Sir Keir Starmer calling for nursery closure!

[Boogie5678]

Sorry I’m not sure how to link this but it’s on BBC news.

If the nurseries close some people (me included) may have to leave their job to look after their children (2yo). My work aren't furloughing. I can't juggle, she's a live wire and it borders on dangerous as well as beyond damaging to my mental health (the guilt is overwhelming, learnt from 1st lockdown) and to her development. She needs speech, conversation, learning numbers, colours, fresh air - basics?! Never mind social skills, other than with mummy.

I would feel very bitter about losing my job to it when lots of non essential retail is open, the borders aren't shut, track and trace is a shambles and people are doing what they want all over the place with no consequence. There needs to be some pretty clear evidence that nurseries are super spreaders before closing.
I get that anyone with kids off school has a similar problem, but let's face it most school kids can talk, walk, do some worksheets, play by themselves, etc. I know there's exceptions, SEND, and I'm not taking away that it's challenging but nursery age children cannot be unsupervised at all.

@MessAllOver

Gosh. Yes I think I would take a financial hit over that.

I'm so tired of pointing out that, as an ICU nurse, it will be me taking unpaid leave from work if our nursery closes or is restricted to '2 keyworker only' children as my husband is not a keyworker but is the one who pays the majority of our mortgage, unless our bank starts taking claps as payment. Same for many other parents in my team. So pick your battles.

So factory workers can keep going in to make non essential stuff, people can order whatever they want on Amazon/Next etc, order takeaways, do home improvements etc etc - but under 3s should be thrown under a bus. Because they don’t have a voice or a vote.

If we protect the elderly as a society as the most vulnerable, we have to protect the very youngest too. Everything else should close and we should all eat tinned food before they close nurseries again.

Do you really expect your life to carry on as before while people around you are dying?

Well, give the title of this thread, I don't think she's having a tantrum about not being able to visit the hairdressers or attend a rave. I think she's upset about her toddler being potentially neglected for weeks on end, maybe months.

At this point it's hard to tell which posts are serious and which are satire...

[quote BooBahBoo]@SandysMam

Oh, absolutely. Plenty will also be doing this, especially if they're the sole earner on a lower wage- they would come in and continue to work. What other choice do they realistically have?

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And regarding my previous point regarding 24h vaccinations, the Gov have had around a year to plan for a vaccine being made available. Maybe they should have expanded industry which could make the Oxford vaccine, for example. Rather than sitting and waiting nearly a year for one being made available, then having everything come out slowly in drips and drabs. The same goes for PPE and that monumental fuck up, earlier on, though. Everything is always far too slow and far too late.[/quote]
I find it hard to understand why they have gone on and on about vaccinations but when they get them they seem so unprepared.

@OverTheRainbow88. It was a very important meeting dealing with difficult and sensitive issues. Absolutely not the sort of thing you could have a toddler wandering in and out of. I had to talk for most of it. I was at the end of my tether - DS had been interrupting my meetings and classes all week - closing my laptop down, hammering on the keyboard, putting himself in danger. He's much more sensible now, but he's always been a climber...We had a couple of incidents where he hurt himself jumping off the sofa and I just didn't feel I could leave him for 2 hours with the run of the house.

@MessAllOver

Just an FYI for parents having to wfh with young children...

What worked really well last time was strapping my 2 yo into the buggy with a chest strap across so he couldn't wriggle out and putting him in front of the TV with Peppa Pig on repeat.

I left him with a beaker of water but no food to avoid a choking hazard. He did have nappy rash by the time I returned and was quite upset, but hey ho, we've all got to make sacrifices, even toddlers who don't understand why nobody's coming and why they're being neglected.

We're not doing it this time - we've decided to take the financial hit if nurseries shut.

I can't tell if you are being ironic.

@Rawrsome13

I'm so tired of pointing out that, as an ICU nurse, it will be me taking unpaid leave from work if our nursery closes or is restricted to '2 keyworker only' children as my husband is not a keyworker but is the one who pays the majority of our mortgage, unless our bank starts taking claps as payment. Same for many other parents in my team. So pick your battles.

I understand your frustration. That's exactly what will happen to my friend if nurseries are only for children of multiple key workers. I appreciate it's shit for the staff and of course I wish they were safer but the truth is a heck of a lot of key workers will be immediately removed from their roles if they have no childcare and I don't see how that will help.

