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Original poster

If a child has to isolate, but not parents, how will you manage childcare?

178 replies

ginforall · 30/08/2021 15:44

Something which has been playing on my mind, so interested in others opinions on this. If your child tests positive so needs to isolate for 10 days how will you manage childcare if you do not need to isolate and work expects you in? I officially get one day paid to sort out childcare, and then it would be unpaid, DH same. Usually we would ask grandparents if needed (but obviously not if DS had covid). I'm assuming one of us would have to take time off unpaid which would feel a little frustrating (both teachers so no option to wfh).

Hopefully won't be an issue but interested in how other parents are planning to manage.

OP posts:
Howshouldibehave · 31/08/2021 11:42

Most of my annual leave has been taken up by isolating and / or awaiting covid test results due to lingering coughs etc

It’s an additional problem for those in jobs without annual leave.

roundtable · 31/08/2021 11:54

So the people who had to work out of home throughout the pandemic and got themselves double jabbed will mainly be the ones who bear the brunt of this policy.

Sounds fair. Angry

ImInACage · 31/08/2021 11:55

I agree, those of us stuck on minimum wage zero hour contracts, who have worked throughout the pandemic (I'm a nursery practitioner and now pretty much guaranteed to catch it with these rules), yet have no entitlement to holiday or sick pay are really going to lose out here.

lannistunut · 31/08/2021 12:30

@roundtable

So the people who had to work out of home throughout the pandemic and got themselves double jabbed will mainly be the ones who bear the brunt of this policy.

Sounds fair. Angry

Well, we have a Tory government, so of course the impacts will not be fairly felt Angry

Tories are not about fairness, they are about protecting a small group of people at the expense of everyone else.

MiddleParking · 31/08/2021 12:42

@roundtable

So the people who had to work out of home throughout the pandemic and got themselves double jabbed will mainly be the ones who bear the brunt of this policy.

Sounds fair. Angry

People working at home don’t generally get dispensation to look after sick children while they do so either. Lots of home workers would need time off work in this scenario.
Hercerays1956 · 31/08/2021 12:44

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

lannistunut · 31/08/2021 12:46

@MiddleParking

There is a difference between 'sick' and 'isolating so not at school' - I can wfh so long as my child is not unwell. Most children who get covid won't require care - but they can't just be left unsupervised while parents go out to the workplace.

So it is different for those of us who wfh, depending on age/stage of children.

BluebellsGreenbells · 31/08/2021 12:48

got themselves double jabbed will mainly be the ones who bear the brunt of this policy

No, the unvaccinated will have to isolate. They won’t get paid either.

However, it’s parents of young children or CV children who will suffer most.

Xenia · 31/08/2021 12:51

I think employers have no obligation to grant a request for most unpaid leave other than a death in the family however so will teachers for example be allowed to take unpaid leave or will they be forced to hire a daily nanny or nurse even if that takes a month's pay to cover the cost?

Howshouldibehave · 31/08/2021 12:54

or will they be forced to hire a daily nanny or nurse even if that takes a month's pay to cover the cost?

Is that even a thing? Emergency nannies that work closely with children with covid?

lannistunut · 31/08/2021 13:01

I just don't know what the UK is playing at with regards to how parents have been treated through all this.

Nice of Gavin to blame parents for the fourth wave in advance Angry

gogohm · 31/08/2021 13:17

A local young adult not working perhaps? Dd has watched the neighbours kids twice when their bubble burst, not a cheap option, if you are low income won't be worth it, but for higher income it's worth investigating - lots of young people who would be on gap years are stuck at home

Girlscout1910 · 31/08/2021 13:37

If you have a positive case you can’t bring anyone else into your house. So getting a nanny or neighbour to help isn’t an option

Howshouldibehave · 31/08/2021 13:39

@gogohm

A local young adult not working perhaps? Dd has watched the neighbours kids twice when their bubble burst, not a cheap option, if you are low income won't be worth it, but for higher income it's worth investigating - lots of young people who would be on gap years are stuck at home
I don’t know anyone in that situation so it would have to be inviting a stranger into your house to care for a poorly, probably clingy infectious isolating child. That has safeguarding red flags all over it, if it’s even allowed!
Mammyloveswine · 31/08/2021 14:16

I'm a teacher... dreading this!

