Would you allow your 16yr old to go on scout camp?

[ThankyouForListening]

It seems to be going ahead from Friday for a week.
They’ve split the groups up and he will be in a smaller group of 7 who will do activities together in a larger camp of about 25 kids and a leader.
I don’t know about sleeping arrangements tho.

I’ve just had one kid sick and we’ve isolated as a family for 6 days till he got a negative test.
I’m frazzled

But I haven’t the heart to say he can’t go to camp

Also, I wouldn't send my son in the OPs circumstances.

…will simply string out the period of high infection levels, lengthening he time that those who are CEV will remain at heightened risk, all the while playing havoc economically, educationally and socially.

Yes, when the clinically vulnerable are all dead, we can just get back to life as it used to be, right? Much better for everyone.

You clearly have no one you care about who is vulnerable but I’m amazed that you have so little empathy for people who do. Keeping the rate of infection steady means that vulnerable people are less likely to catch it until there are vaccinations available for them (or better treatment if they can’t be vaccinated). Many would survive with hospital treatment but not without. They obviously wouldn’t get hospital treatment if the beds are full. And a managed wave would give these people time.

But obviously if you had to isolate for a few days, you’d miss out on so much. It’s far too much to ask when your enjoyment of life is so much more important than other people’s actual lives.

Were your son a member of this scout troop, and the leader told parents that he had a CEV brother, and that you felt you needed a LFT to be done before they went, I would understand and comply, keeping my son at home were he to test positive.

Honestly, do you expect everyone to tell you their personal health status (or their families) before you do the right thing? For these types of trips, most (if not all) will expect the participants to take a lateral flow test. If you don’t want to take one, don’t go.

@karmakameleon

…will simply string out the period of high infection levels, lengthening he time that those who are CEV will remain at heightened risk, all the while playing havoc economically, educationally and socially.

Yes, when the clinically vulnerable are all dead, we can just get back to life as it used to be, right? Much better for everyone.

You clearly have no one you care about who is vulnerable but I’m amazed that you have so little empathy for people who do. Keeping the rate of infection steady means that vulnerable people are less likely to catch it until there are vaccinations available for them (or better treatment if they can’t be vaccinated). Many would survive with hospital treatment but not without. They obviously wouldn’t get hospital treatment if the beds are full. And a managed wave would give these people time.

But obviously if you had to isolate for a few days, you’d miss out on so much. It’s far too much to ask when your enjoyment of life is so much more important than other people’s actual lives.

I apologise for coming across as blaze, and recognise that it must be an acutely anxious time for you at the moment. However, the rationale behind my position is actually that i think it would help those with CEV, by accepting reality that we can't realistically suppress it to very low numbers, and that we therefore need an exit strategy that suppresses the virus through a combination of vaccine and infection immunity, and that if that is the route, it helps no one to delay it (if the NHS can cope over this time).

You can either compress the risk of catching Covid into a short period, or elongate it over a longer period.... The risk of catching Covid "per day" may be lower if more mitigations are in place, but the overall risk remains the same over a longer period. In the absence of more extreme measures to squash the spread such as another lockdown, it's either one of the other., so why prolong it if the overall risk is the same?

I'd fully support those who remain CEV despite the vaccine rollout being supported financially and practically over this time whilst this works itself out.

Nope, due to sleeping in shared spaces.

The activities will be alright, but sleeping together? No.

@karmakameleon

Were your son a member of this scout troop, and the leader told parents that he had a CEV brother, and that you felt you needed a LFT to be done before they went, I would understand and comply, keeping my son at home were he to test positive.

Honestly, do you expect everyone to tell you their personal health status (or their families) before you do the right thing? For these types of trips, most (if not all) will expect the participants to take a lateral flow test. If you don’t want to take one, don’t go.

A blanket "you must all do x,y, and z because it's the right thing to do" message will wear thin, and indeed has worn thin for significant numbers. People will make their own risk based decisions, and those won't always involve placing zero value on non-essential activity such as going on holiday.

If you want people to protect you, you need to let people know you need protecting, rather than hoping they'll continually jump through all sorts of hoops on the off-chance they may be helping someone who's chosen not to remain quiet.

*"....someone who's chosen to remain quiet."

Let him go

How does that help people on the tube/bus for example @Warhertisuff? Where there are posters on here who say they don't test, they won't wear masks, they don't care if they knowingly have had contact with someone who has COVID, how does that help someone who is on the tube who may be vulnerable or have a vulnerable family member

If you want people to protect you, you need to let people know you need protecting,

If you’re going about life as normal you probably come across dozens of people a day. Do you expect all of them to share their and their families health status just in case you’re one of the idiots who won’t follow the test and isolate rules? Should they tell you every time they see you and your children just in case you forget? Presumably you don’t wear a big badge saying that you’re an inconsiderate twat, so how do people know to remind you of their health status regularly and avoid you on the bus, in the supermarket etc.

