Honestly don’t know how il cope if schools don’t open

[Mummypig2020]

It’s been a long few months. 3 Dc who bicker and moan. The older two are desperate to go back school. Oldest mental health is awful atm.

Youngest is due to start soon, and I’m worried as she’s not been away from us in months.

My mental health is struggling, Iv been put on stronger tablets.

Iv spent a fortune on new uniform.

Just fed up. I don’t know how we will cope.

Do you have a reason for wanting your children to go back to school, other than they bicker and moan and you don’t want to look after them?

Come on?! We're still doing this to people, months into the pandemic? Many are on their knees with their mental health. That matters. I know several parents who I would judge to be extremely good parents with lots of resources available to them and they are absolutely at their wit's end. The OP very clearly talks about there being mental health issues in the family including with her oldest child - how callous do you have to be to post something like this?

OP I know it's just one opinion but I highly doubt schools will close again. There are too many desperate parents, we know children aren't at risk from this virus in the vast majority of cases and people like Chris Whitty etc are saying schools being open is a priority. I know this is really scary though and you have every right to your feelings. I hope it will all work itself out.

@PineappleSquosh

Do you have a reason for wanting your children to go back to school, other than they bicker and moan and you don’t want to look after them?

How helpful

Seriously? Iv not bad one hour away from all of my children apart from popping to aldi. I absolutely adore them but it’s bloody hard work. We don’t live in a big fancy house so you hear them when they are upstairs or in the garden. I adore my children. I have really really struggled through this and thankfully my physiatrist upped my medication.

PineappleSquosh
Do you have a reason for wanting your children to go back to school, other than they bicker and moan and you don’t want to look after them?

Yeah their eduction, my career/income/the wider economy etc. Fine if you don't work and fancy yourself as a home educator. You're in the minority

I totally understand OP and I feel the same way but I don't see the government have any alternative but to open schools fully or face worse consequences

It's bloody hard...I've also not had any time away apart from a trip to the supermarket! My house is a tip. I can't clean anywhere because they're permanently under my feet. My ds is a moody tween...who winds his sister up constantly. I consider myself lucky...there's parents in much worse situations than me. Single parents, working parents, parents with severely disabled children, small houses, no garden, no money, no car.

This is hideous for so many people

Schools must open and the government now recognise that the only way to do this is full time, for all pupils. Thank God for that, smaller bubbles or part time just cannot work. Any further blanket closure would mean we are basically looking at a whole years missed education, which I'm sorry but would just be totally unacceptable.

As a PP said, this virus barely affects children and is not statistically risky to parents under 50. Whatever sacrifices need to be made to other industries/closures/job losses to stabilise the R rate with schools open, will have to be made - the government seem to realise this now. If it is pubs and restaurants then so be it - though the economic consequences would be catastrophic, the hospitality industry is very likely going to bomb this winter anyway as the high Street did in the last recession.

MN is the only place where school closings seem to be coming up. Don't take people's ramblings on here as fact. Save your sanity and skip over those threads like me.

Look, I wouldn’t pin your hopes to all schools opening and not closing ever again.

What we all need to be demanding from the government is funded childcare services to support parents.

As I said, there are acres of unused office space at the moment. Why can’t it be repurposed as a support school?

If schools don't open, I think parents should start marching and protesting, unfortunately most will be too busy working and trying to home school simultaneously.

Do you have a reason for wanting your children to go back to school, other than they bicker and moan and you don’t want to look after them?

I live in a big enough house, I'm not working currently and I don't have additional mental health issues. I am highly privileged.
I completed the feedback form for our private school stating that I did want my dc to go back to physical school.
Yes the bickering drives me nuts sometimes but also it it isn't good for dc's social development to spend all their time at home with only their parents for company.
It isn't great for them to be staring at a computer screen all day.
Yes I'll miss the extra 90 minutes in bed every morning and I haven't missed the drive in rush hour traffic but I truly believe that being at school is better for my dc's mental health and social development.

I’m also going to point out that this government is not going to obliterate industries that contribute to the economy to keep schools open.

If it comes to keeping the restraint industry going or opening schools fully, which do you think they’ll pick?

I came off fb because all the doom mongers. Maybe stay away from things you know will be triggering

If people wanted to educating their dc at home then they would have been doing it already pre lockdown, not trying to pick it up alongside working from home and all the other pandemic conditions.
Try not to stress OP and you are definitely not alone.

Sorry, restaurant industry. Stupid phone.

Hang on in there OP, it is really hard working and attempting to look after children. You have spent six months doing two full time jobs. Focus on positives and hope that they are back in school for sake of everyone's social and mental health

Maybe stay away from things you know will be triggering

It can be surprisingly hard to do that at a time of great uncertainty and when things are changing so frequently.