Is this ok for a support bubble confused about the rules

[milkconfusion3]

Family of 4 , 2 dc aged 6 and 3
Can a support bubble be formed with one set of grandparents ?
Would that be a childcare bubble?

No we have a cev child we’ve gone nowhere and not even to a shop
Tbh they are v set with the routine they have I might log it and let someone actually check at that time and if it’s all above board then fine but I’m suspicious and this situation won’t get better if everybody is bending the rules

On the face of it it isn’t allowed. However you don’t know their circumstances. To my neighbours I am appearing to break the rules as over the last few days I’ve had my mother in the house when previously she has been visiting on our doorstop (not socialise but to give us groceries or take my son for childcare). However we have now formed a support bubble as her partner works abroad and isn’t coming home now for at least 3 months. She is now a single person household and on top of this has injured herself so needs me to do things like shop for her etc. On the face of it my neighbours might think I’m breaking the rules but I’m not. Unless you plan to report them why ask?

Good luck reporting your neighbours if you ever need help in the future.

Weve not been to the shops either but am I about to start reporting my neighbours? Absolutely not. You dont know their reasons because it's none of your business. Once you've reported them, you still wont know their reasons because itll still be none of your business.

They are definitely breaking the rules.
The dc aren't dropped off while the parents go to work. It's not childcare.
They're taking the p and must think you're daft if they think you'll accept they are a legitimate bubble.

@MotherPiglet

Good luck reporting your neighbours if you ever need help in the future.

Weve not been to the shops either but am I about to start reporting my neighbours? Absolutely not. You dont know their reasons because it's none of your business. Once you've reported them, you still wont know their reasons because itll still be none of your business.

I don’t want to know the reasons if its legitimate then fine there’s nothing I can do but if it’s not then ive done the right thing surely better that it’s checked ?

Nobody will check on this. There are numerous reasons why they could be there.
It is not like they are having different people through the door every day or house parties.

[quote ineedaholidaynow]@kowari everyone could argue the same thing surely? Why have bubbles, rules?[/quote]
It's different if household A sees household B and then B sees Cand D and so on. If it's just grandparents at the same house all weekday then home to their house, and otherwise just the supermarket the same as anyone else then it's just like they are all one household. I guess if they were likely to be reported they could move in, but that wouldn't reduce the risk.

@Spikeyball

Nobody will check on this. There are numerous reasons why they could be there. It is not like they are having different people through the door every day or house parties.

Maybe I should ask then one day a week can they not use the garden when my dc do for an hour or so instead? Just so I don’t have to worry that the dc are mixing as they want to talk through the chain fence and I’m so scared of the risk

Mind your own business.

@yvanka

Mind your own business.

🤣

It could be childcare. My DC’s grandparents come over to our house to provide childcare whilst my DH and I work upstairs. We cannot supervise the DCs whilst we are on calls each day. So the grandparents supervise homeschooling, make lunch for the kids, play with the kids in the garden etc.

At the end of the day you have no idea what’s going on with the family. There could be numerous reasons why they are mixing. It won’t do you any good to obsess over it.

Are you in England?

I wonder if my neighbour's curtains are twitching looking at my house.

My mum comes over on a Thursday and Friday to provide childcare to my 19 month old DS. We are still in the house, both in rooms upstairs working. DS doesn't go to my mum's as she has dogs who have never been around children so she prefers to care for him here.

How do you know your neighbours aren't working? Catching up on sleep? Doing renovation in another room and can't supervise the children so childcare is needed?

There are situations where childcare is needed where the parent remains in the house.

yvanka is correct. You should mind your own business. Policing your neighbours is grim. You have no idea of their personal circumstances. They are entitled to a childcare bubble and that can be at their house. It does not stipulate that children must be dropped off somewhere. Really, get a hold of yourself.

Actually it could be a support bubble if one of them is seriously ill/frail and the other is their carer. This is treated like a support bubble for a single adult. My Mum and Dad are in a support bubble with my sister and her family as my Dad has fairly advanced dementia. I think this is fair as to leave my Mum who is elderly and frail herself on her own all the time would just be impossible.

We had BIL,SIL & their young DC over this afternoon to visit MIL who lives with us. Perhaps you live next door to us.

So let me explain. It's not a support bubble, it's not a childcare bubble. It's the exception that allows family to visit people at end of life.

Do enjoy life up on your high horse though.

Is your problem the added risk that 2 extra people in the house have for your children?

If so I would leave alone OP - they are one assumes a childcare bubble even if I guess you could argue socialising is going along. What do you want to achieve from this.

If your DC mix in the garden how much extra risk comes from the grandparents visiting?

Are your neighbours working from home while their grandparents care for the children?
In which case it would be allowed?
There is no requirement that the parents have to leave the house to go to work, just that the childcare has to facilitate the parents working

It can be a childcare bubble I think if they're watching the kids and the parents are upstairs working. No-one could police it. My neighbours have people in and out too, have done this whole year, no lockdown for them they even had a party once. I think it's nasty when people accuse you of spying etc. When you're wfh for a year or even just at home you notice this sort of thing and it's frustrating

It's allowed as a childcare bubble as long as they only bubble with each other, and the grandparents are providing childcare while the parents work. They should limit the social side with adults but they are all allowed to be in the same house while the childcare is taking place. Just as someone who has a nanny would.

Even if it's not strictly allowed, if it's just the one set of grandparents visiting one family then the risk is equivalent to the grandparents moving in. They're effectively one household. It's different obviously if there's multiple sets of grandparents visiting multiple children and grandchildren etc.

Regardless of whether they're taking the piss, if your DC is vulnerable to the extent that they can't use the garden if the neighbours are in theirs, I think most people would be open to agreeing not to use their garden for a particular hour each day so your DC can get a run around. Ask in a polite way and they may well say yes, I certainly would. If you know their routine, suggest a time when they're not usually out. Obviously they're perfectly within their rights to say no, but no harm in asking.

I thought childcare bubbles weren't allowed if the parents were WFH? How can it possibly be enforced that the adults aren't mixing if they're all inside together?

OP it's shit but I really wouldn't report your neighbours.

You want to report your neighbours. For real?!

Why do you think that @NextExWife? Is it in the guidance?