Are your kids meeting 1 other for exercise?

[OhDear2200]

I was going to arrange for my 10 year old to meet a friend to go for a walk. I would sit in the car (only 1 mile away) so they know where I am and they can walk together for an hour.

Also going to to the same for my DS so he can kick a football to a mate (no tackling).

This is reasonable yes?

Ok I get it the Tiers don’t apply at the moment but the rest is still true. In our area we have very low cases because (we are very lucky), most people didn’t meet anyone at Christmas, we have kept to social distancing and we live rurally so DC can’t meet friends unless their parents take them, and they don’t.

I cycled with my DS to the local common to meet his mate and his mum. The boys then cycled ahead of us about 100 yards, we adults cycling behind. That worked and was legal. After an hour, we swapped back and cycled home.

Next time will be round the lanes though, the common was so busy it took real effort to avoid people.

It's fine and I'd do this if mine were old enough.

"Stay at home, unless it's essential that you go out". I'm so glad so many of you think sledging and socialising is essential. We live in a world where we have alternatives (phone, Zoom). They aren't the same but it's got to the point where people are dying in ambulances waiting to be admitted. Carry on doing what you like and hopefully you are yours won't need to use the hospitals.

If people think tiers still apply no wonder we are in this mess.

No. Dont let them mix period.

I wouldn’t. It may be within the rules but transmission can still occur outdoors and with the new strain that’s more transmissible we don’t yet know how safe outdoors is really. Walking they are very unlikely to keep 2m apart as children,

The pastoral lead at my son's school is telling the kids to meet up with a friend on the weekend, to go grab a coffee and have a walk and chat.

My son is planning a local bike ride with his friend and I see absolutely no harm in that.

They should just remove it, nobody needs to exercise with another non household member. Would put a stop to people using it to socialise.

I think everyone's situation is different.
Young children can play in a garden[but lots of kids dont have access to their own garden].
Older kids and teens need socialising and not just online[remember when you yourself was a teen and older].
Some people are older so can adapt easier to this lockdown
Some people have lost people.
Some people are shielding and maybe more anxious about the virus than others, who may be able to bounce back from it relatively easy.
Some people think or know they have had it, and cant see what all the fuss is about.
etc etc
It is quite easy to see the coronavirus through your own perspective, when in reality there are many many perspectives.

Absolute bunch of miseries. Last lockdown no one was allowed to meet anyone from another household at all, and this time we are, there must be a reason for that. They must know from track and trace that outdoor transmission is low, and the benefit of meeting others is high so they have allowed it this time. Sledging is exercise, running up and down hills and pulling sledges. It's fine, as long as everyone maintains their distance.

‘We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.’ J. B. Priestley

Exactly this. You letting your kids go sledging, and potentially passing the virus on, may mean that someone who has been following all the rules can't get an ambulance to come out when they need it. We all have our own perspectives - but my perspective of keeping my kids in and following the rules has no impact on you. You going out and continuing to spread the virus may have a massive impact on me.

I think if you can be absolutely sure they will distance then it's fine. It's no different to two adults going out. However I would be absolutely certain they would distance.

Mine are younger 8 with extra needs (not a hope in a snowstorm unless I am there to physically kove him away ) and 5 (obviously too young and has an obsession with saying hello to everyone). However of you are sure your DC will be sensible why is it different to two adults?

We have not mixed in the slightest but that works for us. I understand it isn't feasible for everyone else. But don't kid yourself. My dsis let her dd mix once and she was a sweet but idiotic 16 year old (I love DN to bits but her decisions over this were really silly) and it resulted in isolation for her , 4 other children and my dsis who works in a school. Everyone thought dn was sensible and would distance ( she is very aware of the impact of the pandemic on her mother ,her gp and even me). So just be aware.

I think that a 10 minute walk carrying a sledge followed by going down a hill on it, walking back up to the top and repeating that several times IS exercise.

@Hoppinggreen

I think that a 10 minute walk carrying a sledge followed by going down a hill on it, walking back up to the top and repeating that several times IS exercise.

Agree. But there’s only one “sledging hill” round here and on our recent snow day (which was before the lockdown Tbf) it was absolutely rammed

We are in Yorkshire, no shortage of hills
Due to the nature of their school most dc dontvlive within walking distance of eachother so I know it will be the 2 of them rather than a big group as they don’t know anyone else and wouldn’t team up with kids they don’t know

Agree with a PP that the new variant means we might need to rethink even those things we were previously OK with. This from an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene this morning:

"To some extent we can think of this as a new pandemic within a pandemic," he said.

"Even if we went back to that last spring level of reduction in contacts, we couldn't be confident we would see the same effects as we saw last year because of the increased transmission."

The UK must "really face the possibility that this is much riskier and we're going to have to work much harder to reduce the impact", he said."

Thanks for everyone’s thoughts.

We went, lovely and sunny here. Spirits are a lot higher.

Just to clarify (as I said in the OP) it was a park, loads of space, so easy for them to SD. They kept distance, having had both sets of parents warn them.

I appreciate that with the new variant the risks are different. But it’s about personal balance also. Sorry if that makes you cross, but an hour of social interaction makes the weekend and the week ahead more manageable for all. We are back to staying in.

I really hope all those people saying don’t, are not meeting as adults, not popping to drop stuff off at family (not seen a member of my family for months and months - canceled all Christmas 🎄 plans though we were not in T4) or going to shops.

Also I say go sledding, but if someone call tell me how that is more risky than two adult men cycling together side by side because there are plenty of those about here. No snow here.

No, I'm not doing those things. Food shopping only. Haven't met with anyone apart from my own household and my colleagues since October (apart from passing my neighbours outside or accidentally bumping into people on a walk etc and maybe stopping for a 2 minute chat pre lockdown). Just realised that nobody else has entered my house since August, which is kind of weird. And anyway I'm not saying 'don't' let your kids exercise with others - I'm saying 'I'm not' (in response to your original question) and explaining why I'm not. As I said earlier - this is not something I'd be judging people for.