Birthday party WWYD?

[mynameisnotmichaelcaine]

DS is 7 on Tuesday. Party planned for Saturday 19th - we're having an outdoor picnic and some games. DS has invited five friends - all of them are in his class at school and therefore he's inside with all of them 6 hours a day every week day.

I am planning to still hold the party but I will stay inside with the bi-fold doors open and keep at least a 2 metre distance from DS's friends (apart from in an emergency obv). What do you think? I am a natural rule follower, but given these kids are already bubbled, it just seems so unnecessary to cancel the party.

@lunar1

They will mix with your family if they need to come inside for the toilet. There are well over 6 people using the facilities of your property, saying there will only be the children in the garden is just looking for a loophole.

How?? Her DH & older kids are going out 6 kids & the OP will be there.

Yep - it's going to be exactly like fresher week unofficial parties that is
🙇🏻‍♀️

I think it's important to demonstrate to children that we follow the law, even if it doesn't suit us. That's why I've told my DD that she can't go to her friend's party on that day (6 friends, but 4 other people in their family. No info on whether they'll be there, but even if it's just the Mum it will be 7 of them).

MrsTravers
I do agree with you in part. I'm just losing patience and confidence in a government that tells people they need to go back to pubs because it's the moral thing to do, wartime spirit yadeyadeyaar, only to turn round and tell the public off.

They're also pushing people to get back into office blocks instead of working from home. I'd like to see how many Tories have vested interest in the companies who own lots of these city centre blocks or the leaseholds of city centre land.

The government demonised school staff for raising concerns about how schools would reopen fully instead of engaging with school leaders on how to phase reopening more in a way that is safe. Now they've crammed children in with no social distancing and have already demonised teachers, they've started gaslighting the children and blaming teens for the increased restrictions by essentially saying 'we trusted the general public and gave you freedom but those pesky children have forced us to restrict you again'.

Had they just got on with a proper competent response to start with then we'd not be in this situation.

What do I think? That you're breaking the law and being selfish to boot. The threads on this board are ridiculous at the moment. How can people find it so difficult to understand that you are allowed SIX PEOPLE socialising at once in one place? No more.

@p0rridge they understand. They just think its ridiculous and find it hard to follow a law they see absolutely no sense in. Its human nature to say 'eh, but that makes no sense'. People are still allowed to use their own brain.

I’m having 6 in my dining room and three in my attached conservatory.

Ok?

@JayAlfredPrufrock

I’m having 6 in my dining room and three in my attached conservatory.

Ok?

No, not ok. It's 6 people in your property. Garden, house, outbuildings, any land.... 6 people. Full stop. (Exceptions excluded).

Honestly, it sucks. For us all. We've just had to tell DH's brother and wife that they can't visit us next weekend, because we'd total 7 people. It's just the way it is.

My children literally won't know so I really don't see how I am sending that message. Genuinely do you think this weekend this party is fine, next week it will kill someone?

I wouldn't have said it was 'fine' this weekend either? The Covid guidance isn't changing much at all, all they're doing is writing it into actual law. The guidance is 6 people outdoors this weekend too. I'm really surprised how many people had parties planned which have now been ruined by 'new' rules. They're not new! Just more enforcable.

The only parties which are 'fine' this weekend and won't be next weekend are ones with two large household groups only.

However, risk wise, I agree - this party is not dangerous. But I'd be worried about getting caught. I don't think police will be vigilant long term. But they might be at the start and you just don't know who the unlucky ones will be.

I'm very much a rule follower, but to whichever PP said to stop comparing it to schools as they can mix differently at school and it's different for a reason needs to realise that it's different at school precisely because kids that age range have been deemed to be of low risk of illness or transmission. So they don't have to distance and just need to keep transmissions between different groups down.

For this reason both Scotland and Wales, where we are, have kept primary age kids excempt from this ruling. It's only one extra. I'd be very tempted to let it go ahead. And it's outside. Wales is still allowing up to 30 to meet outside - again because transmission is lower.

THere's pressure being put upon England to go the same way.

@notevenat20

You are definitely telling your children that it is ok to break the law if it is for the purposes of having fun. I personally don’t think it’s anything like recording off the radio. No one dies from that. It’s much more like going to an empty motorway, closing your eyes and running across it. Could be fun, you might die or kill someone else in a crash but you will probably get away with it.

Melodramatic, much? Yeah a kids party is exactly the same as running into traffic.

It's 6 people in your property. Garden, house, outbuildings, any land.... 6 people. Full stop.

I think you may be adding more to the rule than there actually is. The government says 6 people meeting socially. It doesn't say anything about numbers on your land or within the boundaries of your property.

It’s fine! Hope they have a great time.

I suppose you could cancel and go out as a family to a pub for a birthday meal, surrounded by lots of other random people. That’s still legal I think even though it’s clearly a far riskier use of your time.

If you were in Wales you could have 30 of them over.

OP I would go ahead given they are all in the same bubble at school.

Wtf is with all this "technically illegal"? No, it's just illegal from Monday.

The rule of 6 indoors or outdoors, OP, means that you cannot have in excess of 6 people (unless you just happen to be a larger household). So, no, you should not invite 5 of your DC's friends to the party. Clearly at least one adult will be present at their age so there would be a minimum of 7 present which is illegal.

@HumousWhereTheHeartIs

It depends where you live. This is allowed in Scotland

It really isn't. In Scotland it can only be 6 people from 2 households. Children under 12 don't count in the 6 people but they definitely count in the 2 households. This would not be allowed as there are 5 children coming which would be 6 different households mixing.

Update: party was completely legal as two of the children are isolating due to having a cough and waiting for test results. The weather is beautiful here today so they stayed in the garden apart from when eating. We put the candles on a bread roll so that he didn't blow on the cake. He had a really lovely time. In fact I think the kids probably enjoyed it more than some of the really expensive parties I've done with my three over the years.

In the end, I'm really glad we were able to stay within the law, as things are beginning to look depressingly bad again. It's hard trying to navigate what's best for everyone.

But these kids are together inside ALL DAY on school days. How is it unsafe to have them together in my garden when they're already together for 30 hours a week

It's not a case of "they're at school together all day so why can't they go to a party together" though is it?
It's more like people have to go to school/work but going to a party and socialising, not so much.
It's all about minimising the risk surely?
See the "but they're together all day" argument a lot on here and I don't understand what it is that people don't understand, it's pretty much common sense?!