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Original poster

Rule of six - sleeping child

91 replies

Spaghettio · 04/10/2020 10:40

I've read that if a child is asleep upstairs they're don't count towards the 6. Is that right? Can anyone paint me towards official guidance about that? I can't seem to find it anywhere.....

OP posts:
PotteringAlong · 04/10/2020 10:45

No it’s not right. 6 people. 6.

Shahlalala · 04/10/2020 10:45

This says any children, doesn’t mention whether they are conscious.

Then again BoJo says be fearless but use common sense so...

dementedpixie · 04/10/2020 10:46

Can you count 6 people in the house?
If so, noone else can be in the house. Sleeping children are not excluded (unless in Scotland and they're under the age of 12)

Lifeispassingby · 04/10/2020 10:46

6 people is 6 people

mummmy2017 · 04/10/2020 10:46

My Sister intends to not count her 18 month old Grand Daughter at Christmas, so she can have her family together for Xmas.
I think Children in Secondary School should be counted as adults and younger children allowed to be up to 6 in a family , in your own home.

AlexaShutUp · 04/10/2020 10:50

I don't think there is any official guidance on this - I have looked. The guidance says that gatherings of more than 6 are prohibited, but there is no clear definition of what a gathering entails - whether this means 6 people socialising in one space, or 6 people within one residence, even when some of them are asleep. I suspect it would have to be tested in court to get clarity on this. For the time being, I am working on the assumption that it includes anyone in the property, whether they are awake and involved in socialising or not. I don't think the guidance is clear on this though.

lanbro · 04/10/2020 10:53

I lawyer on her the other day said it wouldn't stand up in court if say 6 adults gathered in a lounge but children were asleep upstairs...something about the legal definition of a gathering. But that's a loophole, no more than 6 should be in a house at once, although I'm in a local lockdown so can't have anyone in my house at all!

Use your common sense, and how would anyone know anyway

RHTawneyonabus · 04/10/2020 10:53

The rule is about six people mixing right? So If you had a group of six socialising (say six mums for a book group) and the DH and kids of the host remained upstairs and didn’t come down I figure that would be okay? (This isn’t something I’ve actually done but currently under discussion)

SunbathingDragon · 04/10/2020 10:54

I would say no because it’s six people in the house and potentially the sleeping child could wake up. However, common sense is subjective and with lots of people wfh at the moment, I know of some people who don’t include those shut away in an office for the duration of the social visit and this seems a similar scenario to me. That said, I don’t think they are technically in the right either but the best person to ask would be Dominic Cummings...

Original poster
Spaghettio · 04/10/2020 11:00

I was suspicious about it - I thought it was 6 is 6 under the same roof.

But I do agree that it could be subjective if tested legally, especially when you talk about the definition of a gathering.

But it'll just be 6 under our roof - including sleeping children. 😴

OP posts:
Original poster
Spaghettio · 04/10/2020 11:02

Also just realised my OP is full of mistakes! Sorry! Gaaaah

OP posts:
ReeseWitherfork · 04/10/2020 11:06

I’ve never seen anything that says that you can only have 6 people physically in a building. Only six people can meet - if your children are upstairs asleep they they’re not meeting anyone or socialising with anyone. I think it’s deliberately a bit vague, just continue with common sense. 🤷🏼‍♀️

OpheliasCrayon · 04/10/2020 11:21

Oh I would not be counting my children in a gathering of 6 in my home if they were asleep upstairs ! What could they possibly be adding to the situation if they're two floors away and asleep !

TheGreatWave · 04/10/2020 11:21

I would say that was fine.

RedskyAtnight · 04/10/2020 12:03

There was a recent lengthy thread on whether you can legally have more than 6 people in the same house.

The exact law was quoted and it makes it clear that the 6 people must be meeting together. So a sleeping child that does not interact with any of the 6 does not count. Arguably if the child wakes up and needs attention, they then do count, so you should perhaps only do this if your child sleeps reliably.

Lawyers on the thread caveated that this is new legislation, so untested in court. I personally think it's unlikely that police would bother with a house containing 7 people. However, rather than just worrying about the law you should consider whether what you want to do is safe. How many different households are meeting? Is the room you are meeting in well ventilated? Is the room big enough to allow adequate social distancing. If you're sharing (e.g.) a toilet or kitchen, how will you minimise these as areas of transmission?

Remmy123 · 04/10/2020 12:21

It's fine!!

StatisticalSense · 04/10/2020 13:12

Of course any children count and they absolutely should. Those who think they shouldn't are being totally selfish and failing to consider that the major need for the rule of 6 is so that schools can remain open and therefore it is entirely reasonable for it to have a greater effect on those with children (as they are the ones benefitting from it being in place).

Stingray123 · 04/10/2020 13:17

It's always the 7th person that has the virus 🧐

Topseyt · 04/10/2020 13:27

Who will know if you don't blatantly advertise it to the neighbourhood?

I wouldn't fret about it and would just get on with things. I'm against big social gatherings and don't like them myself anyway, but I do think that the arbitrary rule of six is bloody stupid anyway. By that I mean stuff like us being a family of five when all at home in this house, but if my parents were to want to visit (even though that isn't likely to happen) I would have to choose which one to let in. No. I just wouldn't comply with the rule.

I wouldn't count the sleeping child.

notevenat20 · 04/10/2020 13:34

This has been covered a lot here. I think the legal summary is that you would have to guarantee the child won't wake up and you also won't check on them while there are 6 downstairs. If the child is young then it seems very hard to guarantee you won't go and see them if they call out.

amicissimma · 04/10/2020 13:51

Well if it was the number in the building we'd be in trouble with flats, wouldn't we?

Only four people could meet in the ground floor flat because there's a couple on the first floor. Two closed doors between the households. Therefore only 4 people can meet on the ground floor of a house because there are two children, who aren't in the habit of waking, asleep on the first floor with two closed doors between the groups.

Yet a PP says "Those who think they shouldn't [count] are being totally selfish"

amicissimma · 04/10/2020 13:53

Last time I was in a friend's ground floor flat, the couple upstairs did indeed come down asking for assistance from the friend.

notevenat20 · 04/10/2020 13:54

Well if it was the number in the building we'd be in trouble with flats, wouldn't we?

I am not sure this helps. It's clear that people in different flats can spend an evening without sharing any space. They are also not in the "same place".

notevenat20 · 04/10/2020 13:55

Last time I was in a friend's ground floor flat, the couple upstairs did indeed come down asking for assistance from the friend.

That would sadly now be illegal if there were 6 in the flat already. There are exceptions of course.

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