Surely young children should not be isolating in their rooms with covid?

[CA0932017]

I get that all families are in different situations and many teens would be happy to isolate in their room for days. But young kids? surely it's too young?

There's been an outbreak in both DC's class. There are class group chats and Facebook groups etc and I'm amazed how many people are saying they are isolating their 6/7 year olds in their rooms. Also in ds's son at 10, I feel is too young still.

We all had covid last month. Dp first then all
of us next. We didn't isolate away from each other. Our house is too small, we have one bathroom. Kids have sen, it wouldn't be an option for mine. They don't leave my side. They weren't overly poorly either.

I feel sad for kids that are expected to stay in their room for 10 days? I don't think I would cope in my room for 10 days, let alone a child.

One poor kid has done a full 10 days in his room according to his mum.

I'm not sure what the point of this post is. Nothing to do with me and people can make their own choices but I feel so sad for them.

I was asked by test and trace which room my kids were in when we had it and they seemed relieved when I said in the same room as me.

It just feels sad when covid is mild in most people!

To add, Dd has tested positive again. I just couldn't imagine making her stay in one room!

[Title edited by MNHQ at OP's request]

I would rather risk my own health than do this to my six year old. It is abuse.

@anniegun

Its pretty straightforward. If your child is too young to isolate , then you isolate with them. But you cant go out, or have contact with anyone who is not isolating with you.

the last time I checked, you can go out even if someone in your household has covid so this is just completely incorrect.

I know of two families who isolated kids aged late primary/early secondary in their rooms and I thought it was appalling. Plus the whole family got it anyway so what a pointless exercise.

Agree the only instance where you'd do this is if there was someone very vulnerable in the house.

A friend of mine isolated her 9 year old away for 10 days in his bedroom. He had food left at the door and was allowed to FaceTime the rest of the family. He could go to the bathroom but had to wipe down all surfaces as he went.

I was absolutely gobsmacked when she told me. I think it's a terrible thing to do. I would never do it to my daughter xx

My 5yr old and 8yr old currently both have Covid - they share a room so it was a matter of time, really. One of them presumably got it from school but there are cases in both their classes at the mo so keeping them apart at home might not have made much difference. They are both being VERY clingy and I've just accepted that that's the way it is for the week really. We're LFTing every day. I'm lucky that I can WFH, hopefully for the whole week - I'd have been more cautious if I'd thought I had to go in to work.

My eldest isolated in her room she is 20 and is happiest in her room being served food! My youngest has just got it. She is isolating in her room as my middle child has a heart condition so I want to protect her if at all possible. My youngest is 12 and is fine isolating. She isn't feeling well so is happy to lie around all day. She isn't lonely, we are chatting to her from the door etc and she is chatting to friends

We've all got it at the moment, my kids are 9&10. I'm CV but pretty healthy normally. The kids have been in bed with me or DH when they felt unwell. They aren't babies but they need a hug if ill and we can keep an eye on them if they are close at night.

One of the kids in DD1s class has been confined to her room. Her mum sent several pictures to the school Whatsapp group advising us on how to isolate your child from the family, this included hanging a plastic decorators sheet over their bedroom door so you could still see them while sliding their food tray under it. If I was doing shit like that I wouldn't be telling people about it.

If you've got someone at risk in the house then I could understand it, but healthy people shutting their little kids in their bedrooms is absolutely mental.

My eldest Y6 “isolated” in his room. My DH is CEV (but had had 2 jabs). My middle child is disabled. Eldest stayed in his room when they were in house. He came downstairs when they weren’t. He had a switch, tv, laptop, Alexa in his room. School went online as it ripped through his year. He requested things like Lego from Amazon and occasionally takeaways - honestly I wasn’t sure we would actually come out of his room by the end of it. He had a lovely time!

If it had been my younger children 7 and under I wouldn’t have made them isolate.

I think it depends on child and temperant.

@justustwoandmoo

A friend of mine isolated her 9 year old away for 10 days in his bedroom. He had food left at the door and was allowed to FaceTime the rest of the family. He could go to the bathroom but had to wipe down all surfaces as he went.

