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Parents, will you send your kids back to school in the fall?

nala

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Thanks @nala that is a comfort to hear. DH and I have talked about this and even if the schools open, I will stay home with our youngest until there is some resemblance of normal. That means I will probably be unemployed yet again (possibly until next year, the year after...who knows) but that's what we believe will be best for him.

You have a daughter starting college I believe? I can't imagine the uncertainty that college students are feeling.

My daughter just graduated from college this past Saturday! She was sent home in mid March. She signed a contract to work in Chicago starting in mid July, but luckily the company has informed her that she will work from home until further notice. Her boyfriend has a job lined up in New York and he was told that his start date will be delayed until mid January! So I really believe most institutions are making preparations for the second wave when it comes to major institutional settings.
 

YadaYadaYada

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Oh that's great news for them, I'm glad she was able to graduate and that they both have jobs lined up @nala
 

MissyBeaucoup

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I am very concerned because of the numbers of teachers and staff with health risk factors. There is no good way to social distance In a school setting. Kids want to be able to hug their friends—it’s no different in high school or college than it is with younger kids. Think of the arts, theater, and music classes, as well as PE, science labs, and applied trades.

Even wearing masks, will that protect us from spread through air droplets in a crowded room—with students changing out every hour? Did you know the virus can be shed in feces, which are aerosolized by those sturdy public toilets? It is a disinfecting nightmare for the custodial staff.

And now, half of people are running around like normal, no masks, crowded restaurants, acting like it’s all a made up thing. I expect the numbers of cases to explode this summer. Then we‘ll go back online In the fall.
 

TooPatient

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If you defer for a year the next incoming freshman class has no spots so many schools are not going to be offering a deferment. You will have to compete with the next class for a spot. The better idea is go to community college for a year or two and then go where you want because there will be plenty of spots because so many people didn’t go.

Lots of online classes in the first year or so of community colleges. Great way to keep going on math, English, etc so ready to jump into the more interesting stuff in person.
 

mellowyellowgirl

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Well done to your kiddo @nala

Is she your only child? Asking because for some reason I think you've got one and I'm a mum of an only child too!
 

mellowyellowgirl

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Lol! Yes! One and done! And thank you!

You must be so relieved and proud she's graduated and working!

I used to think that once they finished toilet training I was a winner :lol:

Toilet training passed by uneventfully so now my goal is for him to graduate University and obtain gainful employment!!! I'm totally chilling and raising THREE golden retrievers (at once) after that!!!
 

nala

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You must be so relieved and proud she's graduated and working!

I used to think that once they finished toilet training I was a winner :lol:

Toilet training passed by uneventfully so now my goal of for him to graduate University and obtain gainful employment!!! I'm totally chilling and raising THREE golden retrievers (at once) after that!!!

Every new stage is a whole new challenge...no such thing as relief for a mom like me, lol. I’ve been suffering from empty nest syndrome for the past 4 years (i was only 42) thinking it would only be temporary. Then she landed this job and my heart is aching again bc here I am enjoying all this pandemic time with her, but dreading when she relocates. Dreading bc she will be so far away... your time with your little will fly!! Trust me! It goes by so fast and the chillin never really starts...lol
 

Babyblue033

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This is heavy on mind too, my 4 year old is supposed to go to kindergarten in the fall. We were supposed to have a registration interview early March which obviously was cancelled, and I haven't heard any communication from the school district.

I feel like having a kid this age is both good and bad. Worst case we'll just keep him at home for another year and I think he'll do fine, but it's much harder to keep up with learning at home with a toddler, with no guidance from school. I'm trying to keep up with just teaching him the basic about reading and writing but I feel like I'm barely scratching the surface.
 

Ally T

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Schools are in the process of slowly reopening here in France.

I'm pleased how things are being handled at my school. Remote learning and in person courses are absolutely equal.
No pressure either way. The children in school are in small groups (according to their age brackets - 8 kids max for 6y/o , 15 max from age 9. masks for commute/drop off/when walking. Guided take off at their individual assigned single table. Hand gel at every table. Supervised Hand washing 8 X (every hour).

I personally can keep my child at home and will probably not send them until September. Kids want to go, though and the feedback from the ones we know has been positive in spite of masks, social distancing and small isolated groups.

