Covid-19 situation

[Skippy]

@SnowFlakey I read this article and have a whole new admiration for the residents of Australia.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/31/w...-lockdown.html

They are winning against covid because people actually follow their lock down rules.

DS lives in Sydney and tells me that he finds Australians are more compliant(not just with Covid) than Canadians and so they collectively are willing to do what it takes.

[GoodBoy]

DS lives in Sydney and tells me that he finds Australians are more compliant(not just with Covid) than Canadians and so they collectively are willing to do what it takes.

Does not surprise me.

[SnowFlakey]

Quebec govt does it again! Have you heard about POPCORNGATE. Even though movie theaters will be open for spring break but they wont be allowed to sell popcorn or snacks! Whats a movie experience without popcorn. Does that mean we can bring our own or go without. Anyway, as announced today, the theatres will be compensated for that by the QC govt. This goes along with PASTAGATE and Bonjour Ho gate. If anyone called me a Ho, i would slap them! The QC Govt will never learn.

[HermanH]

But, but, but, they are DOING something! Look how creative and proactive they are!

To be fair, some of the things the Quebec government has done are positive, such as their hiring campaign for retirement homes. At least they tried to recruit new staff.

[SnowFlakey]

We/I have a problem concerning Covid 19 restrictions and back to school. General idea: my 2nd grandson (the younger) was off school from the middle of Dec to Jan 11. Since Jan 11, he is having trouble adjusting going back to school.

They live in a rural area and he has a taxi/school bus to drive him and 3 others to a new school changed because of over-crowding at the old school. Now since Jan 11 he is missing his school taxi and giving stupid excuses like the taxi never came, he couldnt shut off the tv, the time was wrong, etc.. There is no one supervising him in the morning because my son and his ex both start working before the taxi/bus arrives. He is alone in the mornings.

They have tried different measures, talked to his teachers and principal to see if there is a problem at school with bullying or something else. The boy is 11 years old, has lots of friends at school and well liked. He also has an 89% grade average and will be going to secondary 1 next fall. So its not like he has a problem learning.

And because they live in a rural area, getting a sitter for 30 minutes just wasnt feasible. No one wanted to come for 30 minutes. So, what to do. Right now, im driving over to their house each morning for 7 AM to get him off to school. And he loves it that someone is there to see him off. But its not something i want to do long term. All together, its an hour in the morning.

Has anyone experienced this. Does anyone have any suggestions.

[HermanH]

If the time difference is only 30 minutes, why don't the parents drop him off at school 30 mins early? If he refuses to act responsibly in his own best interest, then he can pay the consequences. He probably would rather have the additional time at home. Let him reap the consequences of his actions. He will have to get up earlier, make the travel time, and sit in the hall until class begins. After a few days/weeks and if he is willing to accept responsibility for himself, then let him get back to riding the bus. A week or two of inconvenience (for the entire family) can teach life-long lessons.

[SnowFlakey]

If the time difference is only 30 minutes, why don't the parents drop him off at school 30 mins early? If he refuses to act responsibly in his own best interest, then he can pay the consequences. He probably would rather have the additional time at home. Let him reap the consequences of his actions. He will have to get up earlier, make the travel time, and sit in the hall until class begins. After a few days/weeks and if he is willing to accept responsibility for himself, then let him get back to riding the bus. A week or two of inconvenience (for the entire family) can teach life-long lessons.

My son starts work at 7 AM and his ex starts work at 5:15 AM and they dont work anywhere near the school which is 2 towns away. School starts at 8:15 AM; doors dont open until 6:30AM. This is one of the hazards of living in rural areas. Neither one of them can afford to lose their jobs; in fact they are lucky they still have jobs. It seems that my grandson would prefer home schooling but he isnt allowed. And his siblings both leave for school before he does. One of them even has a 1 1/2 bus drive with a transfer bus to school. She leaves at 6:30 AM and gets home at 5:45 PM. One option is to move! But i dont think either of them will. Where canyou find a 3 bedroom house with a nice fenced in back yard and driveway for 3 cars under $900 a month. Thats what they both have right now so forget moving!

Anyway, only a few more months of school and who knows, with the variant coming, schools might be shut down again and home schooling will be allowed for all.

[HermanH]

My son starts work at 7 AM and his ex starts work at 5:15 AM and they dont work anywhere near the school which is 2 towns away. School starts at 8:15 AM; doors dont open until 6:30AM.

So, it is not possible for your son to drop him at 0630 and still make it to work on time. How long would it take for your son to drive to work after dropping him at the school? 60 min? 90min?

You say that the boy has lots of friends. Is there any possibility to drop him early (i.e. 0600H) at the house of a friend near the school? The parents could exchange child care favours later in the day or weekend.

