What worries you more: 1) Your child catching Covid, 2) their schooling being disrupted?

[Warhertisuff]

I'm more 2) than 1) if I'm honest...

For dd it was definitely 2. She was in her final year of a performing arts course, double vaxxed and everything was cncelled when almost her entire cohort caught covid. For her, she had no symptoms but the disruption to her education meant she wasn't a high enough standard fo rth next stage in her training/career.

For ds its 1. He is 17, autistic, struggles to wear a mask and after seeing how poorly some of dd's unvaccinated friends were it made me fear for him. He gets his first jab today so hopefully some protection when he goes back to college on 13th Sept.

Ds1 has had COVID twice, ds2 has never had any symptoms despite being in a house full of it twice.

I think the 2 go together.

If we vaccinate kids and ventilate schools etc, there will be less transmission of covid and fewer kids getting ill, and less school disruption too. Win win.

I've never been worried about covid but appreciate it's easy to say as we're not vulnerable.

Schooling for definite. So many 'rites of passage' being lost, as well as the mundane, everyday stuff.

Definitely 2, but mostly how it has effected a lot of kids (including my dd) mentally.

2. Not worried about 1 at all really

This

Erm their health will always be more of a worry for me than their schooling ever would be

We still don’t understand the effects of covid, such as the prevalence of long covid etc. I’m not worried about sending them to school at the moment, though.

I've just asked my 15 year old and she says 2.

Plenty of her friends have had Covid with no issues or serious illness

1. DD catching Covid doesn’t even make it into my top 50 worries, but she needs to be in school- her mental health really deteriorated last winter during the lockdown.

I’d feel different if she were vulnerable, of course. But what do parents of vulnerable DC do if there’s an outbreak of chicken pox or norovirus? Other illnesses are also available.

1. DS currently has Covid that he caught off me, he had a high temperature and was a bit snotty but is fine now.

I've never been worried about either of us catching it and now we've both had it it's actually a relief knowing we have some immunity for a while at least.

3. my child catching Covid, passing it to me and me being seriously ill or dying because I am CEV following intensive cancer treatment and a stem cell transplant.

@Babamamananarama

3) my child catching Covid, passing it to me and me being seriously ill or dying because I am CEV following intensive cancer treatment and a stem cell transplant.

Tbf you've added a 3

1 and 2 go together.

I'm not worried about missed 'schooling', I'm worried about missed social contact (for my child).

For me, I'm worried about the impact of excessive workload from lots of 1 happening.

1 - health cannot be replaced, school can.

2 happens because of 1, surely?? It's an obvious false dichotomy?

'I don't want my child to catch Covid BECAUSE I don't want their schooling to be disrupted' seems much more obvious?

If nobody catches Covid, then children will not be missing 10 days of school being ill, and their teachers will also not be absent for 10 days at a time if they catch it - both of which are disruptive to schooling?

Or am I missing something?

"Erm their health will always be more of a worry for me than their schooling ever would be"

Some children's health suffers because they are not in school. Ds and some other children were in school during lockdowns for that reason.

@Babamamananarama

3) my child catching Covid, passing it to me and me being seriously ill or dying because I am CEV following intensive cancer treatment and a stem cell transplant.

2, without question. I've no particular reason to worry about 1. It may be that they are very unlucky, which they'd have to be as they have no underlying conditions, or that covid has long term implications we aren't aware of, but both of those things are just what ifs at the moment.

1. They're not in a vulnerable category. I am but am double jabbed and care far more about their lives not being disrupted for very little reason.

Both. One of my children is CV. He hasn't had it. The rest of us have. Those of us who can be vaccinated, have been vaccinated.

2

schooling by a country mile

2 absolutely! My eldest Ds already had covid and only had a bit of a bad throat. My other 2 didn't have symptoms

@Spikeyball

"Erm their health will always be more of a worry for me than their schooling ever would be"

Some children's health suffers because they are not in school. Ds and some other children were in school during lockdowns for that reason.

That’s great, but I answered the question as it was asked.