We escaped Covid somehow last year but I reckon we'll all catch it quite soon after going back 🙈

DH working from home but still hard to supervise two young children and get his work done! (He gets great emergency childcare paid leave but used most of it as my school and children's school had different holidays...leaving us to sort 3 weeks of childcare).

ZoBo123 · 31/08/2021 14:34

People will stop testing their children. No test, no need to isolate. The children will continue going to school. Parents will be able to feed them, clothe them and put a roof over their head

kirinm · 31/08/2021 14:45

@Howshouldibehave

Most of my annual leave has been taken up by isolating and / or awaiting covid test results due to lingering coughs etc

It’s an additional problem for those in jobs without annual leave.

Yes, my DP is self-employed and has lost a huge amount of money over the last 18 months as a result of lockdowns / self-isolations / childcare settings closing etc. Dreading the winter.
lannistunut · 31/08/2021 14:48

@ZoBo123

People will stop testing their children. No test, no need to isolate. The children will continue going to school. Parents will be able to feed them, clothe them and put a roof over their head
If identified as a contact (although not in school) people are required by T&T to do a PCR aren't they? So I am not sure it will be possible to just 'not test' in all cases.

But also - if you suspect your kid has covid - you should get them tested, as that positive test result will be important for accessing long covid support if they require it Sad

ButteringMyArse · 31/08/2021 14:51

@ZoBo123

People will stop testing their children. No test, no need to isolate. The children will continue going to school. Parents will be able to feed them, clothe them and put a roof over their head
I think certainly this is a substantial disincentive to do LFTs on asymptomatic kids.
Girlscout1910 · 31/08/2021 15:10

Advised but not required in England

Karlee30 · 31/08/2021 15:32

This is an issue but I guess it will work in the same way a non covid illness would with childcare. Admittedly a child is unlikely to need ten days off with a non covid virus but I guess it's just unpaid time off...

ButteringMyArse · 31/08/2021 15:45

@Karlee30

This is an issue but I guess it will work in the same way a non covid illness would with childcare. Admittedly a child is unlikely to need ten days off with a non covid virus but I guess it's just unpaid time off...
If you're lucky.

The big difference is that there are likely to be fewer childcare options for covid. The law in England and Wales at the moment gives parents the right to unpaid time off to arrange childcare for a sick child, rather than to do it themselves. Most formal settings don't take kids who have other illnesses, so a lot of parents end up relying on informal childcare, usually family. There are probably fewer grandparents willing to look after a kid who has covid than one who has eg chicken pox, slapped cheek etc.

There might be the potential to use parental leave but employers don't have to allow you to take that with no notice at the time of your choosing, which is effectively what this would have to be.

Howshouldibehave · 31/08/2021 16:23

@Karlee30

This is an issue but I guess it will work in the same way a non covid illness would with childcare. Admittedly a child is unlikely to need ten days off with a non covid virus but I guess it's just unpaid time off...
Well obviously the two are similar, but it’s the differences between them that makes one manageable and the other extremely difficult.
MiddleParking · 31/08/2021 16:29

[quote lannistunut]@MiddleParking

There is a difference between 'sick' and 'isolating so not at school' - I can wfh so long as my child is not unwell. Most children who get covid won't require care - but they can't just be left unsupervised while parents go out to the workplace.

So it is different for those of us who wfh, depending on age/stage of children.[/quote]
Well, yes, of course it depends on the age and stage of the children. Surely we’re talking about children who’ll require attentive childcare if they’re at home.

fromyorktocork · 31/08/2021 16:41

Or who need supervision full stop, for parents who can't wfh. Neither of us can wfh, so if we had little kids we'd have to stay off for the 10 days, regardless of how much attention the child needed. As it is, my youngest is 11. Now, I'm (just) OK leaving him for a day when he's well. But for two whole weeks, when he's potentially feeling pretty ill? Not so happy.