I feel that's long as we can keep the remote learning, it's my duty to give the space to people who need it. How is one supposed to work outside one's without childcare (essential workers' kids have been in their own group since the lockdown started)?

Grandparents are obviously not an option, if one loves them ...even our president addressed this over and over again for the ones who might be tempted.
"If you love the grandparents, don't go see them yet" .
(If you don't , go ahead , I guess...)

Every single teacher, social worker, pediatrician friend says that there are so many kids who are much much more in danger at home than from Covid 19, sadly , as well.

Even if it's just for the children in need of school meals.
So I think it's crucial to give this option to anyone who needs it, while keeping everyone safe.

Exactly this here in the UK. Schools will start to open from June 1st to select year groups. My two are not back straight away - the eldest will go back the first wk of July, the youngest on July 20th, but only for the last 3 days of term to see friends (from a safe distance) before the summer break.

In-school working will be identical to online & it is a parental decision as to whether you send your child in or not. I have to go back on June 8th, as that is when our school opens to the first year group. My eldest is desperate to go back & is gutted she has to wait 5 more weeks. As parents we are apprehensive, but a lot will change in the next 5 wks & hopefully for the better.

It's just me who has to keep safe at school in the meantime, but all procedures have been followed well over the last 9 wks by essential workers children.
 

MakingTheGrade

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This is heavy on mind too, my 4 year old is supposed to go to kindergarten in the fall. We were supposed to have a registration interview early March which obviously was cancelled, and I haven't heard any communication from the school district.

I feel like having a kid this age is both good and bad. Worst case we'll just keep him at home for another year and I think he'll do fine, but it's much harder to keep up with learning at home with a toddler, with no guidance from school. I'm trying to keep up with just teaching him the basic about reading and writing but I feel like I'm barely scratching the surface.

Aw well if it helps any, boys tend to do better when they’re on the older end of the class (related likely to older = bigger=sportier/social standing, and also more time for frontal lobe to kick in) so if you keep him for a year it likely would only be beneficial :)
And as far as teaching a toddler goes, I imagine there’s lots of books and shows to help, but so much of the most important learning probably has more to do with learning good pro social behaviors so when he does go to school there will be more smiles and less tears over things like sharing and listening to teacher and not do what he wants when he wants lol. Impulse control is harder to learn than the alphabet! I know a lot of adults who are still bad at it. Lol

I came to the US around 4 to be with my parents and didn’t speak any English so was definitely behind! I caught up fine though!
 

MakingTheGrade

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You must be so relieved and proud she's graduated and working!

I used to think that once they finished toilet training I was a winner :lol:

Toilet training passed by uneventfully so now my goal is for him to graduate University and obtain gainful employment!!! I'm totally chilling and raising THREE golden retrievers (at once) after that!!!

Haha I’m an only child and my parents have told me they breathed a big sigh of relief once I was financially independent! To this day most of my cousins (in their 30s) still get money from their parents due to a mix of economy and personal lifestyle choices. We are all only children courtesy of China’s one child law. My parents are the envy of their siblings, but I think they secretly wish I were more dependent on them so that they’d have more say and leverage over the choices I make lol.
 

OboeGal

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I am very concerned because of the numbers of teachers and staff with health risk factors. There is no good way to social distance In a school setting. Kids want to be able to hug their friends—it’s no different in high school or college than it is with younger kids. Think of the arts, theater, and music classes, as well as PE, science labs, and applied trades.

Even wearing masks, will that protect us from spread through air droplets in a crowded room—with students changing out every hour? Did you know the virus can be shed in feces, which are aerosolized by those sturdy public toilets? It is a disinfecting nightmare for the custodial staff.

And now, half of people are running around like normal, no masks, crowded restaurants, acting like it’s all a made up thing. I expect the numbers of cases to explode this summer. Then we‘ll go back online In the fall.

I don't have school-age kids, but if I did, they would be staying home with me, for the reasons listed here - especially the last part. That's exactly how people are behaving in my area. New cases and deaths in my county are already on a sharp upswing. :(
 

Babyblue033

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Aw well if it helps any, boys tend to do better when they’re on the older end of the class (related likely to older = bigger=sportier/social standing, and also more time for frontal lobe to kick in) so if you keep him for a year it likely would only be beneficial :)
And as far as teaching a toddler goes, I imagine there’s lots of books and shows to help, but so much of the most important learning probably has more to do with learning good pro social behaviors so when he does go to school there will be more smiles and less tears over things like sharing and listening to teacher and not do what he wants when he wants lol. Impulse control is harder to learn than the alphabet! I know a lot of adults who are still bad at it. Lol

I came to the US around 4 to be with my parents and didn’t speak any English so was definitely behind! I caught up fine though!
Thank you for this, it helps to read reassuring thoughts like this when I feel so uncertain about everything.

