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Parents share their feelings about kids going back to school

Lucy Dixon
Social media editor

Parents in the Netmums community have been telling us how they feel about their children going back to school from 8 March in England.

school kids

When Boris Johnson announced that schools in England would be open to ALL pupils from 8 March, we asked the Netmums community – both in our Forum and on our social media channels – for their reaction to the news.

As with any discussion about schools being closed and lockdown, there were mixed feelings from parents as they consider the risk of catching or spreading coronavirus, the disruption to their child’s education and all the other factors that individual families might have to worry about.

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The majority of parents that answered our question were in favour of schools opening to all from 8 March.

Those in favour

Jacky replied to our post saying she’d definitely had enough of lockdown:

‘After the day we’ve had if it stipulated they had to be wrapped neck down in cling film wearing a tin foil hat they’d still be there! Whilst being together as a family was nice to begin with, we’re all well past that stage now ‘

Beau is another parent who agreed that a return to normality is good news, even with the news that secondary school pupils will be regular testing and an increase in mask wearing. She said:

‘Children need to be back in to school, it’s an absolute priority now. Masks and rapid Covid testing is a small price to pay if it saves their sanity!’

What the kids are saying

Several commenters said they’d asked for their children’s opinion, and most of them were eager to get back to see their friends (even if they hadn’t missed the teachers!). Jennifer said:

‘I asked my son “do you want to go to school, even if you have to have covid tests twice a week and wear face masks?”.

He said “I don’t care! I’ll do whatever it takes to get back in a classroom!”‘

An end to the homeschool battle

The difference between kids’ behaviour at home and at school was also pointed out, with Donna saying:

‘I am glad my son is going back to school, he is 8 and it is a daily battle to get him to do school work, where he works well at school.’

The word battle came up A LOT, and many parents said their kids are just as keen to end the daily school work rows. Maria said:

‘I love my little girl but this lockdown has pushed me to the brink, she’s hated being off school and whatever I’ve done with her isn’t right so it’s been a constant battle. She’s excited to get back to school and have peace away from me just as much!’

Those who think it’s too early

The return to school wasn’t warmly welcomed by everyone though, with many parents anxious about safety when it comes to coronavirus.

On the Netmums Forum, Calla said that, as a teacher, she cannot understand the rush to get back before the Easter holidays. She wrote:

‘I’m not happy that reopening could result in 50% more spread of Covid, according to SAGE, and that it could be stop/start again-I’d rather they had 3 more weeks off and then hopefully back in for good.

‘Why take such a huge risk at this stage? For the sake of just three additional weeks?’

Back in our Facebook community, Anna said she is keeping her child off school for now:

‘My 15 year old isn’t going back until it’s safe. It’s too soon. Prevalence is too high and they’re not putting in enough precautions.’

Simone agreed that there is too much risk – saying she was anxious about the safety measures. She said:

I want my daughter to go back but there is no social distancing – 2 year groups are bubbled, this makes around 150 children mixing at playtime. I think so far we have been lucky. I am clinically vulnerable and by sending her back to school while the numbers still quite high, makes me freak out.

‘If I don’t send her back I most likely will get fined. So it’s a terrible situation. I want her to go back, she wants to go back. A lot of people like me will be the ones who get sacrificed for freedom.’

Want to be prepared for getting your kids back to school? Make sure you’re stocked up on masks with this multi-pack of 20 kids’ sized ones. They have filters for extra protection and are very breathable. Perfect for wearing on long school days! See more details at Amazon.

Etsy has a wide range of washable face masks – see more details here.

We also like these refillable personalised clip-on plastic bottles that are ideal for kids to take to school. See more details here at Etsy.

Are you worried about safety when the schools reopen? Let us know on the chat thread below…

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