A Christmas holiday advanced by two days, a dream for children but is it also a nightmare for parents?
Following an opinion from the Scientific Council published on December 12, the Prime Minister invited families to self-confine themselves from Wednesday evening by not putting their children to school Thursday and Friday.
"Whenever possible, especially if we have to receive vulnerable people at Christmas, [...] if you can not take your children to school on Thursday and Friday [...], you do it"
, declared Jean Castex on Tuesday, December 15 on Europe 1. By proposing to stay with family a week before the end of year celebrations, the government hopes to limit as much as possible the contacts and therefore the possible contaminations.
"
I don't understand anything anymore
", annoys Nathalie, mother of two little girls aged 4 and 10.
"
At the beginning the children were super-contaminators, then not, then they had to wear a mask and now they have the right to miss school
".
For the mother of the family, these successive instructions are "
incomprehensible
".
Hearing this news on the radio this morning, she did not know "
what to think
".
Same surprise for Julien, father of two children aged 6 and 9.
“
I have no idea how we are going to organize, it asks a lot of questions and I have too few answers.
"This is not an obligation but a simple recommendation, said the Ministry of Education, thinking of parents who can not free themselves these two days.
Read also: Can you really miss classes on Thursday and Friday without being penalized?
Go on vacation earlier why not
Avoiding the traditional traffic jams on vacation is one of the main advantages seen by Eric, father of three children, two of whom are under three years old.
He is an IT executive, his wife is an architect, there is nothing that holds them back in Nancy “
if not the friends of their elder brother
”, aged 6.
So "you might
as well take this opportunity to go on vacation from Wednesday evening
" and head for the family home to Clermont-Ferrand.
To read also: "I no longer get up in the morning, I am in total denial": faced with re-containment, the students drop out
The mother is aware that they "
are very lucky
" in particular because "
their children are very small
" and missing two days of school "
is not serious at their age
".
A minority decision among parents for whom it is often impossible for them to leave their work in order to look after the children.
"
Impossible because we work
"
No choice for Clotilde, Claire and Marie, they will go to school Thursday and Friday.
Their parents being an optician and a midwife, it is impossible for them to work from home.
"I did not feel concerned by this possibility
, confides Mathilde, the mother of the siblings
, it is obvious that they will go to school, none of us can keep them"
.
Many parents are in the same situation.
Some can not telework, others are unable to take two days of vacation "
in such a short time",
what is more "
at the moment
" where many managers and employees are struggling to take time off.
“Incidentally, we work, so it's impossible
, adds Virginie,
and then I need these two days to prepare for the holidays in Brittany”.
Mother of three children, the oldest of whom is 8 years old, Thursday and Friday, she will drop them off at school like every other morning.
To read also: Six guests, without the children: "For Christmas, we will draw lots for the guests"
Another argument came to their reflection, “
the last days before Christmas are great for children
”. Out of the question for Claire, Clotilde, Marie to miss “
the festive day
” on Thursday. On the program, candies, chocolate, a small frozen log and roasted potatoes, in other words, “
a real feast not to be missed
”. Maxime and Manon also long for lunch on Thursday, but the
Friday
“
market
”
day
during which the school children “
sell
” the crafts they have made to parents is also very important. For their parents, not putting them in school "
made no sense
". “
When we see how the children play in the playground in elementary school, it is obvious that if the virus is circulating, they can be transmitted
”, adds Virginie. However, as of Saturday, his children "
will be careful
". Among the three girls' siblings, “
even if there will be eight of us, each adult will wear a mask and one of the meals will be a buffet to avoid contact cases as much as possible
”.