If they put a stop households mixing...

[musicalfrog]

What do those of us relying on grandparents for babysitting do? Could those in already restricted areas shed any light on this perhaps please? Thanks.

It’s not that it doesn’t ‘suit’ people. What do you suggest for people who have no other childcare alternative?
Obviously I don't know the answer to that
All I meant was that we ALL surely have to try and do our absolute best to follow the rules to stop the spread of the virus
Can people WFH,work flexibly , take leave

Again though, this presumes grandparent childcare is less safe than the potential alternative. There is no reason to do so
Again I get this but the government doesn't say 'Do what you think is best '

@user1487194234

It’s not that it doesn’t ‘suit’ people. What do you suggest for people who have no other childcare alternative? Obviously I don't know the answer to that All I meant was that we ALL surely have to try and do our absolute best to follow the rules to stop the spread of the virus Can people WFH,work flexibly , take leave

I am trying my best. Sadly all the WFH/flexible working/leave goodwill was used up in the months that my children couldn’t go to school or nursery. If there was another option then yes, I’d be using it. As my mum is 59, has already had Covid (caught from her part time job in the NHS), and would be absolutely gutted if I had to quit my job for the sake of a few hours childcare every day after school that she is more than happy to cover, we’ll stick with that option.

Your choice of course As I said it's not easy

And you have no idea if people are ‘doing their best’ or not. Doing your best is far easier if you have a job where it is easy to work from home, a flexible employer and a town with available childcare options. I don’t have those things. So my best might not be as good as someone else’s best, but it’s still my best.

@user1487194234

Again though, this presumes grandparent childcare is less safe than the potential alternative. There is no reason to do so Again I get this but the government doesn't say 'Do what you think is best '

Yes, but I'm not responding to the government. I'm responding to you saying if everyone ignores the rule, surely the pandemic will go on and on. You were making a point about safety, not legality.

I didn't say anything about doing your best
I said my understanding is that the Government sets out what we should do,it doesn't say do what you think is best
Or is the childcare thing optional

@user1487194234

It’s not that it doesn’t ‘suit’ people. What do you suggest for people who have no other childcare alternative? Obviously I don't know the answer to that All I meant was that we ALL surely have to try and do our absolute best to follow the rules to stop the spread of the virus Can people WFH,work flexibly , take leave

If me and dp do that who teaches our classes?

Yes, you did.

All I meant was that we ALL surely have to try and do our absolute best to follow the rules to stop the spread of the virus

Ok take it that way if you want
The less people follow the rules the more the virus will spread
Fact

Of course you know that the ‘childcare thing’ isn’t optional (so dismissive, do you have children?). But the alternative is losing my job. So yeah, my mum will have the children.
I don’t know why I’m bothering to reply though because 1) it’s irrelevant at the moment, as we are not currently in local lockdown so my mum having them is within the guidelines and b) I don’t care what you think about my decisions.

@user1487194234

Ok take it that way if you want The less people follow the rules the more the virus will spread Fact

No it isn't. That could only be true if following the rules was always less safe than flouting them. It isn't.

@user1487194234

Ok take it that way if you want The less people follow the rules the more the virus will spread Fact

My children would be mixing with far more people if I was able to get them into the local nursery, which would be within the guidelines, than they do with my mum having them. So that makes absolutely zero sense.

I'm in the north east and I work until 7pm 3 days a week. Even if I could fine and afford formal childcare I don't know any setting where they provide childcare past 6/6.30pm. Fortunately my mum is retiring on Friday and is happy to have DS from next week but my PIL won't break the rules so this week is a nightmare. It's frankly an outrage and I'm furious that NCC didn't have the forethought to see this coming

My children would be mixing with far more people if I was able to get them into the local nursery, which would be within the guidelines, than they do with my mum having them.So that makes absolutely zero sense.

Yup. It's just a fact that using family as childcare can significantly reduce the number of contacts compared to formal settings.

It's not a choice for many. There is no alternative childcare for me. I'm a teacher, dh WFH but can't have a 3yo and 9mo while working.

We have a 2 yo and a DC in primary school. I work in a secondary school so cannot WFH if schools remain open. DH can WFH but his job will require him to be on the phone/in MS Teams meetings with clients for his whole shift. His employer is ok with him taking time out twice a day to do the school run for eldest DC (10 min walk away) but they have been very clear that it's they won't accept him WFH while being in sole charge of a toddler. We couldn't manage without his wage so he can't rock the boat at a time when colleagues are being made redundant. All local CM's and nurseries have massive waiting lists.

My DP's are both 60, very fit with no health issues and desperately want to continue to look after DC for us. My DM pointed out that the Govt insist it's safe for Teachers in their 60's who are classed as clinically vulnerable to mix with 150+ teenagers a day with no PPE or SD so why would they be worried about her minding her GC?
DH will do the school run so my DP's are not exposed to other adults at the school gates. My youngest will only be looked after by DP's not going to any other childcare settings, which would further increase the risk to them as pp have pointed out. None of us are bothered about going to pubs, restaurants etc and will get shopping delivered. In short, we will be breaking this rule but trying our hardest to do the right thing in all other aspects. I'm not saying that makes it ok. I'm a rule follower by nature so don't feel comfortable but I don't know what else to do.

Are you in an extra rules area washimal?

Can people WFH,work flexibly , take leave

Lots of people really can't, no! This argument always comes up on MN because some people who don't work or have very part-time, very flexible jobs just don't seem to get that they're in a really fortunate position compared to most.

I'm in charge of Safeguarding in a school- if schools are open I have to be in. I can't WFH unless we close and can't take leave during term-time. DH can WFH but can't do his job while being in sole charge of a 2 year old, believe me he tried during the first lockdown and it was a disaster! He can't just "take leave" at short notice either, this would interfere with ongoing projects and planned work which would result in the company losing money. Now is not the time to he pissing your employer off given that we're in a recession and job losses are inevitable! I'm sure many people are in this position.
As for working flexibly, if by this you mean working while kids are in bed this is an option for some, but there are many roles where staff are expected to be available during core business hours.

I'm sure if it was as simple and easily solved as you make out, there wouldn't be so many posters on here saying they feel they've not choice but to break the rules.

OpenlyGayExOlympicFencer we're not in a local lockdown area, no. But we've planned ahead as I don't want to be blind-sided by the announcement on Tuesday if it's what the press are reporting.

Ah ok. Well it doesn't sound like you'd have any other options available to you if restrictions came in where you are too. Honestly though, people in GM are still doing it. It's unpoliceable.

Can people WFH,work flexibly , take leave

It's really not that simple. While I have a degree of flexibility there are still elements of my job that aren't flexible.
I'm a university lecturer and my timetable has been set for the next year. Even if I'm teaching remotely from home I can't do that and look after a small child and I certainly can't take leave on my teaching days.

@user1487194234 no I cannot WFH in my role nor can I "work flexibly" as I'm a single parent. I cannot afford to take unpaid leave either.

Genuine question as I don’t know the answer to it so don’t flame me, but if my dd’s class closes and she has to self isolate for 2 weeks, would there be any difference in risk if I allowed one of her classmates to be at our house, who can be dropped off and collected by her parents? And vice versa if I dropped Dd at her classmates? Surely if they are only seeing each other and the whole class is off for two weeks it’s no riskier? I know it’s not legally allowed but I do think it will happen and I can kind of see why it would seem like a good idea.

Formal and informal childcare arrangements now exempt from local lockdown rules, so we don’t need to argue about it now