Neighborhood kids are allowed to play together

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have been getting together with one other family and my parents. Two of us have been going to stores (one from each family). We are all aware of the risk and willing to undertake it. For us the risk reduced social contact and support outweighs the virus risk. If anyone wasn't comfortable we would stop.

This makes sense - pairing up with one other family.

Yeah, except she mentioned three families - hers, her parents, and friends. But only two of them have been going to stores? And how often? And how do you know how many packages the other family has gotten? Or your parents? Or how many times someone from one of those families has stopped to chat with a neighbor while grabbing mail, etc. Look, everyone is going to slip up at some point, whether it's getting close to other people, making an unnecessary trip to the store, forgetting to wash their hands after bringing in the mail. Those are acceptable risks within a family because they kind of have to be. But when you triple the number of families you're coming into contact with, you're also tripling the number of contacts you are all having. You say you are all aware of the risk but I don't think you're calculating it correctly. Ask yourself how you would really feel if your parents got sick. You can't backpedal much at that point because it's too late.

My parents have had no contact except with my family. They live way out in the countryside and haven't left their property since March 12th. They don't get deliveries and don't have neighbors close enough that they would ever run into. We have also had zero deliveries in the last month. We go to the store once every two weeks. Our friends also go once every two weeks alternating with us - we pick up some things for the other family if they are low and I do all the shopping for my parents. I wear a mask to the store and change clothes and shower when I get home - mostly to protect my parents. Our friend doesn't do that and she has more contact with neighbors than we do as they live in a very high density area but she isn't in direct contact with my parents. It works for us. We are careful and know the risk. My parents would gladly be out seeing others, they are the least concerned about risk of any of us!

I really don’t think you understand how this all works. You are hanging out with a family that is also going to the store AND not taking a ton of precautions AND is having contact with their other neighbors. It doesn’t matter that your parents don’t go anywhere or don’t have direct contact with your friends, because they are being potentially exposed to the virus through you. You are not being careful or protecting your parents, since you are spending time with them while also spending time with people who are spending time with other people and not being careful. You aren’t actually social distancing, and your risks aren’t minimal. How do you not understand this?

It totally matters that her parents aren't seeing anyone else. They're not a closed network, but they've reduced contact to almost nothing.

It's stupid that people think there's no difference between hanging out with 2 people vs 100 people. There's a massive difference!

Her parents are spending time with people who are having direct contact with people who are not limiting contacts or taking precautions at stores. Do you really not see how that is a problem? Again, there are a lot of people here who don’t seem to understand how this works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they are all staying inside and not going to stores or anything then I don’t see the big deal. Do you trust them? I take my kids to another county to see their cousins who I know for sure are social distancing. My sister is crazy and goes above and beyond so we all play together twice a week

Very few people are not going to stores.

Not in my neighborhood. Everyone gets food delivered and work from home. Walks, bikes, yes, but they are indoors.

This is fine but everyone of you gets a different food delivery and from different sources and introduces your small risk. Then, if your kids all play, they are sharing that small risk among families so it grows. FINE if this is your decision but just then admit you aren't really being careful or social distancing. At this point, I'd respect more if you were at least shopping and not putting the delivery people at risk too (since you're not bothering).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have been getting together with one other family and my parents. Two of us have been going to stores (one from each family). We are all aware of the risk and willing to undertake it. For us the risk reduced social contact and support outweighs the virus risk. If anyone wasn't comfortable we would stop.

This makes sense - pairing up with one other family.

Yeah, except she mentioned three families - hers, her parents, and friends. But only two of them have been going to stores? And how often? And how do you know how many packages the other family has gotten? Or your parents? Or how many times someone from one of those families has stopped to chat with a neighbor while grabbing mail, etc. Look, everyone is going to slip up at some point, whether it's getting close to other people, making an unnecessary trip to the store, forgetting to wash their hands after bringing in the mail. Those are acceptable risks within a family because they kind of have to be. But when you triple the number of families you're coming into contact with, you're also tripling the number of contacts you are all having. You say you are all aware of the risk but I don't think you're calculating it correctly. Ask yourself how you would really feel if your parents got sick. You can't backpedal much at that point because it's too late.

