Pubs or kids?

[coffeeandllbd]

Whitty said we cannot have it all. Pubs are jobs. School is mental health.

I have a 13 year old struggling with lockdown. I would choose schools. My brother would choose pubs.

Who would you choose?

Schools.

And if making the decision ECONOMICALLY, I would probably chose schools, due to Primary schools (at least) needed to be open for the economy to start to recover.

I think ‘pubs are jobs’ is a load of balls. Call centres, museums, indoor play areas, gyms - they’re all jobs too but apparently they can wait while pubs can’t.

Pubs are taxes and appeasing folk’s desire to get hammered and not rock the boat.

And yes, I would definitely choose schools.

Schools because of children but also because drunk people are more likely to be a risk of spreading it than sober children.

Schools. But with some proper safety measures in place, eg one positive Covid test shuts down the (so called) bubble and much stricter rules (backed by criminal sanctions) re not sending children in if they have possible Covid symptoms.

Schools. Children need and have a right to education. No one needs or has a right to pubs. Yes, they are employers and people need to earn a living but the children need to come first now. I was baffled that pubs opened anyway.

schools, definitely.

Schools and would judge anyone who picked pubs

Though Mumsnet being Mumsnet, it would be a brave person who would say "pubs" on this thread!

Schools. Children are our future. Not Peggy down the Queen Vic.

It has to be schools, no contest surely.

Schools

Did Whitty say what would go?

Schools

Haven't seen what this is referring to?
If it was a choice I'd say schools though.
As much as I love pubs (even though I never get chance to go anymore lol) I think children need to start going back to school.
They can't stay off indefinitely, they need an education.
Been home schooling mine, secondary school and needs to start going back in September as there's only so much I can do and worry he's missing out social wise with everything shut.

Pubs as a stand alone? Or pubs as in the industry of all shops, cafes, bars, markets and eateries outside of supermarkets?
I don’t want to, but I can teach my children and I can help them socialise with other children.
I can’t keep the economy going or provide jobs.

Pubs. The prospect of millions of people, many of whose mental health is already fragile, being made redundant is frightening and would almost certainly cause a wave of suicides on a scale that isn't worth thinking about. It is also likely that large swathes of the hospitality industry would not be able to cope with another prolonged shut down and forcing this upon them would lead to a permanent loss in terms of culture and local businesses. Decent pubs are also accessible and welcoming to just about anyone and can equally be enjoyed by families as much as those looking to get drunk and are therefore likely to be able to boost the mental health of a much wider part of society than schools are, albeit to a much lesser extent for some.

03StatisticalSense

What do you think about the mental health of the many vulnerable children who rely on school for meals and emotional support) safeguarding! Or how a gap in school education could widen the gap between rich and poor indefinitely?

@Aroundtheworldin80moves
Pubs are much more essential to the economy restarting than schools. The harsh reality is unemployment will be more than great enough for all primary care givers of primary school aged children to leave the workforce in whatever situation we choose until either the virus is eradicated or people begin to accept the risk of it in order to return to normal life (and some families will be able to juggle both parents working without access to childcare in any case, or will qualify for school places on the basis of being a key worker, meaning a decent proportion of such people will be able to continue working).

@5363738383j
On the specific points of school meals and vulnerable children, those who are identified as particularly vulnerable have been able to attend throughout and it should be possible to be more forceful in requiring such attendance where necessary without schools being open more widely and for those children whose family struggle to afford food but are generally well looked after and at little safeguarding risk there are various options to ensure children are fed that don't involve them being in school, such as an extension of a 'meals on wheels' style services delivering hot meals to the houses of such children.

Pubs. The prospect of millions of people, many of whose mental health is already fragile, being made redundant is frightening and would almost certainly cause a wave of suicides on a scale that isn't worth thinking about

True, can see the economy needs to be kept going, people's jobs.....
however, how long can we can keep children off?
It's alright for me, I'm a SAHM and can home school mine during the lockdown - have the time and inclination.
What about all the kids who have parents working though, are expected to do their work/go to work? How are they supposed to homeschool efficiently? Same with children who have parents who can't for any reason - health issues/neglect/lack of education themselves etc.
They need educating, it's not all a level playing field so to speak.

I have friends and family who run pubs, and I have no children - and I'd still probably pick schools, because I also have a swathe of friends who are struggling to balance jobs and homeschooling, are at risk of redundancy because they can't work normally right now, and they are all women.

I'd never really thought about how necessary schools are to keep people (women, mostly, it seems) able to return to work. The men in my life are excellent, but this situation doesn't seem to have hit them quite so hard on the whole - the homeschooling/childcare burden has in most cases fallen to the lower earner in the household who's almost always female :(

You’re right. Many of the posts aren’t racist. Some are though in a way the posters don’t even realise.

In life it is possible to see both sides not just blindly one.

I agree with the posters pointing out they’re lots of other mixing going on not just eid. And the point that they could have been outside.

Such obsession over this. I’ve seen so much mixing locally but not posted if on hete.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good local pub, but def schools 100%
The local pubs that are reopening near here can't afford to re-employ their staff yet anyway so are doing it all themselves as owners.
Schools are so important - integration, socialisation as well as the whole learning aspect!

Schools.
We can’t open economy when nearly all parents are focusing on home schooling and nothing else. And yes, the virus can spread easier in pubs so schools.

Definitely schools. But how to open them safely? Personally I would only be completely happy with zero covid, which is impossible with Bojo and his clown government in charge