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What is everyone who works doing with their young kids while school is on remote learning?

You mean like preschool age? He's normally home anyway, so it'll be more of the same. I'll have a box of supplies ready in case he wants to hang out and do school too... Paper, markers, some new playdoh, building blocks etc.  
 
Edit I missed the working part. I feel for parents that are juggling it. I know my brother and his family are using a combination of time off (him and wife taking turns), plus grandparents (vaccinated!) a couple days a week.  
 
Edited by Abbysmum, 2021-05-11 12:18:44

I was thinking like k-3 kids.

My child will be still going to school each day, and also attending the before and after care that is provided. Unless cases start to explode, it's regular life for us.

There's a benefit through the cra called crcb for parents who have to stay home because of school closures. I think it covers you if you can't work from home and your child is under age 12.

So like I stated above, my brother and his family are doing a hodge podge. My brother works shift work, so he has days off during the week often, and my SIL is taking vacation/family leave one or two days a week. My parents will be with the kids 1-2 days a week (depending on my brother's schedule), they are the back-up daycare anyway so they're allowed.  
 
Those kids are grades K & 2. I'm not sure how much schooling will get done with the bouncing around, but it's better than nothing I guess.  
 
We're fortunate where I don't work, so I'm available to help our kids. My husband is working from home too, so noise and space are going to be factors. Our disabled child is able to keep attending, and our preschooler is pretty good at playing alone for long stretches once he starts building or playing cars.

A house on my street has a daycare. No idea if its good or not but she definitely doesn't follow restrictions once the kids leave. Lots of people over, no distancing or masks. Just a heads up you might want to ask the person watching your kids if they are being careful.

Why just careful of providers? As a provider myself, I also have to trust that my families are being safe and following the rules once they leave my house.  
 
This is the same for anyone in any job. We all have to be careful and trust that our coworkers are being safe outside of work.  
 
Not just providers

Unless grandparents are fully vaccinated, that's still a huge risk. I would be very, very careful putting older people at risk right now just because you have to work. Most employers should be willing to work with you, especially right now.

You 100% right its not just providers, everyone needs to do their part.

Putting older people at risk because “you have to work”??? Guess what, if people don’t work, kids can’t eat. Geez. Use some common sense. Yes, having a grandparent babysit the kids so you can work may not be ideal, but it’s the only option a lot of people have. And no, not all employers are willing to work with you. That’s a fact

Lets do an scenario. How many parents employers would say your child is doing remote learning and you can have 3 weeks off? Maybe at the very top end 10%. If people went to their employer and said I need 3 weeks off because my child is doing remote learning, Well you have 2 choices, do not let the door hit your butt or you will be out 3 weeks pay. Maybe, a very good employer might let you take 3 weeks vacation. So, having grandparents or a neighbor look after your child is what many parents have to do. This pandemic is really have a huge impact on the young people and not many people are seeing it. If parents do not go to work no meals on the table, no place to live etc. This pandemic reaches so many different areas not just health. We are so focused on health rate now, but so many other issues that will need to be dealt with. And, parents need do what they need to do. Lets face it children are 2 grades behind and some children will be lost for possibly the rest of there time in school.

My parents are vaccinated with single dose, my brother had one and my SIL goes next week. Once the 2-week period is served, the risk of serious Covid falls to very, very low. My parents have always been their back up child care, and they are all very careful and see no one else (including me, who does not require child care & my other brother, who does not have children). Everyone involved has prioritized their lives to make this as safe as possible.  
 
If they want time off, they take vacation. My brother works for a small business as a manager and has no sick days. My SIL is only 7-8 months into a new job after being laid off due to Covid and is still on probation.  
 
So no, not all employers are willing or even able to "work with you".

A lot of people don't realize that there is job protection under provincial employment standards for people who need to take time off work due to covid, including to care for someone due to school closures. The employer does not have to pay you, but there are federal benefits in place which covers this.  
 
https://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/docpublic_health_emergency_leave_COVID-19factsheet.html#q2241

I totally get it, and it SUCKS. but there are thousands of business owners out of work right now too, and they've had to give up their livelihood over this, and I don't see why we consider ourselves privileged enough to bend the rules because "my employer won't work with me" when business owners don't have that luxury.  
 
