Visiting family

Being able to visit elderly parents who live an hour's drive away, even if just to chat in the garden at a distance.

Why the contribution is important

Our parents are isolated from their family. It would improve everyone's wellbeing.

by Stevege on May 08, 2020 at 09:29AM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.9
Based on: 37 votes

Comments

  • Posted by anniemckain May 08, 2020 at 09:45

    This would be great as I would see my children

  • Posted by Dorothy May 08, 2020 at 23:35

    Visiting family must be a priority as a grandparent I am missing my grandchild very much and she is missing out on the interaction with me too.I am unable to travel to London to see my son who is in isolation and this is becoming increasingly harder to bear the longer this goes on.Zoom calls are no substitution for proper contact, and I feel that a proper plan for ending lockdown has to come in sooner than later

  • Posted by Fewcp May 09, 2020 at 01:42

    I agree. I understand it's a difficult to ensure the public maintain social distancing and all too soon the public might try to exceed limitations put on them. But common sense has to prevail. If a person is in a position where they can see for example a lonely parent by standing over! 2 metres away from them in the garden it's so very likely that long term mental problems might be greatly lessened. The guilt I feel at not going to see my Dad because this is not the way we want to leave our parents. Yeah I know it sets resentment that some may be in a better position than others to safely visit elderly relatives but that's not a reason to create more unnecessary suffering.

  • Posted by Gizasmum May 09, 2020 at 08:32

    I want to see my Mum! She's 85 and lives a 30 minute drive away along with my learning & physically disabled sister. I haven't been able to see them in the flesh for almost 7 weeks. I managed to make a quick visit on Mother's Day with a tablet and gave them a very speedy lesson on how to switch it on & off and use Skype. That has made a world of a difference to our contact. However, they had only moved into their flat a month before lockdown, so there's lots of wee things they need help with that we can't get down to fix. For example the toilet pan lid has come loose on one side. This would be a 2 minute job for us. Also, they were due to get a new boiler installed on 24th March, all the parts have been delivered, but the install was cancelled at the last minute due to lockdown. We need contact with our family!

  • Posted by Johnmr May 09, 2020 at 10:02

    Visiting family must be allowed as a priority. The lockdown is already starting to be ignored both with road and pedestrian traffic. People will not adhere to the rules for much longer. Relaxation in a controlled manner must be implemented now.

  • Posted by davidcoffield May 09, 2020 at 12:54

    I visit my elderly mum each week (an hour away) to take her some messages and do any chores she can't do. I don't see that I can't NOT do this as there's no alternative offered from the state and she's been self-isolating from the outset, me also, so our thoughts are this is OK and probably safer than lots of random folk delivering things to her house, coming and going etc. The government need to add more practicality and reality to folks situations; safety and commonsense are fine but there's also practicality and reality of individual situations and I doubt we're alone in ours.

  • Posted by heather22 May 09, 2020 at 13:29

    Totally agree, not all famillies live close by and families who live further away should not be penalised for this if travel is made one of the later polices to lift. Visiting family should be essential for mental health and counted differently from going on holiday to different parts of the country.

  • Posted by Paul1953 May 09, 2020 at 13:34

    The majority of people seem to be applying social distancing. They have demonstrated that they are wise and sensible and want to protect themselves and those close to them. If they know their direct relatives have been sensible then they should be allowed to meet up. Let them assess the risks and decide what is good for them.

  • Posted by KatHighlands May 09, 2020 at 13:41

    My father in law died on March 30th and my mother in law is living alone and in real emotional distress. We live a five minute walk away and have dropped off shopping for her but not been able to embrace her or enter her home or allow her into ours. Our children are also desperate to see their granny and two local cousins at this time. it gets harder by the day. I feel that the idea of small exclusive social bubbles will provide essential social and emotional support while retaining some safeguards

  • Posted by Jfmack May 09, 2020 at 18:33

    I live alone. I live in a rural area with low community transmission rates.I desperately want to see my son and grandchildren who live locally.
    This is my priority.
    There should be some guidance about visiting local households, but stopping all of it, across the country, without any idea of when it will end is becoming intolerable

  • Posted by Pia222 May 09, 2020 at 22:38

    Yes, we need to prioritise the advice for families reuniting. I visit my elderly mum once a week to take in shopping and see to medications etc but I just want to hug her. I have only seen my sister and niece at a distance and for quick chats (i pass their house on my way to mums) we are a very close knit family and being separated like this is heartbreaking. Obviously I dont want to put my mum at any greater risk as she has some serious underlying health conditions but maybe meeting outside on a nice day. When either my sister or I go in to assist her, we wear masks and gloves and disinfect everything we touch etc and are very careful. We also always stay 2 meters away from her whilst in. She is desperate to have her family close to her again. I know it would be our responsibility to maintain high level care and reduce the risks..but we wouldnt forgive ourselves if we passed on the virus to her. It's just such a terrible situation. Want to be close to our family members but dont want to in case we pass it on. What hurts most is that we know mums time with us is limited, so we want to spend as much quality time together as we can.

  • Posted by roobie May 10, 2020 at 05:57

    I agree with this as some family members have been left completely isolated as they live alone, however it must apply equally to all isolated people including friends - not all people have family and single households are being pushed to the brink of suicide by 100% isolation and this cannot be allowed to continue - it is, in effect, torture.

  • Posted by mmu230 May 11, 2020 at 08:55

    Like many, I support the social bubble ideas with close family or those considered to be family in the comments. I moved to Scotland just before this crisis happened. I have no family and no social circle to speak of yet, and will be unlikely to form any sort of support network whilst restrictions are in place. Being able to go visit elderly parents and my siblings in Wales is my top priority and eagerly await clarification from the Scottish and UK Governments on when and how this might be possible.
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