Anonymous wrote:Isn't it a relatively recent development for the children of the wealthy to be housed in schools for much of the day? Children used to be educated at home without notably inferior mental health outcomes.

What a strange thing to think.

Even affluent children are human, OP. Humans are social creatures.

Education is a real issue for all children, even affluent ones. Mental health is a real issue for all children, even affluent ones.

It is not a negative character trait to be compassionate towards affluent children as well as towards children in poverty.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the middle of a growing pandemic, why do your kids "need to be in school" this fall? One of my former classmates just posted this and several people on this forum have done so as well. She is a wealthy attorney, member of a country club etc. She has the means to hire a caregiver to supplement distance learning and plenty of friends that she could set up a social pod with for her kids to socialize. Why do her kids "need to be in school" to the detriment of public health? Plenty of people are saving money now due to not having to commute, not having to pay for activities, not shopping and buying clothes, eating out less etc. Why can't they hire a caregiver to help their kids with distance learning? I understand that this is out of the price range for many, but not sure why so many affluent people in this area are saying their kids "need to be in school."

They don’t. The parents just want them out of the house. If someone opened an all day bounce house place for $150-200 a day, they would take that.

Wrong. I’d never consider sending my kids to a bounce house place. There are risks that might be worth taking and risks that clearly aren’t. It has nothing to do with getting my kids out of the house.

Isn't it a relatively recent development for the children of the wealthy to be housed in schools for much of the day? Children used to be educated at home without notably inferior mental health outcomes.

I got an email my local bounce house is doing a soft reopening.

Dear My Gym McLean Families,

We are happy to announce our Soft Reopening starting Monday July 13.


I guess there are also a few points I want to make. I'm not so wealthy that paying for help is nothing. The profile of the world is like that though. People you think of as rich really thought long and hard before committing to a country club membership. Once they are in, you can't drop in and out to a lot of things. Just because they have some elusive things doesn't mean they have an extra 50k laying around. They wish they did too, just like you.

Socialization is valued and you could argue that some very successful type A would care "more" about their kids getting socialized to the best extent possible. They care very much how many hours their kids spend next to the other kid so when their kids grow up, they know how to manage organizations and work with people.

Those are the only two thoughts I had.... Mainly rich and not rich is not black and white.

My kids aren’t affluent. I am, my husband somewhat is.

I’m far from affluent but if I was I’d hire tutoring for the equivalent of a full school day, plus other tutors for “specials.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the middle of a growing pandemic, why do your kids "need to be in school" this fall? One of my former classmates just posted this and several people on this forum have done so as well. She is a wealthy attorney, member of a country club etc. She has the means to hire a caregiver to supplement distance learning and plenty of friends that she could set up a social pod with for her kids to socialize. Why do her kids "need to be in school" to the detriment of public health? Plenty of people are saving money now due to not having to commute, not having to pay for activities, not shopping and buying clothes, eating out less etc. Why can't they hire a caregiver to help their kids with distance learning? I understand that this is out of the price range for many, but not sure why so many affluent people in this area are saying their kids "need to be in school."

They don’t. The parents just want them out of the house. If someone opened an all day bounce house place for $150-200 a day, they would take that.

Oh FFS. You are not very bright. You do realize that 50% of all students are in MS and HS right?
And here is a newsflash, you don’t become affluent by sitting on your uneducated ass all day. Parents are working and demand that their children get a proper education, not this bullish!t DL.

Anonymous wrote:In the middle of a growing pandemic, why do your kids "need to be in school" this fall? One of my former classmates just posted this and several people on this forum have done so as well. She is a wealthy attorney, member of a country club etc. She has the means to hire a caregiver to supplement distance learning and plenty of friends that she could set up a social pod with for her kids to socialize. Why do her kids "need to be in school" to the detriment of public health? Plenty of people are saving money now due to not having to commute, not having to pay for activities, not shopping and buying clothes, eating out less etc. Why can't they hire a caregiver to help their kids with distance learning? I understand that this is out of the price range for many, but not sure why so many affluent people in this area are saying their kids "need to be in school."

They don’t. The parents just want them out of the house. If someone opened an all day bounce house place for $150-200 a day, they would take that.

If schools are open, I don’t think me not sending my kids makes a huge difference to society.

Anonymous wrote:My feelings are mixed about school and we’re undecided as to what we will do in the fall. However, both my kids struggled with DL. They need in-person instruction. We could (and may) get a tutor, but there are no guarantees the tutor would be strictly social distancing so we’d be taking a risk any way. My kids have really been struggling without having the social interaction they get in school. Do they absolutely “need” to be in school? No. Is being kept separated from their peers affecting their social and intellectual development and well-being? Yes. There is no easy answer.

+1

We're not DCUM-wealthy, but we're plenty comfortable and can both WFH full-time. We're still really, really worried about our kids' mental health from separated from their peers indefinitely, not to mention the impact on their learning. They're early elementary, so full-time DL essentially means that DH and I do 90% of their work, which is hard given that we don't have total control over our schedules.

If the schools would allow school-based childcare companies operate, that would help.

We are wealthy and getting a tutor, it is my professional opinion that the states are failing to provide proper instructions and it's illegal. States should either allow it to be deducted from taxes or provide a credit that takes the hours they are failing to provide as full time instruction.

Well, first of all, I don't agree it's "to the detriment of public health" given the data on child-to-adult infection.

Second, I already did hire someone to help with distance learning, but it is clear my child did not do well with DL.

My feelings are mixed about school and we’re undecided as to what we will do in the fall. However, both my kids struggled with DL. They need in-person instruction. We could (and may) get a tutor, but there are no guarantees the tutor would be strictly social distancing so we’d be taking a risk any way. My kids have really been struggling without having the social interaction they get in school. Do they absolutely “need” to be in school? No. Is being kept separated from their peers affecting their social and intellectual development and well-being? Yes. There is no easy answer.

In the middle of a growing pandemic, why do your kids "need to be in school" this fall? One of my former classmates just posted this and several people on this forum have done so as well. She is a wealthy attorney, member of a country club etc. She has the means to hire a caregiver to supplement distance learning and plenty of friends that she could set up a social pod with for her kids to socialize. Why do her kids "need to be in school" to the detriment of public health? Plenty of people are saving money now due to not having to commute, not having to pay for activities, not shopping and buying clothes, eating out less etc. Why can't they hire a caregiver to help their kids with distance learning? I understand that this is out of the price range for many, but not sure why so many affluent people in this area are saying their kids "need to be in school."