Support bubble and separated parental households

[thebluehen]

My step daughter, her husband and baby have formed a support bubble with my step daughters mum and 17 year old daughter. All fine.

17 year old daughter lives with us half the time. We are a 3 adult household (not including 17 yr old).

Step daughter is insistent that we are part of the support bubble and perfectly ok for us to be in each other's houses (we are all in mid tier) and touch each other etc.

The alternative is the situation where 17 year old can hold the baby etc in our house but we can't.

Can someone please confirm what is the correct thing to do here.

Whose is the 17 year old?

A is adult and T teenager and B baby

Your house AAAT
Step daughters house AAB
Step daughters mums house A only?

So no- your stepdaughter can’t form a bubble with your teenager. As that crosses over the two household threshold I think.

Use your best judgement, Boris and Cummings have no moral authority here.

I would say make your own judgment too. I'm a single parent to two children, my sister a single parent to one child. We then both have our parents who we see, w are all reliant on each other and have formed a 3 household bubble as non of us can function/ work without this in place. Judge away. I stand my our decision, and I think most people are having to do similar.

The 17 yr old is my other step daughter. Ie. Eldest step daughters younger sibling.

The rules just don't seem to make sense in situations like this. I have no idea what we are supposed to be doing.

Well technically I think..

• you and your DH can only bubble with someone who is a single adult household, who is not in a another bubble (so not your adult SD) , as you have each other. Your 17 year SD is an exception in that she can go back and forth between you and her mother.

• Your other SD is OK to be in a bubble with her mother, assuming her Mum is the lone adult in the household, but you are not in that bubble (even though your 17 year DD is). You can go into their household (but with social distancing), if you are Tier 1, but not if you are Tier 2.

That would mean, yes, if the married SD were to visit you when the 17 was there, the 17 year old could cuddle the baby but you couldn't. If you are Tier 2, they can't come into your house anyway.

As say... technically.

If I am reading it right and the situation is the following; Household A: Stepdaughter, Husband, Baby, Household B: Stepdaughters Mum, 17 year old (half the time), Household C: You, Stepdaughters Dad, Another Adult, 17 year old (half the time), with Households A and B being in a support bubble, your stepdaughter counts as which ever household she is with at the time and therefore doesn't need to socially distance from household A when she is with her mum but does need to when she is with you (if she is on her own and not in your house she could argue she is currently part of household A and wouldn't need to distance). Under no circumstances should the members of household C be failing to socially distance from the members of households A or B at any time (with the exception of the 17 year old when she is solely with members of household B).