Any other community centre / gym / family friend near the school who could let him stay an hour or so before going to school?
The school doors may not open before 0630H, officially, but there may be staff who show up earlier. It might be helpful to check further, if they could accommodate an earlier arrival.

This is a major inconvenience for you and his parents, so the 'pain' should flow both ways. To put you guys out this way, the lad gets to be bored for 2 hrs every morning. If he wants the privilege of watching TV until leaving from the comfort of his own home at a later hour, he needs to earn that consideration by proving that he can do it himself. That's part of growing up.

[SnowFlakey]

30 minutes to the school, but 1 hour from the school to his place of work. No parents want to mix their household with another; we are in the middle of a pandemic. No childcare exchanges allowed. Rural areas dont usually have gyms, community centers etc close by and if they do, they dont offer childcare services during a pandemic. School rules are very strict on their opening times. Everything was checked and double checked, rules wont be bent!

I dont think you have kids because you would know you cant supervise a kid when no one is at home. Unless they put the tv in the shed outdoors and no one can watch it. I think he is going through a phase, not a depression, but just some sort of phase. Because he was ok before Christmas with catching his school taxi, but somehow got derailed during the holidays. I also think that with a bit of supervision he will be fine. So right now for a little while, i will drive the 15 minutes it takes to his house, get him off to school, and then drive back. Total time: 45 minutes. I dont want to do it long term, but i will help our son out because he does a lot of things for us.

[HermanH]

It is understandable that folks won't want to mix with others, but it seems a bit overboard to refuse to associate with a classmate. After all, they are going to mix when they are in the classroom. So, how could it be any more dangerous if they met an hour before school?

You raise an excellent point about mixing households. When you enter the house, you are exposing yourself to potential infection from your son's and daughter-in-law's work environments along with each school environment of the individual children. And, as a grandmother of the vulnerable age. Brrr. That is some scary stuff.

Well, I hope that it really is just a short-term phase for him. You are right that it is may be a race between the time before the next lockdown and whether or not the school year finishes.

[crafter]

No suggestions @snowflake ly but feel for you. So many grandparents and parents have been trying to fare the best they can. It's even tougher with kids using gaming as their entertainment source. Hugs

[francine1985]

In New Brunswick they put zone 4 from red to orange a few days ago, so now the whole province is orange. I think their numbers are still way to high but I believe most of the cases are isolated in a care home or two. (Not great but better than spread widely throughout the community.)

[francine1985]

I can’t seem to get the picture to post. It was posted on Facebook as a picture.

anyway it’s apparently about how any graduation ceremonies will be under strict covid guidelines. (How strict depends on the colour phase we are in.) and that there will not be any prom, safe grad, athletic or academic banquets at all.

thankfully this won’t affect my kids as they aren’t in high school, but it’s still sad and disappointing for the graduates this year.

[Shwa Girl]

My son starts work at 7 AM and his ex starts work at 5:15 AM and they dont work anywhere near the school which is 2 towns away. School starts at 8:15 AM; doors dont open until 6:30AM. This is one of the hazards of living in rural areas. Neither one of them can afford to lose their jobs; in fact they are lucky they still have jobs. It seems that my grandson would prefer home schooling but he isnt allowed. And his siblings both leave for school before he does. One of them even has a 1 1/2 bus drive with a transfer bus to school. She leaves at 6:30 AM and gets home at 5:45 PM. One option is to move! But i dont think either of them will. Where canyou find a 3 bedroom house with a nice fenced in back yard and driveway for 3 cars under $900 a month. Thats what they both have right now so forget moving!

Anyway, only a few more months of school and who knows, with the variant coming, schools might be shut down again and home schooling will be allowed for all.

I think you are correct Snowflakey, about schools closing again, because of the UK, South Africa and Brazilian variants. I think after Reading Week, "March" break or any other Spring break, the numbers may go up. I think some families may allow children to play with friends inside or outside their home, and that's how the case numbers will rise, unfortunately.

I hope the children keep safe.

Someone mentioned that kids are stuck inside playing with their electronics. I think parents and kids can work out some backyard activities or inside fun activities that do not use electronics. Participaction has tips for families
https://www.participaction.com/en-ca.../family-better

[dq14]

Someone mentioned that kids are stuck inside playing with their electronics. I think parents and kids can work out some backyard activities or inside fun activities that do not use electronics. Participaction has tips for families
https://www.participaction.com/en-ca.../family-better

The school I work at bought each class a bunch of board games (chess, snakes and ladders, jenga, etc.) It's great to see the kids playing. Some still play on their devices but even then they are playing team games with each other. Also this week coming up is our winter carnival. Our fields have been divided up into areas where a few bubbles at a time can go out and participate in outdoor activities (in their bubbles, no mixing).