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Original poster

Pulling kids from school?

128 replies

SnowSurprise · 23/11/2021 21:50

Anyone starting to do think about doing this? Rates rapidly rising in our area with almost half the cases in the age group of my DC. Starting to think about Christmas and pulling the DC from school in the last week. Carol service is apparently still going ahead on 22nd which seems like an excellent way to spread lots of Christmas Covid. Debating DC1 coming down with something on the Saturday 18th and DC2 unfortunately not feeling great on the Monday....

OP posts:
ThePoisonousMushroom · 24/11/2021 13:27

@SnowSurprise

but don't you think the majority of children and teens benefit from being in school vs at home? Especially after the past 18 months of having to learn remotely and unable to socialise with their friends? With GCSE or A levels coming up?

As I said before, both my DC are primary, they haven't spent the last 18 months learning remotely, nor have they been unable to socialise with their friends. Neither do they have GCSE's or A-Levels coming up and I don't know any primary aged kids that do. Unless yours are particularly gifted? Mine aren't that clever.

Will you be taking the last week before the end of term off work? I don’t know many people who have the flexibility in their jobs to be able to pull their children out of school to avoid covid.
Original poster
SnowSurprise · 24/11/2021 13:27

Love a defensive op when opinion doesn’t go their way
I'm not trying to be defensive but I fail to see the relevance of talking about secondary aged children doing remote learning for ages and having exams when I've said my DC are a) primary aged and b) our school has been open as usual since May 2020 Confused

OP posts:
MarshaBradyo · 24/11/2021 13:29

@SnowSurprise

Love a defensive op when opinion doesn’t go their way I'm not trying to be defensive but I fail to see the relevance of talking about secondary aged children doing remote learning for ages and having exams when I've said my DC are a) primary aged and b) our school has been open as usual since May 2020 Confused
Open as usual?

How?

Do you mean to all dc

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 24/11/2021 13:30

@SnowSurprise

Love a defensive op when opinion doesn’t go their way I'm not trying to be defensive but I fail to see the relevance of talking about secondary aged children doing remote learning for ages and having exams when I've said my DC are a) primary aged and b) our school has been open as usual since May 2020 Confused
Ok well some people are still reeling from their kids being out of school not by choice. That aside it’s never been acceptable to pull kids out of school - whether to avoid illness, or to get a cheaper holiday.
boringcreation · 24/11/2021 13:31

@BluebellsGreenbells

No. Rising cases means bigger protection. Most of the children where o work have had Covid, adults all double jabbed or had Covid.

The protection rate is rising.

That is not how it works at all
yomommasmomma · 24/11/2021 13:37

@TheHopefulMum

Do what's best for your family. We had a family holiday planned in October half term and 2 weeks before the cases began to rise in DS's class and we made the decision to pull both children from school.

If sounds selfish but it was the first holiday we had had for a long time due to covid and the children had been really looking forward to it and so we didn't want to risk it. Our school was very supportive of our decision.

It doesn't sound selfish, it is selfish. I can do believe your school was supportive. Bad parenting I think sorry
Bobholll · 24/11/2021 13:40

Im thinking of doing it OP, yes. Im not worried about covid in the slightest, I’ve had it twice but my DH & DD’s haven’t had it. I’m not worried about them getting it from an illness perspective but I am worried about 10+’days isolation over Christmas. And a second year of not seeing family, friends & doing all the fun stuff we have planned/booked between Christmas Eve-New Year!

Covid isn’t like other illnesses. If we have a sick bug, we isolate for 48 hours & crack on. If we have coughs, colds, ear infections, we can continue to go out & about and do stuff, visit relatives etc! Nothing else will completely wipe out Christmas for the entire family. Even if day DD1 was really poorly with a cough, I could take DD2 to the pantomime still. If DD2 was vomiting, I’d get DD1 out the house ASAP and we’d go do something fun!

My DD’s are young. I’ve already got stuff planned that’s fun & educational the last few days. My parents are helping out with childcare for us & we are using annual leave. A Christmas trial, Christmas phonics, Christmas maths .. lots of arts & crafts. We have a set of reading books at home. We’ll crack on.

SilverGlassHare · 24/11/2021 13:42

Nope, absolutely not.

Bobholll · 24/11/2021 13:43

Get off your high horse @yomommasmomma - judgemental much? The kids will be fine, they had a nice family holiday. There’s far more to life than school. How dare you say they are bad parents?! I can show you bad parents via my voluntary experience with kids at risk..

yomommasmomma · 24/11/2021 13:46

@Bobholll

Get off your high horse *@yomommasmomma* - judgemental much? The kids will be fine, they had a nice family holiday. There’s far more to life than school. How dare you say they are bad parents?! I can show you bad parents via my voluntary experience with kids at risk..
Clearly there is degrees of bad parenting but I think taking kids out of school for 2 weeks is bad parenting. It is selfish to put a holiday before your children's education, especially given how much they have missed in the last 2 years. Why not just book the holiday for the school holidays?
Skysblue · 24/11/2021 13:53

Yanbu OP. On any post like this you’ll meet a lot of people who assume children have a horrible time and learn nothing at home and learn lots in a fun way at school. 🤣🤣🤣

Do what yiu want. Take control. The chances of my children being at at carol concern days before Christmas is zero, I want them well enough to enjoy Christmas day and not spread school germs (covid or not) to elderly relatives…

Blubells · 24/11/2021 13:56

If sounds selfish but it was the first holiday we had had for a long time due to covid and the children had been really looking forward to it and so we didn't want to risk it. Our school was very supportive of our decision.

