How strict are you social distancing with family?

[Justwantacuddle]

Name changed. Hard hat donned. Truthfully, how strict are you personally being at not giving select few, closest family a cuddle? Letting them hold your baby? I haven't broken any rules, but I'm struggling to keep that up with my nearest and dearest.

[Tomorrowsanewday]

Have been sticking to rules. Have been out on walks with my Dsis. Sticking to the 2m rule and only shopping when necessary.
DH and DS have been virtually housebound since this started.
Have had joggers puffing and blowing past me and inconsiderate walkers refusing to go single file to social distance.

Both me and DH have no living parents so haven’t had the stress or worry that would have caused.

[Aroundtheworldin80moves]

Met with PILs for a picnic and walk earlier this week. DH and I may have strayed momentarily within 2m, but no hugging. DDs... The did do hugging and chasing around. They haven't been within about 10m of another human since March (apart from DH and I).

[Wonkydonkey44]

I’m off to help my son paint his new house at the weekend. He’s struggling with his mental health and helping him make his surroundings look better will benefit him.

[Billomate]

Completely sticking to the rules.

My brother in law's mum is was recently rushed to hospital with Covid19, so I am glad we didn't go against this at any point tbh.

[Clearyweary]

O’ve not broken it at all, except where people have come a bit too close in the supermarket and I’ve backed off pretty quickly. Parents come round (in the garden) , and stay at a distance. No hugs at all. Its hard, but necessary at the moment

[Bridgeofpies]

We have been very strict. Down to pure luck I have only been to the shops once in the whole of lockdown when I had to pick up a prescription for DD. I wore mask and was in and out in 2 mins. Hand sanitiser and washed hands thoroughly when I got home.

My parents have been the same. Only been to the chemist once in the whole time of lockdown, all shopping via deliveries.

So, after they changed the rules on 1st June we have been seeing them in the garden but they decided they didn’t want to socially distance from my young children. They decided the risk was so negligible since neither me nor DH have been anywhere and since the kids have not had contact with anyone else. My Mum said she thought it would be more damaging for the kids to be rejected by their grandparents if they asked for a cuddle. So now I guess we have sort of joined households. I know it is against the rules but we are being so incredibly careful in every other way. Even cleaning all shopping that comes in! The chance of us getting it and passing it on is very small (although still there I know). I feel comfortable with what we are doing.

[DemolitionBarbie]

DD is 3.5, she hasn't seen her grandparents for 3 months because it would be cruel to try to stop her from going near them or cuddling them. She usually sees them for a day a week, it's been heartbreaking for her and she plays role plays about grandparents all the time.

I'm not going to stop being angry about Dominic Cummings any time soon.

[P0ndering]

We have seen a few people. We've foubd our children are happy and able to social distance from adults (No problem in my folks garden) we all kept our distance. But they can not socially dustsnce from other chikdren, cousins / friends. It lasts about 30 seconds! And I'm ok with that. They are children and they need play and interact with other children.

[MyDogPatch]

Just before lockdown I finished counselling for my social anxiety. I was ready to be more open to people in general. Then the shit hit the fan.

I've stayed away from my parents and don't hug my parents in law. They all have health problems. My daughter and her grandad are close and as my daughter is still at the age where rules are sacrosanct, they have not hugged since mid-March, despite the fact he only lives about three miles away. It has harmed both of them.

I am an essential worker, have been fortunate to work throughout this pandemic. I see plenty of examples of people not social distancing, not wearing masks, and not giving a shit about "stay at home if you can".

My friend who I work with hugs me but she is very low risk. She lives alone and is super healthy. I have been avoiding another friend because they live with someone who is high risk. I think we are now at a time when for the sake of our collective mental health, we should be allowed to make our own choices. The Government thinks it still has control over us. It really doesn't.

[DaddysGirl36]

This thread is making me tearful. We have followed the rules the whole time. We did the 2m rule social distance garden visit with both sets of parents (separately) when it became allowed. We put toddler in highchair & baby was on the grass playing. It worked to a degree but toddler wanted to go to them which was sad. But even sadder is that our 8 month old didn't respond to them at all. She is very clingy to me & I worry about her being looked after by them when I return to work in 2 months. Rather them than a nursery but I need to build a bond up. I'm torn over just letting kids near them

Friend wise, one is going through a very bad relationship split & I just want to go & hug her. Seeing her cry on our zoom chats is just awful. However she has seen her family for comfort & broken the rules about going into another household & hugging them but I don't blame her & told her to do this - mental health is important too

[WanderingMilly]

I would never forgive myself if any of my family got the virus and died, we have already had a death of a distant relative as well as a past work colleague, so I stick to the rules absolutely.

I have met my sister and gone for a walk outdoors, twice, to talk. No touching, no cuddles. Ditto my son and daughter. Only outside, apart, and not only that but I always wear a mask and gloves....hardly anyone else does, I have noticed.

In the long run, honestly, being distanced for a few weeks or months isn't going to harm anyone, babies won't remember and older children are old enough to understand, adults can certainly understand. It really isn't that difficult.....

