

Thanks Purple.

I was quite surprised by that because previously they’d been talking about meeting only one person from outside your household.

A walk outside is fine if you live near your family- but what about those who are far apart? It could take an hour or even much longer to get there, very difficult by public transport if you don't have a car, for the sake of "a walk".

Kids cope with it better than you think. My 3yo is fine with it.

(whisper, my mum doesn't mind taking the risk of hugging him now because we've barely been out)

He was also asked where you could now drive to and he said anywhere as long as not Scotland or Wales as they are under different rules....so im off 80 miles this weekend to see my family!

At the end of the day the virus is still just as transferable as day 1.

Some businesses have had time to put some social distancing processes into place, enough to lower the transmission
so can get back to some sort of normal.
People have still been advised not to congregate unnecessarily ie not use public transport if they can help it etc and we are being told to only make local journeys to exercise and shop.

Seeing family is a luxury, it does not directly contribute towards getting the country moving again, unless healthy family are providing childcare (which they have always been able to do).

So as an individual, you and your family need to weigh up the risks. Does seeing your family take you out of the local area, are any of you shielding or otherwise vulnerable? Yes, then you rely on alternative communication. Do your family live locally and are you all generally healthy, then meeting up outside following social distancing will be, relatively fine.

My family and I weighed up the risks, I live alone with Dd, my parents and brother only live a few doors away on the same road, I shop in the same supermarket that 2 of those family members work in. We normally pretty much live as one household so we decided that spending time together outside was a risk we were willing to take when compared to me being isolated for however many monthsand the impact of that on DD and my MH. There are only 5 of us, that is our entire family so that's a bit different to having massive one off BBQs or parties with 20+ people.

I’m very upset by this - my near 3 year old needs to interact with her cousins at this point. A walk at 2 meters is pointless for such an age group. This and the playground reopening would have been a lifesaver for us.

your children will soon get used to keeping a distance - I have been seeing my mum and took my two year old, it was pretty easy keeping him at a distance of 1-2 metres , obviously you have to constantly supervise but it's doable

I’ve seen my family all the way through. Just less of them. At a distance .
No hugs.
Just grateful for the interaction with them.

@OnlyFoolsnMothers playground and cousins are the things my just turning 3 year old needs most too

Do people not realise that visiting family at their home is the highest risk?

Meeting outside and keeping distance is not too bad.

And we do need to get things moving again. We can't keep the economy shut to enable family visits.

Those same family visits that will cause a 2nd wave.

Keep it sensible and outside - well thats not going yo cause a sudden spike.

And my kids need school more than seeing their cousin.

Its a shit situation for all of us.

So we can now drive to meet family and friends as long as we go for a walk ?

Contact with family without cuddles etc isn't really that meaningful for my 3yr old.

I'd love to go and see my mum, even if we had to meet in a park for a walk... but she lives 100 miles away. Whilst the new rules allow me to drive, and I can easily do the round trip in a day, I am not sure how I would manage without access to a toilet. I assume I would not be allowed into mum's house to use hers, and the public ones will still be closed.

Going against the grain here but interested in thoughts......say you have been completely isolating for weeks as have your parents. Only going out for food. Now they have released the measures slightly and Raab has sai you could meet outside, 2 meters apart, what would be the harm in meeting with your parents and hugging?

I am well aware of the 'rules'. I'm just intrigued by others opinions on whether there is actually anything wrong with this and if people will do it, providing both households have been isolated.