I struggle to see how the school would be supportive of taking children out of school for two weeks in term time in October? Imagine if more parents did this?

Underparmummy · 24/11/2021 14:12

@Bobholll

Im thinking of doing it OP, yes. Im not worried about covid in the slightest, I’ve had it twice but my DH & DD’s haven’t had it. I’m not worried about them getting it from an illness perspective but I am worried about 10+’days isolation over Christmas. And a second year of not seeing family, friends & doing all the fun stuff we have planned/booked between Christmas Eve-New Year!

Covid isn’t like other illnesses. If we have a sick bug, we isolate for 48 hours & crack on. If we have coughs, colds, ear infections, we can continue to go out & about and do stuff, visit relatives etc! Nothing else will completely wipe out Christmas for the entire family. Even if day DD1 was really poorly with a cough, I could take DD2 to the pantomime still. If DD2 was vomiting, I’d get DD1 out the house ASAP and we’d go do something fun!

My DD’s are young. I’ve already got stuff planned that’s fun & educational the last few days. My parents are helping out with childcare for us & we are using annual leave. A Christmas trial, Christmas phonics, Christmas maths .. lots of arts & crafts. We have a set of reading books at home. We’ll crack on.

Just saying that the new rules mean only the person with covid has to isolate, so even if a young dc in a 2 parent household one parent and other dc are legally completely free to go outside and do stuff.
ZoBo123 · 24/11/2021 14:25

If your school was open as usual you must have got a key worker place for them.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 24/11/2021 14:34

@ZoBo123

If your school was open as usual you must have got a key worker place for them.
Glad that was wasted on a parent who so values education
MarshaBradyo · 24/11/2021 14:35

Yep I’d have taken that week not wanted.

Two terms out.

Original poster
SnowSurprise · 24/11/2021 14:42

If your school was open as usual you must have got a key worker place for them.
No, the school was open as usual for everyone.

Just saying that the new rules mean only the person with covid has to isolate, so even if a young dc in a 2 parent household one parent and other dc are legally completely free to go outside and do stuff.
Oh, then our rules are different. Unvaccinated still have to quarantine 10 days for close contact. As the DC are too young to be vaccinated, they would have to.

OP posts:
MarshaBradyo · 24/11/2021 15:02

@SnowSurprise

If your school was open as usual you must have got a key worker place for them. No, the school was open as usual for everyone.

Just saying that the new rules mean only the person with covid has to isolate, so even if a young dc in a 2 parent household one parent and other dc are legally completely free to go outside and do stuff.
Oh, then our rules are different. Unvaccinated still have to quarantine 10 days for close contact. As the DC are too young to be vaccinated, they would have to.

Where are you that got around closed to all but keyworker dc?
Underparmummy · 24/11/2021 15:03

@SnowSurprise

If your school was open as usual you must have got a key worker place for them. No, the school was open as usual for everyone.

Just saying that the new rules mean only the person with covid has to isolate, so even if a young dc in a 2 parent household one parent and other dc are legally completely free to go outside and do stuff.
Oh, then our rules are different. Unvaccinated still have to quarantine 10 days for close contact. As the DC are too young to be vaccinated, they would have to.

In England under 18 years and 6 months follow same rules as vaccinated.
RabbitFooFoo · 24/11/2021 15:12

I will finish my primary child earlier in line with when his sister finishes on the 17th. That gives us a week until we see grandparents.
Not feeling hopeful that we won’t catch it before then though.

CornishYarg · 24/11/2021 15:18

Are you in the UK OP as your posts suggest you might not be which is confusing people? My primary school aged child in England wasn't allowed to attend school from March 2020 to July 2020 and January 2021 to early March 2021 as the school was only open to key worker children.

Northsoutheastwest76 · 24/11/2021 15:54

I hear you OP and I would do the same if we had family to see.
Dd2 is definitely a NFIS child and was grossly let down by school, LA and CAMHS. She missed about 18 months education and even now in year 11 is only part time but she has caught up with core subjects with the right emotional support
The idea that kids wellbeing is intrinsically linked with being at school does not apply to all children.
Do what is right for you and your family.

Watapalava · 24/11/2021 16:00

Op

Kids do not have to isolate as a contact

If you are vaccinated then you won’t have to isolate as a contact

Given your kids are young they are likely to be mildly affected or asymptomatic

Simplest thing to avoid all this is to simply not test then no plans will be affected

Muchtoomuchtodo · 24/11/2021 16:07

Where in the world are you op?

Pinkyxx · 24/11/2021 16:39

DD spent last Christmas day laid up in bed with Covid19 in our home full of CEV people. It wasn't Christmas, it was a nightmare which also meant family members who were coming to stay (having lived alone for months without seeing anyone) had to also spend the day alone. I won't hesitate to pull DD out.

It was nothing like the minor cold social media promises she was ill for 5 weeks and then had long covid for 3 months, it was Easter before she could do a short bike ride again! She's normally healthy as an ox, no health conditions.