Woman Expecting Grandparents To Take Care of Kids With COVID Sparks Fury

A woman has been slammed online after being upset that her parents would not see her family until they had all tested negative for COVID-19.

In a viral post on the popular discussion site Mumsnet, user mag2305 shared the story that now has over 200 responses. The post read: "So myself, hubby and two children all have COVID at the moment. We've thankfully all had it mildly but we are all testing positive 9 days on. I'm aware that without symptoms, you don't have to keep testing beyond day 10. The problem is my parents won't see any of us until we test negative."

The user continued to explain: "I totally understand they don't want to get it as they're [in their] late 60s, but we could go on testing positive for ages yet. They help with childcare so we can work so it's going to make things quite difficult and we can't afford to pay childcare right now."

The poster explained that while she didn't want to worry her parents, and understood it was their choice, she was worried about her childcare. At the end of the post, she asked "AIBU?" meaning, "Am I being unreasonable?"

This comes in the same week as the new Stealth BA.2 COVID variant has been reported as spreading in the U.S., and China has doubled down on their zero-COVID policy as cases begin to rise again in the country.

Statista reported that as of March 16, 2022, 967,044 deaths in the U.S. were caused by COVID-19, with 719,600 of those recorded among those aged 65 years and older.

In the U.K., where the poster lives, lateral flow tests that give a quick result on whether an individual is positive or negative for COVID-19 are still available for free, and people with the virus are encouraged to test every day for a 10-day period unless they test negative for two consecutive days.

Users on the discussion site Mumsnet were shocked by the story, and overwhelmingly slammed the woman's reaction to her parents' caution. One user said: "Fundamentally it's their choice and if they're not comfortable then they're not comfortable. Providing childcare is a massive favor."

Another commenter wrote: "I don't blame them. They're being cautious about their own health," while one user said: "I believe your parents are 100 percent correct and you are being completely unreasonable. I look after my grandchildren and my daughter's family has tested positive. As my husband is clinically extremely vulnerable, there is no way we can risk looking after the grandchildren until there is a negative test, and nor would my daughter expect it."

In a later update, the poster reiterated her feelings and wrote: "I do understand my parents' reasons, absolutely. But if we get to days 12, 13, 14 and we are still testing positive, I feel like we're going to be risking our jobs. Feeling very anxious about it all."

But Mumsnet users stood firm, telling the poster that her expectation was unreasonable and she should not rely on her parents for childcare: "Your parents don't owe you free child care. You may need to pay someone who is willing to risk exposure to COVID."