Getting back to a new normal - which risks are you taking?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
I think it's great for people who have such a strong conviction about how they want to live their lives for the next several months/years due to Covid - those on one side of the spectrum who don't plan to leave the house and will homeschool their kids until there is a vaccine or herd immunity, and then those on the opposite side who basically say F-it, my family isn't at risk so let's enjoy life and if we get it we get it.
Curious to know for those of us who fall somewhere in between, how are you deciding which risks you are comfortable taking and which you are not? For us, I don't think we will send our kids to summer camp (if it does happen) just to buy time to learn more about the Kawasaki-like disease and Covid itself, but will 100% send our kids back to school in the fall if that is an option. We will take the risk of hiring a college aged sitter this summer to come entertain the kids because DH and I have to work and can't manage otherwise. If playgrounds open at some point not sure we would go since I have a 2 year old who sucks his thumb and the equipment has tons of germs regardless, but I think we would be open to playdates with a few other families who are also still being cautious. We don't have any family close by so sadly we won't see them for a while. Right now the idea of eating inside a restaurant kind of freaks me out but I am sure I will come around one day, and at this point have no issues with take out. I can't imagine us flying or staying in hotels at all this summer, and maybe not for the rest of the year, but perhaps that will change and I truly hope it does since we usually visit my parents for Christmas and would have to fly. On a personal note, as much as I would love to get my hair color done and a real pedicure, those are risks I don't need to take right now and I can manage without those services for a little while longer. Where do you stand as of now? |
Anonymous
| I don’t care about eating in restaurants, but I will send my kids to school in the fall. Distance learning in households with working parents is untenable. |
Anonymous
|
I know this forum is geared toward parents of younger kids. My kid is 13 and I have him signed up for three weeks of day camp this summer (I cancelled overnight camp so I obviously don't feel comfortable with that). I just asked him last night how "he" feels about going to camp in this pandemic, if it's modified and has additional sanitation and social distancing protocols put in place. My normally anxious son said he's completely fine with it.
So if they open, I'm sending him. I took him to the beach last weekend to surf, and we only went to the beach itself and stayed in our house. No restaurants, no boardwalk. He knows this summer means no mini golf or Jolly Roger Amusement Park. As long as he gets his surfing, he's happy. So I'm comfortable with almost everything outdoors. I'd be fine with his playing with friends this way too. Although his friend's mom has/had COVID (she works in a nursing home). No restaurants for us for the duration. No flying. Trying to figure out day trips and the use of public restrooms though... Fine with our neighborhood pool. But again....restrooms... |
Anonymous
| We are not doing summer camps or pool this summer. We'll do school in the fall, whatever schedule they go with. I don't see flying or eating in restaurants for the rest of 2020. Will probably do a few routine dr. appointments later this summer/fall. |
Anonymous
| I might get my haircut (have stylist come to my house) but I don’t think anything else will be different for us. I’m pregnant and DS is under two so we’ll probably stay super cautious. |
Anonymous
| We are similar to you except are looking forward to eating outside in a restaurant and renting a beach or other house for a week or so in a more open state. Family is a bit far for us, so I’m not sure we will visit. I haven’t made up my mind yet on personal hair. My husband is looking sort of 80s hair at this point. Eventually he will resemble a glam rocker with some grey. |
Anonymous
|
We will likely do small group outdoor camps if possible. Kids have already been playing with a small group of neighbors - outdoor only. A small group camp would not be much different. Plus outdoor exposure is basically not a thing.
Would use the pool if it opens. Potentially would eat outside at a restaurant. Would not eat indoors. Would not fly. Trying to reconcile spending time with families who have not been distancing to the same degree we have and/or have family members on the front lines healthcare-wise. Would love to see grandparents but terrified of somehow infecting them even though we have not done anything other than the aforementioned outdoor socializing. Plus they live in Florida so somehow it would be a long drive involved. |
Anonymous
| Taking time to optimize my health this summer. No summer camp but will keep a kind of homeschool enrichment schedule going so I can work from home with my elementary school age DC. Hoping my job will continue 100% remote in the fall. I am worried that the public school where we live will be 50-50 remote and in-school teaching. That kind of schedule will just increase the chaos, and still increase risks of exposure. So I view the summer as a time to focus on optimizing my health and my child's health in every way possible. |
Anonymous
| We will meet up with friends more outside once new cases start dropping, opening up isn’t about risk it’s about economics and the lack of Fed response |
Anonymous
|
Summer camp: considered it, but even camp directors are saying to expect it won't be super fun. We decided no, mostly because camps her are requiring a month commitment and I didn't want to pay for all that time and have my kid decide she hates it. Also, it sounds like priority will go to kids of essential workers.