Let's make sure the lockdown restrictions we currently have are being followed and enforced before we close them down. People are just carrying on as normal and are not listening.

she's upset about her toddler being potentially neglected for weeks on end, maybe months.

No one is suggesting that toddlers should be neglected. It's so lazy to make everything binary. Neither did I come out in favour of closing nurseries - I didn't express an opinion.

The point is that the priority should be saving lives. Clearly the government needs to put sufficient measures in place to protect people economically at the same time. It hasn't done so - as 70,000 newly homeless households will attest.

I can't tell if you are being ironic.

FWIW my then 14 month old spent a lot of time confined to her playpen whilst we worked, so I can believe lots of babies and toddlers required confining in a similar way.

I can't tell if you are being ironic.

If you mean, did I actually do this? Yes, I did, once (and I'm still eaten up with guilt about it but it seemed the only option at the time).

If you're asking whether I think this is an acceptable way to care for toddlers, then no I absolutely do not....but neither do I think allowing toddlers to roam the house unattended and hurt themselves is acceptable either. It did keep DS safe from harm.

@MessAllOver

Just an FYI for parents having to wfh with young children...

What worked really well last time was strapping my 2 yo into the buggy with a chest strap across so he couldn't wriggle out and putting him in front of the TV with Peppa Pig on repeat.

I left him with a beaker of water but no food to avoid a choking hazard. He did have nappy rash by the time I returned and was quite upset, but hey ho, we've all got to make sacrifices, even toddlers who don't understand why nobody's coming and why they're being neglected.

We're not doing it this time - we've decided to take the financial hit if nurseries shut.

I don't think this is ironic. It's the experience of many parents.

@MessAllOver

I can't tell if you are being ironic.

If you mean, did I actually do this? Yes, I did, once (and I'm still eaten up with guilt about it but it seemed the only option at the time).

If you're asking whether I think this is an acceptable way to care for toddlers, then no I absolutely do not....but neither do I think allowing toddlers to roam the house unattended and hurt themselves is acceptable either. It did keep DS safe from harm.

Shit that is difficult to read. You won't be the only one who's had to resort to something like this on occasion during this whole sorry episode, I'm sure. But they're selfish and stupid if they take up their childcare places.

@Wherediditgo

OnlyFoolsnMothers
Close the nurseries and see/
Use of grandparents as care surge
Play dates increase
Use of playgrounds surge
Stupid idea!!!!!
This. At least nursery settings are required to have measures in place to reduce spread. Playgrounds don’t and neither do family members providing childcare.

Can you not see how devaluing that is? It’s ok for us to take the risk but not others? We have a right to a safe working environment too. We are not here to put our health at risk so you can stay home.
This isn’t what we signed up for, and if we continue to feel undervalued and used staff will leave. Pop over to the many Facebook sites and you will see managers tearing their hair out due to so many staff leaving.

Which measures are those? Washing our hands? We aren’t even allowed to wear a mask. Do you not understand we have no protection at all

Let's face it - the ones on this thread wanting them to close are the ones without nudery age kids who have NO idea and are not looking at the bigger picture.

Anybody any suggestions about how to fix all this, what can be done?

@idontbelieveit12, same for me, healthcare. Mainly outpatients so no idea, what people have been upto and not covid tested! I don't have the answer to those not following the guidance but shutting nurseries because of them seems wrong. It should be done if they are deemed to be a major driver of infection. I think all front line staff, whatever their profession are working in difficult circumstances. I'm definitely dreaming about a new job once this is all over!

@Freddiefox wearing a make is down to the nursery manager to decide. Ask them.

Freddie do you work outside? We do so much , PPE, temp checks, small bubbles, vast space, it’s frustrating other employers don’t do the same.

I know there’s a vast range in nurseries having seen them lately. Can you move to a better one?

I still have moments where I shudder about the memory of having put DS in the next room in front of the TV (which isn't normally how I would parent a 20 month old in the first place) while I had a meeting and midway through looking out the window to see him walking out the house towards the road. He had never shown any interest in opening the front door before that, yet alone capability. I absolutely shed a tear and thought 'there for the grace of god' about the poor woman whose toddler drowned while she was on a conference call.

We have a right to a safe working environment too. We are not here to put our health at risk so you can stay home.

This is the key point. One person's essential childcare is another's serious health risk.

It's undeniable that protecting workers from exposure must come first.

Nursery owners can and should do more. Many are prepared to pay more for staff to be better protected.