[MaverickSnoopy]

We have followed the rules and then some because we haven't felt confident that just because the govt say we can do something that it's safe to do something.

Walking past the mass of teens in the park crowding together and people very obviously not social distancing makes it harder. The Cummings thing has made us loose the little respect that we had for the govt. We plan to form a bubble with my sister in law who lives on her own and has extensive mental health problems. Although we're concerned that just because we can, doesn't make it safe.

My mental health is suffering. I miss my parents and in my head I feel like a child again, scared and just want a cuddle from my mummy. I have my own 3 children to look after. It occurred to me that opening up our bubble to my SIL may mean that when we're allowed to meet family more widely that I won't be able to see my parents because we've already added to our bubble. I feel sick about it and can't breath for panic. I wake every day thinking I'll never get to cuddle my dad again. He's 74, massively overweight and not in great health. I worry that if I go and see him I could pass something on and he'll die. But I'm broken. Completely broken and honestly don't know how much longer I can go on without a cuddle from my parents and some normality.

[MrsTravers]

Haven't seen any family since lockdown began (other than my own household), they live too far away and I wouldn't jeopardise others by travelling.

Have had one or two socially distanced walks with friends after that was permitted, but that's it.

I always wonder when listening to the briefing how so many people are still catching this and on the same scale, but this might explain it! I have been much more aware of the possibility of spreading since reading an article in The Times a few weeks back about a study carried out on one of the first Italian towns in the outbreak. On the second visit by researchers, 79 people tested positive of whom 30 were asymptomatic. It really made me think.

[Jessuk86]

We went to see PIL after I managed to successfully conduct a SD visit with my parents...I set up 2 blankets one for them one for us and my little ones were fab for staying on there mat and then play9ng between themselves and my parents loved just watching them!
PiL took the piss we arrived to be greeted by them plus my OHs 2 brothers one has a partner and 2 kids they were there too! They had started a bbq and no SD it was all very awkward...I quickly announced weve still got confirmed covid at my work and therefore it would be in their best interest to SD from us all....they choose to ignore it at the end of the day his PIL are higher risk and made that choice I was honest in my slightly raised risk of carrying the virus home from work. I kind of expected this from them and my view is my children are more at risk from me as a keyworker...but more worried about pil and my parents due to being higher risk of complications but they are old enough to make their own choices.

[Bluewarbler27]

I’ve not seen my mum since March not even at a distance. My step daughter moved house and we had no choice but to help her but we did keep apart. I don’t have any other family.

[MrsTravers]

Thing is @Jessuk86, it's not just your PIL affected by that - if they or your DH's brothers were not following the rules to that extent on your visit, then what else are they doing and who else are they affecting?

Not blaming you, you clearly know the risks and they clearly put you in a difficult position but it does go part way towards explaining why numbers seem to be so slow at coming down if this is happening on a large scale.

[Waxonwaxoff0]

I've been going to see my mum and giving her hugs. She suffers with depression and is going through a bad patch. I don't care that it's not allowed, I care about her mental health more.

I've been on socially distant walks with other family but not hugged anyone else.

[Pixxie7]

I doubt there are many people still following the rules, mainly because of the mixed messages given out by the government.

[longtompot]

I hugged my ds at the weekend. He's been living away with his gf and we'd not seen him since before Easter, which was less than 5 mins, and before that, it was when he went back to uni after Christmas.
We don't see anyone else, I go to the shops once maybe twice a week, and walk the dog once a day, with no contact with anyone else.
I have seen my parents at a social distance in their front garden prior to this, but I won't for the next two weeks just in case. But, as my ds and his gf are not meeting up with anyone, I don't think there is any risk.

[namesnamesnamesnames]

We've visited a grandparent in their garden, my toddler fell over by the grandparents feet and felt utterly helpless as following rules.

[Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady]

We have been meeting in the garden at my parents and staying 2 metres apart (most of the time)

No cuddles

Kids playing together but No cuddles

We are a group of 7 though not 6 - shoot me!

[JKC59]

Name change for this also... we stuck to the rules up until about 3/4 weeks ago and then we caved. We now see family 2/3 times a week. Best decision we've ever made!

[FluffyKittensinabasket]

I’ve hugged my parents and MiL. And the police didn’t jump out of the bushes and arrest me.

[namechangenumber2]

We've only met up once with family and that was my parents the other day. We stayed socially distanced from them sat in the garden then took the dogs for a walk. We probably strayed closer to each other on the walk but nothing major. None of us are going out to work, children aren't back to school and we're doing minimal shopping; so only really leaving for walks and when DS1 has been out to meet up with friends (socially distanced)

We're not a particularly huggy family though so no need to get much closer!

[Bartlet]

The infection levels are so low in the community that I don’t consider it to be a risk that would prevent me seeing certain people. My mum agrees. She is 70 and very healthy so she is happy to take the tiny risk that we have the virus AND we are contagious AND she gets it from us from a distance of several metres AND she is badly impacted by the virus.