Inside dining isn't open here yet. In theory, I would go for a meal outside. Outside playdates: we haven't yet, but likely will in June. Hairdresser: I booked the first available with my stylist, which is mid-July. The salon has a really thorough plan for how to keep people safe and distant. Work: We are now allowed to have one in the office day every two weeks, we will probably have limited access to the office through Sept, and as someone who can work at home, I will likely be asked to do that as much as possible. Public transit: I take the bus a couple times a week. Masks are required. Compliance is high and ridership is low. Stores: I go once a week, but am feeling at this point like a can go grab items if I need them outside of that trip. Grandparents: It's really up to them what they feel safe with, they are welcome to visit and I would love to take my kid to see them sometime this summer. Summer fun: I'm thinking of renting a in-state place by the beach for a week, to make up for all the stuff we won't be doing. I would not get on a plane in the next few months unless it was for something like the death of a close relative who was out of state. I'm a person who has been highly compliant but has a very low level of fear. |
Anonymous
|
We both work FT and have three kids, 8, 6, and 4. We’ll hang out at our local field with a few other families; the kids play together and the adults talk at a distance. If summer camp is an option, we’ll consider it, same for when daycare reopens for the youngest. School in the fall, absolutely.
I won’t return to my beloved indoor workouts for a long time, even if they were to start up again soon. Restaurants, even outdoors, aren’t worth it to us. We’d probably go to the pool if they had reasonable social distancing measures in place. We have a beach house rented in August at a relatively uncrowded beach, and will likely keep it if we can. My parents are local but both high-risk, so that’s a no-go. No flying. We’ll keep up the once weekly grocery runs and getting take out a few times/week. Fortunately, I already did my roots at home and my hair is long and curly, so I can trim it myself without too much mess. We already cut our kids’ hair at home, and I can reasonably trim DH’s. I am dying for a manicure, but unless they were able to have us sit outside, I’ll probably hold off for a while. I’m not overly concerned about outdoor interactions in non-crowded settings. I wouldn’t go to a mosh pit anytime soon, but I’ll keep running outside and talking with folks at a distance. If schools don’t reopen in the Fall I... don’t know what we’ll do. As PP noted above, distance learning with two working parents (or one single working parent) is untenable, particularly for young kids. Our oldest has desperately missed peer interactions, and the ones we’ve been engaging in have helped her mental health so much and had positive effects for our whole family. |
Anonymous
|
We are planning to go to the beach (no restaurant or boardwalk) and will go to the pool if it opens as often as we are allowed. If school opens, my kids will go. DL is a joke for young kids and they can’t miss any more of this learning window.
Small groups outside or spread out is fine. Anything indoors I will avoid as much as I can, though we have done a few medical appts. I expect another tighter lockdown in the fall so we need to breathe now. In the fall, if school is DL and there is no daycare, we will hire a nanny. The childcare crisis is real and killing me. |
Anonymous
|
Very similar to you, OP.
Childcare: Not comfortable with camps, although we have one week in August that hasn't cancelled yet and I'm considering whether that might be okay. But, planning to hire a summary nanny, even thought there is some new risk there. Will send child to school in the fall if it opens. Errands: Still minimizing time in the office and in stores. Not going to restaurants (including takeout) or the salon. Socializing: No play dates, in-person church, or other gatherings. Avoiding crowded parks. But, fine with socially distanced grilling on our cul-de-sac with neighbors. Fine with seeing grandparents so long as we haven't been to the store or office within 2 weeks. |
Anonymous
|
We started play dates with one family this week. That has made all the difference for my extroverted only child! I feel like I could now do 2 more months of this with a smidge it added socialization.
Ripping off that tiny bandaid has made me willing to do just about anything. I’m booking plane tickets to visit family in July. |