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."

Why don't you ask her why she said it? Perhaps her children need something you don't see. Or perhaps she's at her breaking point trying to work from home with them there (which, by the way, can still be an issue even if you have a nanny helping out). Obviously you feel differently about the word "need" than others, which is fine. My kids are young and distance learning doesn't work particularly well for them. They can get the educational piece with a tutor, but at their age (twins), they're missing out on the social and emotional development that they should be getting. I haven't said they "need" to be in school, but I think you're thinking inside your own bubble and you ought to let it go rather than obsessing over people's social media posts.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as "creating a social pod" ... here is the thing about "affluent women". We don't want to be bothered. We will pay for help but we don't want to coordinate with anybody, compromise on anything, or have anybody else making decision for us or our child.

Plus we love our children in dribs and drabs but don't want them underfoot. Even when we SAH, we have nanny's, swim team, tennis lessons, golf lessons, the club to keep them out of our hair.

We very much have the "we pay our taxes" attitude and want the government to do "the rest"... and supplement with tutors.

I could pay an out of work teacher but I would have to pay for 3, that is more expensive than a Big 3. Oh wait, my kids are at a Big 3, I pay them a ton, they can figure this out.

If you can't pluralize the word nanny I have a hard time believing you are an affluent woman.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ultimately it's because parents (myself included) want the best for their kids, even at the expense of public health. School gives kids a sense of normalcy, and the absence of school has been extremely hard on them. I think it's easy for people who don't have kids to underestimate that.

But, my kids attend private school, and for 40K per kid, they were already in large classrooms with 12-15 kids per class. So they are likely to return full time, or close to it, anyway.

The "wealthy" families who insist their kids "must" return to school (but apparently were not wealthy enough to send their kids to private school) should take a hard look at what public schools were offering in the first place. They've long been overcrowded, and the pandemic is just highlighting that problem.

Our family has a seven figure income and I went to Harvard. Your attitude is the reason why we prefer to send our kids to public school.

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."

Anonymous wrote:Ultimately it's because parents (myself included) want the best for their kids, even at the expense of public health. School gives kids a sense of normalcy, and the absence of school has been extremely hard on them. I think it's easy for people who don't have kids to underestimate that.

But, my kids attend private school, and for 40K per kid, they were already in large classrooms with 12-15 kids per class. So they are likely to return full time, or close to it, anyway.

The "wealthy" families who insist their kids "must" return to school (but apparently were not wealthy enough to send their kids to private school) should take a hard look at what public schools were offering in the first place. They've long been overcrowded, and the pandemic is just highlighting that problem.

Anonymous wrote:As far as "creating a social pod" ... here is the thing about "affluent women". We don't want to be bothered. We will pay for help but we don't want to coordinate with anybody, compromise on anything, or have anybody else making decision for us or our child.

Plus we love our children in dribs and drabs but don't want them underfoot. Even when we SAH, we have nanny's, swim team, tennis lessons, golf lessons, the club to keep them out of our hair.

We very much have the "we pay our taxes" attitude and want the government to do "the rest"... and supplement with tutors.

I could pay an out of work teacher but I would have to pay for 3, that is more expensive than a Big 3. Oh wait, my kids are at a Big 3, I pay them a ton, they can figure this out.

Anonymous wrote:As far as "creating a social pod" ... here is the thing about "affluent women". We don't want to be bothered. We will pay for help but we don't want to coordinate with anybody, compromise on anything, or have anybody else making decision for us or our child.

Plus we love our children in dribs and drabs but don't want them underfoot. Even when we SAH, we have nanny's, swim team, tennis lessons, golf lessons, the club to keep them out of our hair.

We very much have the "we pay our taxes" attitude and want the government to do "the rest"... and supplement with tutors.

I could pay an out of work teacher but I would have to pay for 3, that is more expensive than a Big 3. Oh wait, my kids are at a Big 3, I pay them a ton, they can figure this out.

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.

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