WELL, that’s that – back to school, kids. Oh, wait, is it? It’s back to school for some of you but not all of you, and only if I choose to send you.
With four children, aged two to 14, it is no mean feat trying to explain the reasons why some of them might or might not be leaving the house soon.
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Until now, my tribe has been cocooned together. Home-schooling is far from a breeze but at least we have been living by the same rules.
But after the latest government guidance, I have one child who could go back next month, another who might go back before the summer holidays, one who probably won’t go back until September, and a two-year-old who will be sticking with me for the foreseeable.
Not easy, is it? Throw into that the discretion of parents to choose not to send their children back, even once schools reopen, and it’s a logistical and moral minefield.
Everyone’s wondering whether the first phase of children going back, on June 1, is too soon. Are we jumping the gun or do we need to just put our “big pants” on and get it done?
I have friends who are teachers and don’t want to send their own children into school because they are worried about the risks.
Other parents ask why we are sending our children back to school when we are not allowed to see extended family?
My first decision is with Frey who is in Early Years so can go back at the beginning of June and is due to start Reception in September.
He has special educational needs and having seven months out of full-time education then starting Reception with a new teacher and in a new class would be difficult.
PARENT-SHAMING
He needs the structure and input from his peers to keep moving on with his communication. But he loves the isolation life – the quiet, just with family (excluding his two-year-old little brother Casper who constantly tries to pick a fight) and how will it feel for him to go back when the rest of the tribe is staying at home?
Delilah is in Year 3 which should be back before the summer holidays, but she is desperately missing friends.
I don’t know what would be worse – to be able to see them but not hug or play, or to sit it out a little longer.
It looks like my eldest, Finnbar, won’t go back to secondary school until September. Luckily, he is fairly good at motivating himself to work.
I worry about the division between parents who do send children back and who don’t. Parents will have to make choices they may not fully feel comfortable with because they have to return to work. There will no doubt be parent-shaming – making mums and dads feel like they are being reckless or over-protective.
We are all in the same sea, in different boats, and nobody has the “right” answer. We all love our children and would never intentionally put them in harm’s way.
We can only be as informed as we can and support each other.
