Are anyone else's kids getting distressed with all the testing?

[musicalfrog]

Our LA has asked that all children ages 2 and up are LF tested twice weekly.

My child age 8 hates getting tested, we've done it about 5 times in as many weeks due to symptoms and close contacts, every time it's been negative. I really don't want to put my kids through it any more. Anyone else feeling the same?

No, I’m happy to do my bit for the greater good.

@musicalfrog
One of our DC hated it until the lady at the testing centre told them to pick their nose with the cotton bud. That help a lot! Now they are happy to do it

Ours is asking 7 years up to do LFT daily if close contact. I know it makes sense but worry have my ND child's will cope. Older NT child absolutely fine.
Fingers crossed she won't need too.

My 6 year old hates it to the point of being terrified and crying her eyes out. No way would I be testing her that often.

Don’t understand why we don’t have a less uncomfortable and invasive test yet, particularly for children as it’s well known some of them find it traumatic.

Just don’t do it. No one will be checking and it’s absolutely your right not to.

What do the chemicals do to the nose lining?

Don't do it OP! Originally primary age dc were advised not to regular LFT. I dont LFT my 6yo however I do LFT the rest of the household twice a week i have too for work anyway and older dc are in secondary in the hope that if 6yo is asymptomatic positive he would have passed it on to at least one of us or if we are asymptomatic positive we could try stop the spread to him and his class. If he had symptoms or one of us tested positive only in that circumstance would I then PCR the 6yo.
Ignore all the sanctimonious "I'm doing it for the greater good" clap trap, that ship sailed ages ago. If your dc don't mind regular lft that's great carry on, but if they do then simply don't do it and find an alternative that suits your family.

Just don't do the tests. They are so inaccurate anyway.

@musicalfrog

Our LA has asked that all children ages 2 and up are LF tested twice weekly.

My child age 8 hates getting tested, we've done it about 5 times in as many weeks due to symptoms and close contacts, every time it's been negative. I really don't want to put my kids through it any more. Anyone else feeling the same?

No because I've never tested the, and won't be

Just dont do it. If they have symptoms get a pcr. If the lft comes back positive then you need to send for a pcr anyway.

I certainly wouldn't be doing regular testing on young children. My youngest is nearly 3 and at nursery, she has had to be tested quite a few times due to usual nursery bugs and she is hysterical each time. I absolutely hate doing them to her and certainly wouldn't start doing them if she had no symptoms.

I have a 3 and 5 year old. 5 year old has had one LFT, 3 year old has had one LFT and one PCR. It was horrendous. They both sobbed and were terrified of it. Didn't matter how much we examined it, did it calmly, let them see us do it any of it. No way I would be doing that regularly.

I think everyone gets a bit sick of it. You have to make a judgment about whether your child can cope, if they can that is great, if they really can't then you would rightly prioritise their wellbeing.

Don't do it. I don't.

My nearly 3yo has had multiple PCRs. Every one was horrendous and he gets so distressed. He recognises the test centre now and cries on the way in. We have to pin him down to do it and it makes me feel awful.

No way would I do LFs on him at home.

Mine were starting to get distressed then we upped the ante on the bribery and now their ok with it...

I didn’t realise dc so young have been asked to do this

I’d not if it causes that much stress

It must be hard for little ones. We've only just started doing LFT (huge rise in cases round here so primary school have asked for tests to be done twice a week if possible) - husband and I have been doing it all along for work; DD has had 2 PCRs, one which she found very upsetting last year, when she was 9, and one very recently where they got her to do it herself and that helped a lot. So we've got her to do the LFTs herself, under close supervision obviously, and that's made it waaaay better. I woudn't say she likes it, but she does like the 'science' bit where we wait for the results!
I do understand why you wouldn't put a small or neurodiverse child through it, though. But I think if you're in an area where cases are high and you can do it, it's worth doing.

I'm guessing you're in the same county as me. Well no I won't be testing either of my children 2xweek. I think it's a horrendous idea and when I saw the ad they had put on fb I felt like commenting "meanwhile in Wales they are saying not to test under 5s unless specifically requested by doctor"

My 11yo is autistic with sensory processing issues, I've tried doing just the nose, but he's prone to nosebleeds and his nose bled on and off for 36hours afterwards (yes I was gentle and didn't push it up too far before I get those comments again).
The 8yo has had 2 pcrs, I literally had to hold him down while he screamed blue murder and he threw up over the car at the thought of the swab down his throat.

Instead I test myself 3x week (and more often atm cos I've had a cold, it is a cold pcr was negative).
I'm not putting my children through what, for them, is torture twice a week.

Ha ha ha. I wouldn't do this, at all. FFS. I've tested my eldest, once, since the beginning of the pandemic. There's no way I'd subject them to testing unless genuinely required.

Just noted 2 and up

I would not do this with my three year old

It’s kind of the reality of still being in a pandemic then.

People can’t have it both ways of refusing to have sensible mitigations in place vs not testing.

The LFT tests are just up the nose. Not a big deal.

Mine are highly entertained by it. I think they'll take your lead, emotionally. If you treat it as this hilarious thing and chase the around the house etc., it's fun. If you look at the seriously and tell them it's really important and you know they hate it, etc.etc. then they'll assume it's awful.

That said, I wouldn't test a 3 year old. We have to do lateral flows all the time, but I honestly don't think they pick up a thing in any kind of useful way. Both my kids had covid, and the lateral flows didn't notice it until the day AFTER their symptoms had eased off. (Obv they tested positive on PCR tests).

Don’t do it. No one can make you or your children take a test ever!