So sick of seeing all the I’m not sending my kids back to school posts

[NiknicK]

from parents on Facebook. Followed by their friends jumping on the band wagon praising them for being such a great parent. I’ve also seen posts from parents judging others who have chosen to send their kids back saying they are selfish. Why do parents feel the need to announce on Facebook that their kids aren’t going back school. My children aren’t going back to school until at least September but I haven’t felt the need to share this on social media with the hope of being validated by other parents telling me what an amazing parent I am. It’s like it’s a competition, ie the prize for the biggest martyr and best parent goes to........

I completely agree with you. I'm so fed up of it being implied that I'm a terrible person for sending my children back in. Everyone has a right to post on FB what they want but is there really a need to get so high and mighty about things that you actually come across as being a bully? I've gone and unfollowed a number of friends who are particularly militant about their views. At the end of the day we're all going to do what we judge to be the best for our families at a set point in time and we shouldn't be publicly vilified for our decisions either way.

Doesn't matter what you do someone will say it's wrong! My In laws are both deceased now , but they would have been mad at me for keeping them home if schools were open and they could go in. ' where's your back bone, it's just the unions playing up , we lived through the war ' etc etc. I know they would have had a lot to say about this current crisis! Not any of it positive either.

I don't envy people making a choice as who is to say who is wrong or right here?
Only a parent knows how their child will be and if they think it's right or not.
Nobody really knows do they?

Well, we do know because all of the evidence shows that the number of children who suffer serious effects or fatalities from catching coronavirus is absolutely tiny

What a random "knows" on social media doesn't make it a scientific truth. When even specialists are arguing about numbers, rates and numbers, I'd take social media with an even bigger pinch of salt than normal.

You know what annoys me more?!

People posting in here to bitch about FB🤣

I don't use it because it would drive me batshit!!!

If you use it to keep in touch with family then delete the other 54 million 'friends' & local groups -save yourself the drama!! 🌷

But in September you will at least know what happened following the schools reopening, if the numbers and infection rate changed or not. You will also know how the school day was organised and be clear on what is offered to the children.

You’ll only know this because other people are prepared to take the risk for you though. It strikes me as not dissimilar to anti-vaxxers benefiting from the herd immunity granted by other people’s children having vaccines.

Year 4 and 5 are only 8 or 9 : will they be able to be left at home if their parents work? Seems very young to me to be left all day but maybe that's just me! ( they might be delighted they can't go in !)

I don’t think anyone anywhere is suggesting older primary school aged children are left alone all day. If you are able to work from home, it’s a lot easier with the average 8 year old than with the average 4 year old. It will make a difference to these people, not to people who are furloughed because they can’t work from home but have childcare issues.

You’ll only know this because other people are prepared to take the risk for you though.

well yes, but they are happy to, so why not? Their view is that there's no risk, or so minimal it doesn't count. They might even be right.

My child is in reception class in a big infants school with three forms of entry. It takes all the children in our small town plus outliers from some surrounding villages without primary schools of their own, so from a wide variety of social and economic backgrounds, and hardly any of the children have parents who both are in professional jobs and can work from home (our situation). Most have either a SAHP because one parent earns enough for the other not to need to work (so probably on the wealthier end of the scale), or a SAHP who couldn’t earn enough to cover childcare (probably on the poorer end of the scale) or have at least one parent at home because they’re furloughed from a retail or hospitality role. Most of the parents with someone at home seem to be leaning towards not sending their child in - school has offered 2 days a week only for reception class children only, so far. We’re going to send DS, we think, provided cases continue to fall.

Happy to or don’t have much choice? Depending on their employers’ attitudes...

I agree. It’s a bit like, look at me what a wonderful parent I am not sending my child in as I am more intelligent than any of you planning to send your children in. My oldest is in Year 12 and if I could send him in I would. I mean what do we do, wait for a vaccine that might never come?

Happy to or don’t have much choice?

parents with no choice tend to be grateful that others keep theirs and overall reduce the number per class, or even allow the school to open full stop - there wouldn't be enough staff or space if every child was back.

Not laugh at the "hysterical dementors busy scaremongering*.

The need to be nasty tend to belong to those who could perfectly keep their children home, but feel the need for their me-time is more important than the risks.

My children are going back, but I daren’t announce it on Facebook because I will be jumped on by the large percentage of mums refusing and ‘in tears’ that schools are re opening, holding back from the mum who preaching to everyone not send their children back even though hers are attending school and have the whole time, and also who then proceeds to break the rules (seen with my own eyes)

If anything this whole thing has shown me a different side to a lot of people, few mums I have been PMing and we all feel like we are gonna get dirty looks come June 1st!!