Consider child care before lifting restrictions
As more business resume operations as restrictions are lifted childcare for pre-school and primary aged children should be considered. Although I am a key worker my partner is not and therefore we cannot access any childcare even though we are both still working full time as required by our employers, so I am currently working from home as my partners job cannot be done off site. This is however not ideal for my employer. We cannot even send our youngest to his private nursery which we pay for as they have to follow these rules. Do the government and councils expect employers to allow work from home at a reduced level of productivity in the long term to the detriment of their business?
Why the contribution is important
For many families facing this situation (which will increase as more workers come off furlough and back into jobs) there will be no choice but to take unpaid leave or resign if childcare is not made available to all parents working, not just key workers. This is particularly a problem for those parents who would normally make use of holiday clubs over the school summer break as if these are not running there may be no childcare available at all.
by LWats0n on May 07, 2020 at 09:54PM
Posted by Tracey88 May 07, 2020 at 22:00
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Posted by Lbryjacq May 07, 2020 at 22:25
Our son is almost 4 and needs attention and stimulation most of the time.
At the moment I am going to work to complete a 4-5 hour shift, returning home at lunchtime to allow my husband to work some 4-5 hours then we are both resuming work after our son has gone to bed. This isn’t sustainable, having a knock on effect on our physical and mental health and putting pressure on our relationship. I dread to think the longer term affects it’s having on our son as we grapple each day with compromising and trying to meet the demands of everything around us.
Some limited, controlled and sensible access to grandparents who are under 70, fit and healthy and who are adhering currently to lockdown rules to assist us to allow us to work in vital areas would relieve some of the pressure we are under.
We aren’t focussed on heading to shops, travelling places, pubs, restaurants and social activities we just need some help to relieve what are exhausting times.
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Posted by MarionY May 07, 2020 at 23:41
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Posted by Flugelduck May 08, 2020 at 06:57
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Posted by Thelastwilson May 08, 2020 at 07:22
I work from home normally but it would be near impossible for me to do my job and look after our toddler.
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Posted by Karenlou May 08, 2020 at 07:49
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Posted by rmcilwaine43 May 08, 2020 at 07:52
Swedish research has indicated that children under the age of 10 do not seem to transmit Covid- is this being validated/considered by the Scottish Government? If we had some level of comfort about this being the case, we should allow private nurseries, pre-school and early years of primary to re-open. With private nurseries, this would boost those businesses. It would also allow parents to get back to work properly, further supporting our economy.
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Posted by amdcc May 08, 2020 at 08:20
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Posted by Mboyd218 May 08, 2020 at 08:32
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Posted by Annmack May 08, 2020 at 09:32
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Posted by lmp123 May 09, 2020 at 07:17
Nursery workers generally have well developed immune systems due to working with young children and having high exposure to all the things that wee ones pass around. We know COVID is different but statistically children are showing less risk of severe symptoms and less passing on of the virus.
If the parents and adults caring for the children follow stringent procedures then risk should also be low.
Nurseries play a crucial role in supporting key workers, this now needs to be extended to other workers for the future of families mental health, children's well being and the economy.
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Posted by TmCm May 11, 2020 at 15:33
Whilst i fully appreciate the reason for the nurseries being closed and would not want my son going back until it was safe to do so, i do believe its having an impact on his learning and social wellbeing as although hes not of school age the only friends he has is in the nursery environment and so is missing interaction with kids his own age and taking part in activities that enhance his learning.
I also understand how hard it is for kids his age to social distance however may i suggest using more outdoor space/activities to balance the amount of kids that are in the nursery building at any one time where possible.
Also the private nursery has indicated that we will have to continue to pay fees even if not open which also has a financial strain on people who are furloughed or on reduced salary.
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