I was absolutely gobsmacked when she told me. I think it's a terrible thing to do. I would never do it to my daughter xx

This is abusive. Heartbreaking for these poor kids being treated like lepers because they have a cold. The one thing I've found intolerable throughout this whole thing is the over dramatisation of risk by perfectly healthy non vulnerable adults. To the point they'd actively neglect their child. Has the British public become collectively thick that they can't do a rudimentary assessment of risk?

Thanks all. Sadly it's still happening! I can understand if it's teens or if anyone in the house is vulnerable but I still stand by the fact young kids cannot stay in their room for days end.

A few parents in my kids school seems to think it's the right thing to do and it surprises me.

I have been judged by a friend for not isolating in rooms when it hit our house in December.

Back when whole classes had to isolate for one case (how things I have changed), I was told by another parent that my DS should stay in his room for 10 whole days being a contact but not actually positive himself - it would never have happened.

Sometimes school class Facebook groups or group chats are just questionable 😅

I thought we had moved on from all that.

this included hanging a plastic decorators sheet over their bedroom door so you could still see them while sliding their food tray under it.

Wow. There are no words...

We don't make any family member isolate. It's probably pointless apart from anything else. This is their home. They can be ill in it. They don't have to get locked away.

God no. I had my five year old in bed with me when she had it and DH went to her room.

I've got 2 teens and there's no way on Earth I would leave them alone in a room to isolate. My daughter came home upset from school, some of her friends had been made to do that and it really affected their mental health. My daughter was convinced we would do the same if we found ourselves in a similar situation. Very firmly told her that I would never do that, if one of us has to isolate then we do so together.

Yes I think it’s pretty disgusting (possibly unless there’s a CEV person in the house)
A classmate of my child was kept in their room (8yo), their mum posted a photo on Facebook of them peering around their door with a mask on. I found it quite upsetting.
My older teen kept their distance from us when they had it but my younger children didn’t isolate at all. No way was I going to treat them like that.

Are people really separating their children from the rest of the family? Surely that's totally unnecessary?
If there's a vulnerable adult in the family who wishes to avoid exposure, surely they should be the one to isolate in their room, not the child?

@minipie

My guess is that people are saying they are doing this so that there is less chance of criticism for the rest of the family going out and about.

Hopefully nobody is actually doing this to a child

This I hope

My 6 yo recently had it and we made no effort whatsoever to isolate him. We planned to all get it together! Didn’t quite work out that way he only passed it onto dh. I can’t imagine isolating him tbh. Can only imagine isolating a grumpy teen that was happy to spend all day gaming in his room.

We are a household of 4 adults ....none of us isolated from each other when my eldest got Covid then 3 days later I did..... the other 2 didn’t get it ...... I wouldn’t expect anyone to stay in their rooms adult or child in my home

Yanbu. My 11 year-old has it. Nobody else does and we are all mixing together in the house. My 13 year-old wanted him to self isolate in the garden shed though!

My DD has it and she's hanging out in her room but certainly not staying there all of the time. I had it in December and did stay in my room for the first few days until DH had it. It was awful. Definitely wouldn't make my 8 yo do it

Even my teens hated it. I wouldn’t do it to a young child. No way.

One woman I know actually bragged on social media about how her 7 yr old was in her room and face timing her to ask for drinks/food etc to be brought up. FFS. Utter joke. She's a vaccination nurse too.

I wouldn't do it, It's cruel.

Being sent to your room for a few hours was considered a punishment when I was a kid.

@justustwoandmoo

A friend of mine isolated her 9 year old away for 10 days in his bedroom. He had food left at the door and was allowed to FaceTime the rest of the family. He could go to the bathroom but had to wipe down all surfaces as he went.

I was absolutely gobsmacked when she told me. I think it's a terrible thing to do. I would never do it to my daughter xx

That does seem extreme, unless you have CEV people in the house maybe? Even so 😳

Agree. I had Delta and was really very unwell. On my day 8 DD tested positive. I had been isolated from the whole family. She remained in the household as wasn't unwell and no way would we have isolated her. She's 7. She was fine throughout. I started to get well on day 20. Neither our other child or DH were affected at all. Properly odd (youngest has probably had it and we were unaware).

We won't be doing that. We are all youngish and healthy and as vaccinated as we can be.

We have decided that once it is in the house, so be it.