My husband and I were already open to the possibility of delaying him a year if our school district would allow it, my 4 year old being a late Sept child, he would be one of the younger kids in class. Luckily he was doing well academically (as well as a 4 year old could be) so we were leaning towards just sending him to kindergarten in the fall. But I just don't think I would feel safe sending him to school in just a few short months.

I came to the states older than you did (preteen) so I have plenty of memories of not fitting in and all the trouble that followed. I would love for my son to be spared of that.

In the meanwhile, my work is actively making plans for people to return to work. Latest proposal is 25% of workforce to come in 1 week out of the month, so alternating 4 different groups throughout the month. You don't get to pick the week, whatever week you're assigned to, you show up and no other days for whatever reason. Not entirely sure what that will accomplish, but we shall see. My biggest concern is the timing of me having to return to work and my son's school.
 

YadaYadaYada

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@Babyblue033, you touch on an important consideration with parents working and school starting again. Now with staggered starts, distance learning some days and kids possibly only in school 2-3 days of a week, how are parents supposed to work and juggle that?

Not everyone has grandparents or close friends or family that can help. We certainly don't but I have also been out of work long enough that we can live on one income. Not ideal, lots of sacrifices but it's just us so we have to make it work.
 

Daisys and Diamonds

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I don't have school-age kids, but if I did, they would be staying home with me, for the reasons listed here - especially the last part. That's exactly how people are behaving in my area. New cases and deaths in my county are already on a sharp upswing. :(
my apologies if its already been discussed but watching the news tonight on how the virus is effecting children resulting in deaths is very alarming
300 children dead in the US
 

MaisOuiMadame

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@Babyblue033, you touch on an important consideration with parents working and school starting again. Now with staggered starts, distance learning some days and kids possibly only in school 2-3 days of a week, how are parents supposed to work and juggle that?

Not everyone has grandparents or close friends or family that can help. We certainly don't but I have also been out of work long enough that we can live on one income. Not ideal, lots of sacrifices but it's just us so we have to make it work.

This is the biggest issue all over Europe... "restarting the economy " is fair enough, but not providing childcare for this is completely insane. Especially if some schools follow totally outlandish models: my friend in northern Germany is a freelancer. She gets an email on Thursdays that states which day of the week her daughter can go to school the following week. It reads as if they did it on purpose and picked a system that will be the biggest PITA possible for the parents.:confused::confused::x2:wall:

All the while being adamant that the grandparents should continue to self isolate. I don't know a single family who'd risk any contact with the grandparents yet.
So lots anxiety around me.

I have a friend's kid over every Wednesday ever since it's been legal to do s to help out his mom, but frankly homeschooling 4 plus a baby and a totally cute and very sharp, thus royally mischievous 3.5 y/o that's about all I can manage...
 

OoohShiny

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I would send kids back to school tomorrow - their risk of serious illness or death is effectively zero if they have no underlying health conditions.


Table 2 shows deaths by age group.

Ages 0-19 have had 6 deaths in total by or in April - out of the total of 27,764 - and only 1 of those was in the age groups 0-14, with zero deaths under the age of 10.

IIRC there are 10 million children aged under 15 in the UK, and while they have obviously not all had Covid-10, they have the same rates of infection as adults (I believe an Icelandic study showed), who have had higher numbers of fatalities - although massively concentrated in the over 70s.

This seems to me to indicate just how infinitesimally small any risk is to children.
 

mellowyellowgirl

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They tried staggered starts for two weeks in NSW and gave up. I don't think it worked to drag the kids in for one day. All the kids are returning next week for a full week.

We've had two play dates and another one tomorrow. Aussies are all out and about in NSW. Will be interesting to see how things progress.
 