My parents have had no contact except with my family. They live way out in the countryside and haven't left their property since March 12th. They don't get deliveries and don't have neighbors close enough that they would ever run into. We have also had zero deliveries in the last month. We go to the store once every two weeks. Our friends also go once every two weeks alternating with us - we pick up some things for the other family if they are low and I do all the shopping for my parents. I wear a mask to the store and change clothes and shower when I get home - mostly to protect my parents. Our friend doesn't do that and she has more contact with neighbors than we do as they live in a very high density area but she isn't in direct contact with my parents. It works for us. We are careful and know the risk. My parents would gladly be out seeing others, they are the least concerned about risk of any of us!

I really don’t think you understand how this all works. You are hanging out with a family that is also going to the store AND not taking a ton of precautions AND is having contact with their other neighbors. It doesn’t matter that your parents don’t go anywhere or don’t have direct contact with your friends, because they are being potentially exposed to the virus through you. You are not being careful or protecting your parents, since you are spending time with them while also spending time with people who are spending time with other people and not being careful. You aren’t actually social distancing, and your risks aren’t minimal. How do you not understand this?

It totally matters that her parents aren't seeing anyone else. They're not a closed network, but they've reduced contact to almost nothing.

It's stupid that people think there's no difference between hanging out with 2 people vs 100 people. There's a massive difference!

Her parents are spending time with people who are having direct contact with people who are not limiting contacts or taking precautions at stores. Do you really not see how that is a problem? Again, there are a lot of people here who don’t seem to understand how this works.

We do understand how it works and we have decided we are okay with what we are doing. We are all being careful - not careful as per the definition of some on here but we are taking precautions and we are all comfortable with it. Our friends aren't hanging out with neighbors - they are just around more people because of the high density area they live in but they are still practicing social distancing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they are all staying inside and not going to stores or anything then I don’t see the big deal. Do you trust them? I take my kids to another county to see their cousins who I know for sure are social distancing. My sister is crazy and goes above and beyond so we all play together twice a week

Very few people are not going to stores.

Not in my neighborhood. Everyone gets food delivered and work from home. Walks, bikes, yes, but they are indoors.

This is fine but everyone of you gets a different food delivery and from different sources and introduces your small risk. Then, if your kids all play, they are sharing that small risk among families so it grows. FINE if this is your decision but just then admit you aren't really being careful or social distancing. At this point, I'd respect more if you were at least shopping and not putting the delivery people at risk too (since you're not bothering).

Unless people are growing their own food, none of us can completely eliminate risk. Since, as you said, going to the store increases risk. Hanging out with a neighbor will also increase risk. But it’s still less risk than, say, going to a concert with 300 people in attendance with prolonged contact and recirculated air in an indoor environment. PP is social distancing, just not to the same degree that you are. It isn’t black/white.

[Anonymous]

We all have different levels of risk tolerance. Unfortunately, I think some of these folks who are letting their kids play with neighbors are putting the general public at risk when they go out to shop. I hope that if you're quarantining with neighbors and letting your kids hang out that you're not taking them to the store with you and that you yourself are wearing a mask to the store and going during off hours. The scared parents are trying to understand you and we acknowledge that we just have different ways of doing things. But please see us in return and acknowledge our concerns. Please acknowledge the risk you're taking and be considerate.

[Anonymous]

Just like you have parents who allow screen time and others post how they allow 30 minutes once per week, you have parents who need to do social distancing better than everyone else and discuss on forums like this. I'm not sure if it's an anxiety coping technique or what.....but it's certainly not limited to the current pandemic.

My boomer parents are at the grocery store multiple times per week....sometimes in more than one store in a day! So I don't particularly worry about letting my kid ride his bike outside with other neighborhood kids. He knows not to play tag or basketball though and comes home if it shifts in that direction.

We're all doing the best we can. Some posters here just need to make it clear how their best is better than everyone else.

Really disturbing article in the NY Times today about the effect of no-outside time on Spain's children, if anyone is interested. I'm all for taking this public health crisis seriously, but it was never realistic to achieve 100% perfect social distancing. Overall, we've done pretty well. But some states are opening up and it's getting a little riot-y in a few places. What we're doing isn't sustainable.