I apologise for coming across as blaze, and recognise that it must be an acutely anxious time for you at the moment.

Actually I’m not especially anxious because of the threat of my vulnerable DC catching Covid. We’ve spent plenty of time with him in hospital with respiratory illness so this won’t be much different. I’m more concerned that I’m bringing up my children in a society that cares so little about others.

And also I’m anxious that we may miss our holiday as we have a child isolating and he may test positive so like the rest of society I understand the fear of missing out. But I’m not an arse who would go on holiday when the family should be isolating.

@ineedaholidaynow

How does that help people on the tube/bus for example *@Warhertisuff*? Where there are posters on here who say they don't test, they won't wear masks, they don't care if they knowingly have had contact with someone who has COVID, how does that help someone who is on the tube who may be vulnerable or have a vulnerable family member

I have continued to wear a mask on the tube... despite many not doing so.

@karmakameleon

I apologise for coming across as blaze, and recognise that it must be an acutely anxious time for you at the moment.

Actually I’m not especially anxious because of the threat of my vulnerable DC catching Covid. We’ve spent plenty of time with him in hospital with respiratory illness so this won’t be much different. I’m more concerned that I’m bringing up my children in a society that cares so little about others.

So, despite you not being especially concerned about your son getting Covid (which is understandable given that the risk is very low even for most CEV children), you nonetheless expect me to be so deeply concerned that I would cancel my and my family's holiday if one of my children was told to self-isolate, even though only 2% of such isolations result in a Covid case (as per recent government study), and despite the fact we would barely meet anyone being in a quiet self-catering cottage.

There's being public spirited, and there's being rule abiding to the point of masochistic martyrdom, not just for you but your family too!

OP I would absolutely let him go. My 14yo did his Duke of Edinburgh expedition a couple of weeks ago including camping. It was a hugely beneficial experience for him, the benefits far outweighed the risks of him catching Covid.

@Warhertisuff

When I say I’m not concerned, I mean I don’t have any particular health anxiety or issues. Because those amongst us who are too selfish to want to take any steps to prevent Covid make out that the CEV and parents of CEV children have mental health issues and are worried without foundation. If my child ends up in hospital with any respiratory illness as he often does, I will be worried/upset like any parent but possibly not as much as someone who is not used to it. I’ve spent many nights in hospital and seen many children with a worse outcome than mine (I’ve seen a few children die during our hospital stays), so I know we’ve been quite lucky so far. But if next time he’s a Covid case, our luck may have run out, I don’t know but I won’t worry about that till we get there.

If you’re self isolating in a self catering cottage somewhere that’s neither here nor there. But if you’re stopping on your way to your cottage, going out on trips and to eat/shop when you should be isolating, you’re being irresponsible.

Yes of course he should go
He’ll love it

I am letting my 16 yr ds go 4 days with army cadets in August. They go in a bubble of 6 and most activities are outdoors. They share a form but they do a LFT day before they go and must take two more when away. If they test positive they are immediately isolated and must be collected by their parents. Am hoping it wont get cancelled as so many things have been since the pandemic. It is his first army cadet break since he joined 16 months ago.

They share a dorm not form.

Scouts will be following the same rules as other youth groups. This allows for a max of 6 per room.

Definitely!
DS's Scout group has only just started back up in the past few weeks, there's no mention of going on camp yet but I'd definitely send him, he missed Scouts a lot when it stopped in lockdown.
They have to have stringent rules and procedures in place, I wouldn't be worried personally.

Yes definitely.

The Year 6s at our school managed to have some kind of residential / night spent in tents and making fires and whatnot and I’m so pleased that managed to go ahead.

Well as a family we have come to accept that having a CEV family member who is on medication which leaves him immunosupressed that we have to just get on with it. Obviously it is more risky when levels within the community is high especially in medical settings a we can't avoid regular blood tests etc. We have to hope that the vaccine will do the heavy lifting if he contracts COVID. Those with ECV kids are not so fortunate. Those under 12 are unlikely to be vaccinated and those over 12 are still waiting.
Time and time again during this shitshow people have said just shield the vulnerable and let it rip throughout the community. I am intrigued as to how this was supposed to work. We are just one family.
DH works but thankfully has an employer who allows him to work from home. Others are not so lucky
I WOH so presumably my wages would have beeen paid and our 3 dds would be provided with online learning. No we were threatened with fines and people on here told us to give up our school places. DH would need safe means of attending blood tests and hospital appointments etc. We would have needed a safe means of DD attending therapy appointments. Again not possible as can't do virtual.
We sent our kids to school and took a chance. Thankfully we avoided COVID so far.

Ds is on scout camp now. I have to admit I was a bit worried about him going but he gets such a lot out of scouts that I didn't want to take that away from him.

I'm a bit jealous as our scout group is still meeting online, hopefully we can go camping again soon. I would let them go as they will surely be outdoors most of the time.