I also feel when those with the privilege to get childcare through parents, etc, they tend to go around acting like it's no big deal that schools are closed. Maybe not for you, but that newcomer down the street with no parents in Canada and two minimum wage jobs might feel differently. I think we all need to feel the pain of these restrictions so we all work together to see them end as soon as possible. If daycares are not accepting kids, grandparents shouldn't be either. The point of this whole thing is to KEEP KIDS AT HOME. If your family were critical care workers, they would be allowed to go to school. If they are not, they need to keep their kids at home.  
 
I especially resent the notion that one dose of vaccine means you can "bend the rules", as I feel that a lot of the 50 percent of Manitobans that have one dose are feeling the same way and that's why we're seeing the kind of spread that we are right now. I'm still waiting for my vaccine, and I really don't appreciate those with one dose acting like the rules don't apply as much to them. We should all be acting as if we're unvaccinated.

Yes!! Exactly!! There is no reason people should be putting family members at risk over work. Of course it sucks!! Restrictions are no fun!!

They are not going around like they can do anything. But the science so far seems to suggest that, like virtually all vaccines, a single dose does afford good protection against *severe* forms of the disease. They haven't really changed anything they do since last year, except my parents have the kids one extra day a week vs. pre-closure. They have always been very careful, and will continue to do so until they are instructed otherwise.  
 
The current orders do allow access for child care, so they are totally, completely 100% within the rules. They do not socialize outside of providing child care. Are they lucky to have that help? Yes! But it's critical in their lives. Just because someone else doesn't have that access doesn't mean that they shouldn't be permitted to utilize it.  
 
Both parents work essential services, but not critical services. As a manager (but not the owner), he's trying to keep a business open and profitable so the dozens of employees that work there have jobs. He limped the business along this last year and took a voluntary pay cut so others can have jobs. My SIL works in the banking sector. That seems kinda important too. If she takes too much time she'll lose her job, again, because it's a newish job.  
 
This is not about "entitlement" on their part. If anything, your post and insistence that everyone follows YOUR version of the rules is about entitlement.  
 
Not everyone works in an industry nor have the financial means to stay home or work from home. They have a mortgage. They have already lost a job due to Covid. They have taken paycuts. They are trying to keep a business alive, one he doesn't even own. They all understand the risks, the science, and are within the rules.  
 
What more are you expecting from them?

Everyone’s situation is different. People need to quit worrying about what others are doing.  
 
Schools going to remote has a huge impact on a lot of people. Others are already home so not an issue. There is a difference between critical workers and essential workers- while schools allowed critical workers children to remain in class there are a lot of essential workers who I am sure were left scrambling. Not all jobs can be flexible.  
 
Think about our essential jobs. If all of them had to stay home with their kids there would be a lot of businesses closed and a lot of services not available.  
 
As for daycare- if grandparents can help out great. Yes it may have caused additional contacts but people do still need to pay their mortgage.  
 
It’s a balancing act right now. Trying to remain safe but trying to not end up living on the street. For some each paycheque just barely is enough. Businesses are struggling to maintain staff and keep doors open. Everyone’s mental health is suffering to some degree.

There are a lot of people who really need to tone down their 'holier than thou' attitudes.  
 
People require childcare. Telling someone that they should never put family at risk for work is a very preachy attitude that doesn't reflect reality.  
 
A significant percentage of Canadians have used covid as an opportunity to constantly criticize people who aren't breaking any rules. Get off your high horse.  
 
Here's a little dose of reality for you - no vaccine is 100% effective, and there will always be a percentage of people who will refuse vaccination and put us all at risk. But those of us who are vaccinated will have to start moving on with our lives, within the scope of the health orders. Covid is very likely going to be an ongoing issue (albeit on a much smaller scale if people get vaccinated) for many years to come. Society as a whole is going to have to accept some risk as time goes on, because that risk will be much smaller and we simply cannot eliminate all risk.  
 
Get your vaccine and stop telling others how to live - especially when no rules are being broken.