September 2020: Are your kids seeing friends?

[Anonymous]

Yes, all the time, and it's great. Stop being sheep. Kids are fine.

[Anonymous]

In outdoor settings, sure. Playgrounds, the pool, yards, bike rides, sports practice - yes.

No indoor.

Nothing in life is 100% safe, but outdoor playing hasn't been linked to any major outbreaks yet.

[Anonymous]

My 17 yo works and most of her friends are her coworkers so she sees them several times a week. She is not seeing friends from school but has texted/FaceTimed with some.

My 14 yo has been on socially distanced walks with a few friends. She also swam with her summer team and currently practices with her winter club team and sees the friends in her practice group then.

[Anonymous]

I have 3 kids. This past weekend was the first normal social weekend we had.

Big kids had soccer games. Preschooler attended a backyard petting zoo birthday party. I hosted a play date for my oldest. It was supposed to be outdoors but the kids came inside and I had them play in our basement. I went to a vineyard with a friend. DH played tennis with a friend. I don’t know if we overdid it but it felt amazing to socialize.

[Anonymous]

No. We’re in Los Angeles and our numbers are still way too high. Might be different in DC.

It’s hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We want to; cant wait to. But have only done distanced bike rides to date. I feel confused about what is safe/responsible. And I feel so awful for the kids. What are others in the area doing?

Nope. You will feel more awful if 1) your kid gets sick or 2) you somehow contribute to community transmission

[Anonymous]

Yes, outdoors and trying to maintain distance. Mainly via hiking.

[Anonymous]

Yes, kids need to play and socialise. All science speaks for this and against children suffering from Covid. Risk benefit analysis done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. We’re in Los Angeles and our numbers are still way too high. Might be different in DC.

It’s hard.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Yes, outdoors with masks and handwashing. As long as they are wearing masks, we don't worry too much about the distance anymore. We will not do indoors.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is doing a dance class with 5 girls in our neighbors backyard once a week. The teacher comes to the house. The kids maintain some distance (they use hula hoops to distance them) and wear masks. They love it.

We also did an outdoor driveway birthday party for my son's friend this past weekend. Everyone wore masks. The kids played tag and basketball.

[Anonymous]

Almost entirely, no. Thankfully my kids play pretty well together.

[Anonymous]

Last week our pediatrician told us we were being too conservative by not having our 8 year old socialize with other kids in person. So we invited a friend over this week to play outside in the yard, and hope to make that a regular thing. We're realizing this is going to be a long haul so adjusting our family's choices accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last week our pediatrician told us we were being too conservative by not having our 8 year old socialize with other kids in person. So we invited a friend over this week to play outside in the yard, and hope to make that a regular thing. We're realizing this is going to be a long haul so adjusting our family's choices accordingly.

You are doing the right thing. Benefits will far outweigh any covid risks to your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last week our pediatrician told us we were being too conservative by not having our 8 year old socialize with other kids in person. So we invited a friend over this week to play outside in the yard, and hope to make that a regular thing. We're realizing this is going to be a long haul so adjusting our family's choices accordingly.

You are doing the right thing. Benefits will far outweigh any covid risks to your child.

PP here, I do think it's about balance. We don't plan to eat at a restaurant inside or attend a large event anytime soon. But last weekend we saw my close friend and her new baby outside at a distance, and it was wonderful. I think we were like, "we've made it this far, let's keep going," but that's not really sustainable. Plus DC does have low numbers. Obviously if things change we will readjust, but I'm trying to look at covid as a marathon now instead of a sprint and make safe choices for everyone based on the specific situation.