Social Distancing and my kids' sanity: what are you guys doing - honestly?

[Anonymous]

Outdoor play dates with 4 neighborhood families. One child allowed inside. It won’t be “safe” for a LONG time. This is a level of risk I’m fine with for my healthy family.

[Anonymous]

Yes my kids have been hanging out outside for weeks. Some kids are allowed indoors too.

Set up a blow up pool, mister and some lounge chairs. Or try early morning or dusk for better temps.

[Anonymous]

I seriously feel bad for some of you. The level of anxiety disorder you must have to be borderline shut ins must be hard to live with.

All these kids I know hanging out and no one has corona yet. Lol

[Anonymous]

We've let our 7-year-old play with the neighbor (including in his kiddie pool) and go to one playdate. I've done so because we're a low risk family (or so I think!), we feel the socialization time has been so meaningful, and we also believe my son already had covid in March (crazy high fever right as everything shut down, tested negative for strep and and flu).

The only think I would question is whether this exposure could hurt the grandparents. You really need to stay away from them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I seriously feel bad for some of you. The level of anxiety disorder you must have to be borderline shut ins must be hard to live with.

All these kids I know hanging out and no one has corona yet. Lol

Why do you assume anxiety?
We prefer to be cautious.
There is sure to be another spike and we have no wish to contribute to it.
The vaccine will be distributed early next year. I’m a research scientist in a related field and am confident of this.
It’s all rather simple, really.

[Anonymous]

Haven’t caved. 13 and 15 year old. They are doing fine.

You shouldn’t cave, but if you do, you should stop seeing the grandparents.

[Anonymous]

My 15 yr old has been amazingly mature about quarantining and staying home. No issues at all. He socializes virtually and plays video games with his friends.

[Anonymous]

15 YO son - plays basketball with 2 friends (their families also stay at home), showers as soon as he comes home.

17 YO daughter - she and 3 friends get together once a week for outdoor socializing around a firepit with smores.

[Anonymous]

I think we are being very cautious overall. Probably in the, say, 85th percentile in the US-- maybe more. We don't even go into buildings other than our house, except on rare occasions and then masked and for <5 minutes. And even then, it's just me.

We have now allowed a couple of masked and distanced and outdoor and supervised (kids are 7) play dates. All of those precautions, in tandem. Oh, and only with a similarly cautious family, but you can't police that. I don't feel perfectly comfortable, honestly, but I've weighed the approximate risk and I think it's small and that the activity is important for our extroverted only child. I am not willing to do more, and keeping an eye on the rising case count, rising positive test percentage and seemingly stalling death count. It doesn't look great.

I'm also really frustrated with people framing this as a "mind your business" personal choice. Most people who would post here probably AREN'T at high risk. And it's misguided to try and scare people on DCUM into thinking they'll end up on a ventilator. But this isn't really a "do what's right for your family" situation! Or that should only be a small consideration. If you and your family get a mild case, you can still pass it along to essential workers and their elderly family members and so on... that's literally the whole danger of this virus.

[Anonymous]

We haven't caved because we are planning to see the grandparents at the end of next month for the first time, and they are in the high risk group.

Agree that the fear for most shouldn't be that they get covid. It's that they get it and then pass it to someone who is at much higher risk. If we weren't going to visit the grands, then I suppose I would let my kids play with other kids in person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have three kids: 8 yrs, 13 yrs, and 16 yrs. We have kept them all away from playdates/hanging out with friends. (They hang out and have play dates virtually.) We have kept our socializing to the grandparents and only outside with the grandparents (there are 4 still living). We have just been informed (in a very dramatic display of yelling and tears by the 13 yr old) that we are the worst parents ever, that every other kid gets to hang out with their friends, and that she is going crazy. (I actually worry that she is.) Honestly, what are you doing? I am hearing from a number of friends that they have caved. They are letting their kids have playdates/hang out in homes (it is too hot now to stay outside). Many parents seem to have given up. We feel like hold outs and as though we are torturing them. We are considering caving, but it doesn't feel right as Coronavirus numbers are increasing (although apparently not in Virginia). What are you doing? Do you think we should hold firm to socially isolating or give in and let our kids hang out with their friends indoors (they say its too hot to be outdoors and we are not members of a pool)?

I don’t understand why you call it “caving”. We aren’t under stay at home orders any more. Were you just planning on being in phase zero forever? Indefinitely?

How about until ti's safe to go out? Instead of, "it's okay if you get deathly ill because now we have hospital beds in the ICU available for you and your loved ones"?

It’s safe now, with reasonable precautions.
I am just honestly curious—-what do you define as safe enough?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I seriously feel bad for some of you. The level of anxiety disorder you must have to be borderline shut ins must be hard to live with.

All these kids I know hanging out and no one has corona yet. Lol

Why do you assume anxiety?
We prefer to be cautious.
There is sure to be another spike and we have no wish to contribute to it.
The vaccine will be distributed early next year. I’m a research scientist in a related field and am confident of this.
It’s all rather simple, really.

So your plan is to completely quarantine your family until there is a vaccine plus the time it takes to distribute the vaccine across the country?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've let our 7-year-old play with the neighbor (including in his kiddie pool) and go to one playdate. I've done so because we're a low risk family (or so I think!), we feel the socialization time has been so meaningful, and we also believe my son already had covid in March (crazy high fever right as everything shut down, tested negative for strep and and flu).

The only think I would question is whether this exposure could hurt the grandparents. You really need to stay away from them.

What does having had Covid in March have to do with anything? All recent research points to any immunity being gone by now. Or are you saying he had Covid once as turned out ok, so you’re comfortable with him contracting it again?

[Anonymous]

Research does not show that immunity decreases. They don’t know either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are following the VA guidelines but that still lets us have Outdoor play dates, indoor play dates with one friend, little league, swim team lap swimming, soccer camp in two weeks, etc.

Same. We are following our state’s guidance - playgrounds are open as is other outdoor activities. They can meet up with individual friends outside. No big groups. Kids are 11 and 9