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Babyblue033

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@Babyblue033, you touch on an important consideration with parents working and school starting again. Now with staggered starts, distance learning some days and kids possibly only in school 2-3 days of a week, how are parents supposed to work and juggle that?
Exactly. I know it's extremely hard to coordinate something like this, but how can we have a plan for working parents returning to work without consideration to what'll happen for school? If we have to go back to work while kids are home doing remote schooling, or they have this crazy alternating schedule, how are parents supposed to support it?

I would send kids back to school tomorrow - their risk of serious illness or death is effectively zero if they have no underlying health conditions.
Except we're starting to find out children are not entirely protected. In NY and around the country, they've been seeing children develop MIS-C which they suspect is triggered by Coronavirus. 2 weeks ago, we had a first child death in NY, a 5 year old boy. And now in NY alone, they have 161 suspected cases of MIS-C in children.


So even if I wasn't concerned about kids carrying the virus and spreading it in the community while not being sick themselves, now even that little sense of relief that our children will at least be spared by this pandemic, is no longer true.
 

asscherisme

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I am not thrilled about the idea but if schools open I will do it. My youngest is in high school, and second youngest in college. I don't know how they would possibly social distance in those settings. They are not designed too do it. Even just the school bus. Or bus stops on corners. The kids are practically on top of each other. And dorm rooms that are tiny tiny. Impossible to social distance. Huge lecture halls etc.
 

missy

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I asked my sister and she said yes she will send them to school in the fall if they are open. My nieces actually like school and the youngest one was very sad she had to miss her senior year and all the activities she was looking forward to and she was very disappointed she couldn’t say goodbye in person to her teachers and classmates. Zoom is ok but not the same thing.
 

nala

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Well, no surprise here!

so our union emailed us today to inform us that in order for our district to receive funding, we must submit a plan to the state of Ca that includes face to face instruction—so it is very likely that we will be going hybrid at minimum.
 
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Dancing Fire

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I would if my kids were still in school. How much longer are we gonna wait another 6 months?
 

Daisys and Diamonds

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This is heavy on mind too, my 4 year old is supposed to go to kindergarten in the fall. We were supposed to have a registration interview early March which obviously was cancelled, and I haven't heard any communication from the school district.

I feel like having a kid this age is both good and bad. Worst case we'll just keep him at home for another year and I think he'll do fine, but it's much harder to keep up with learning at home with a toddler, with no guidance from school. I'm trying to keep up with just teaching him the basic about reading and writing but I feel like I'm barely scratching the surface.

I got to ask
what is a registration interview ?
He is 4
Oppps ...Hmm maybe its for the parents :mrgreen2:

How are you getting on ?
 

lissyflo

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My youngest has been back in school for a couple of days a week for the last 6 weeks. Class size has been reduced - he’s in a bubble of less than 10 children. They receive all lessons in their bubble and can only play at break times with those children - areas of playground have been cordoned off for each group. A one way system is in place around the school and lunches are delivered to each classroom. It’s obviously not normal and some classes are relayed via a screen rather than being taught in person (as the teachers are thinly spread over the increased number of bubbles), but he’s much happier seeing friends and having some kind of normal routine back. I feel the school have done all they can to make things safe. Given that this virus is similar to cold/flu types, there may never be an effective vaccine - how often does the flu vaccine not cover the strain that ends up being predominant in a year and so doesn’t give full protection? These kids can’t miss a year, two years of school waiting for an effective, fully protective vaccine that may never be feasible. And even if a vaccine were discovered tomorrow, the roll out programme could take further months. I believe his entire year group chose to physically return when given the option.

My eldest will hopefully be able to go back in September. His school has added logistical issues with school buses for some children. I believe the plan is to increase the number of buses to factor in social distancing, but that obviously has cost implications for families.
 

nala

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So our district just informed us that they will provide a virtual learning academy for the students whose parents do not feel comfortable sending them to school. So looks like parents will have a choice in our district.
 

Tartansparkles

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My kids are going back full time in August (start of the school term). The Scottish govt did have a strategy of blended learning in place (for return in August) however our numbers now seem to be low enough that all kids are all going back full time. I'm happy with that. (The scot gov. has been moving very slowly through the easing of lockdown and it seems to be paying off. The blended learning is still an option if covid numbers increase but hopefully by moving more slowly we'll have more of a sustained recovery). No matter what the options were, my kids would be going back. I believe that their being out of school (since end of march) is doing more harm through lack of structure and routine than the potential risk of the virus.
 
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