[Anonymous]

If you are going to let your kids play with other kids, then you should save the grocery delivery slots for people who need them and are taking the guidelines seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just like you have parents who allow screen time and others post how they allow 30 minutes once per week, you have parents who need to do social distancing better than everyone else and discuss on forums like this. I'm not sure if it's an anxiety coping technique or what.....but it's certainly not limited to the current pandemic.

My boomer parents are at the grocery store multiple times per week....sometimes in more than one store in a day! So I don't particularly worry about letting my kid ride his bike outside with other neighborhood kids. He knows not to play tag or basketball though and comes home if it shifts in that direction.

We're all doing the best we can. Some posters here just need to make it clear how their best is better than everyone else.

Really disturbing article in the NY Times today about the effect of no-outside time on Spain's children, if anyone is interested. I'm all for taking this public health crisis seriously, but it was never realistic to achieve 100% perfect social distancing. Overall, we've done pretty well. But some states are opening up and it's getting a little riot-y in a few places. What we're doing isn't sustainable.

The bolded is actually the perfect illustration of why "Everything in Moderation" is a useless tautology. Because you do more than some other people (and less than some others), you feel fine about your choices. You are basing what is "okay" solely on your peer group. Not on science or measurable risk or anything else-- but cues you are taking from the behavior of others around you. But sometimes being extreme-- or at least more extreme-- is actually the proper course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me that's an easy no, but I would be really angry at the other families.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If you’re going to be judgey about everyone’s degree of social distancing, then you need to do a lot better. No takeouts, no walks, and your husband needs to work in a hazmat suit. Otherwise stfu about other people going to the store once a week instead of once every other week.

We're supposed to take walks.

No one is supposed to be taking walks. It is allowed, just like going to the grocery stores whenever you want is allowed. You just want to take a walk for your own selfish needs but it’s absolutely unnecessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If you’re going to be judgey about everyone’s degree of social distancing, then you need to do a lot better. No takeouts, no walks, and your husband needs to work in a hazmat suit. Otherwise stfu about other people going to the store once a week instead of once every other week.

We're supposed to take walks.

No one is supposed to be taking walks. It is allowed, just like going to the grocery stores whenever you want is allowed. You just want to take a walk for your own selfish needs but it’s absolutely unnecessary.

Actually, yes they are.

https://coronavirus.dc.gov/stayhome

The Mayor’s Order specifies that residents may only leave their residences to:

engage in essential activities, including obtaining medical care that cannot be provided through telehealth and obtaining food and essential household goods;
perform or access essential governmental functions;
work at essential businesses;
engage in essential travel; or
engage in allowable recreational activities, as defined by the Mayor’s Order.
Any individual who willfully violates the stay-at-home order may be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, subject to a fine not exceeding $5,000, imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If you’re going to be judgey about everyone’s degree of social distancing, then you need to do a lot better. No takeouts, no walks, and your husband needs to work in a hazmat suit. Otherwise stfu about other people going to the store once a week instead of once every other week.

We're supposed to take walks.

No one is supposed to be taking walks. It is allowed, just like going to the grocery stores whenever you want is allowed. You just want to take a walk for your own selfish needs but it’s absolutely unnecessary.

Exercise is not a selfish need. No more than getting food is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If you’re going to be judgey about everyone’s degree of social distancing, then you need to do a lot better. No takeouts, no walks, and your husband needs to work in a hazmat suit. Otherwise stfu about other people going to the store once a week instead of once every other week.

We're supposed to take walks.

No one is supposed to be taking walks. It is allowed, just like going to the grocery stores whenever you want is allowed. You just want to take a walk for your own selfish needs but it’s absolutely unnecessary.

I do wonder if people like PP can even hear themselves. Wow just wow

[Anonymous]

The CDC recommends exercise to lessen stress and stay healthy, so walking and running alone or with just your immediate family are fine:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/visitors.html

https://news.virginia.edu/content/exercise-may-protect-against-deadly-covid-19-complication-research-suggests

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are going to let your kids play with other kids, then you should save the grocery delivery slots for people who need them and are taking the guidelines seriously.

This. If your kids are playing in the neighborhood, you might as well go to Costco and the grocery stores and go get takeout.

OP, I would wait 2? 3? more weeks until the first wave is maybe over and you and your DH may be able to get non rationed medical care if you get sick.