Parents Would you let your kids compete?

[cogymmom2dd]

DH and I have both had COVID over the past 2 weeks. DH is out of isolation and I still have a little over a week left. Our local health department just advised us that our kids will have to further quarantine for 14 days past the date I come out of isolation, which is 12/31. This is despite the fact that we have been very careful to isolate away from them In separate rooms and bathrooms and make masks mandatory in common spaces for everyone, wearing gloves when we prepare food, ordering delivery as we are able, etc. In hopes that they wouldn’t have to quarantine as long. That means that the earliest they can be released is 1/14. We are due to have a meet on the weekend of 1/15. My DD’s have not been to practice since 12/10, meaning out of the gym for a full month plus and then a meet. All kids have been asymptomatic to this point and I feel like if they were to develop symptoms, it probably would have already happened. Should I pull them from the meet? I’m concerned that they will only have 1 or 2 practices between their release and the meet and I don’t want them to get injured trying to do skills that they may not have practiced in over a month (for example, giants on bars for DD1). They are adamant that they want to go and we have already paid the fees. This meet is only 1 of 3 meets for 2021 on our roster so I want them to have the experience, but not injuries or the days of self pity that happen after bad meets when scores are low because skills aren’t made. There is a part of me that is saying don’t even worry about it. I don’t foresee this meet happening in the first few weeks after the holidays when cases will probably spike again and events will be cancelled. But, I cannot rely on that being our plan A.

 

[Eleven sol]

Depends on their level but probably not. It would seem unsafe.

 

[Getoutyall]

Maybe see if you could arrange a private lesson between the release from quarantine and the meet and just decide after the lesson?

 

[gymgal]

first, I hope you and dh are doing ok. Second, the CDC is now acknowledging that 10 days of quarantine without a test and 7 days with a test is a feasible option. It is worth talking to the local health dept to find out why they are not following this. If they allow, you should be able to get them out of quarantine sooner. Also, if you (or they) move to a different location (hotel would be most likely), then their 14 day starts the day you separate so again, getting out of quarantine sooner. As for the meet itself, I would let them go. Their coaches will determine what events they will need to scratch, if any, but it gives them the ability to be there with their teammates. You have already paid, likely can't get the money back so they might as well go and enjoy.

 

[profmom]

It's one meet. Without preparing, it's unlikely to go well anyway. Let them finish out their quarantine fully and get ready for the next one.

Furthermore, have you checked hospitalization rates near your gym and near the venue? A child pushing to get ready for a meet on a very short time frame after a long layoff is more likely to suffer an acute injury.

You might also check with your gym. At my kids' gym, there's no way they'd be competing if they could only practice once or twice before a meet after a month off. The risk of injury simply isn't worth it.

 

[cogymmom2dd]

first, I hope you and dh are doing ok. Second, the CDC is now acknowledging that 10 days of quarantine without a test and 7 days with a test is a feasible option. It is worth talking to the local health dept to find out why they are not following this. If they allow, you should be able to get them out of quarantine sooner. Also, if you (or they) move to a different location (hotel would be most likely), then their 14 day starts the day you separate so again, getting out of quarantine sooner. As for the meet itself, I would let them go. Their coaches will determine what events they will need to scratch, if any, but it gives them the ability to be there with their teammates. You have already paid, likely can't get the money back so they might as well go and enjoy.

We were told that 10 days is the protocol for someone with an exposure that is not a household contact. For example, a teacher who has a kid in class that is positive. That teacher and the kid will quarantine separately and Both come back in 10 days. However, it is different when it is a household member. And it’s very frustrating because I am literally due to be at work the day my quarantine is over with on day 10 and my husband is back to work tomorrow on day 11 despite the fact that I am positive and still supposed to be in isolation. However, they are making them quarantine for an additional 14 days past when the last person is out of their 10 day isolation period. It’s not healthy for them and we have been so careful to stay away from them as much as possible, wearing masks, not sharing bathrooms, and preparing all meals with gloves on. I’m going to call them every day and plead my case. I am ok with extending their quarantine until the 24 day mark, which is the week after the new year but anything beyond that is just not healthy for any kid.
I wish moving to a hotel was an option, but with Christmas and my husband going back to work, it’s just not feasible.

 

[Mommysunshine]

Probably a conversation that would be best to have with coaches.
I'm so glad kids are ok so far. But seems seems like too much pressure and risk for injury with so many weeks off.
Calling it now would likely feel disappointing, but then you would not have all the worries in your head for the next couple weeks.
They can go back to practice for hopefully a few weeks before the next meet.

So many hard choices this year.
I hope your DDs stay healthy, and you all can feel confident in whatever choice you make.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

What age and level? If anything higher than level 3/4 then definitely not. For lower levels I’d defer to the coach. I don’t think our coaches would allow it honestly. So sorry your family is dealing with this.

 

[cogymmom2dd]

What age and level? If anything higher than level 3/4 then definitely not. For lower levels I’d defer to the coach. I don’t think our coaches would allow it honestly. So sorry your family is dealing with this.

DD1 just turned 11 and is L7.
DD2 is 9 and XCEL Gold.

I’ll defer to the coaches at this point, but the gym is on Holiday break as of tonight. Was just trying to get some insight and opinions, as we have never had this situation of an extended period away from the gym aside from when it was shut down for 2.5 months back in the spring, but they were at least still getting virtual instruction with coaches. And, if they were out with injuries, they would at least still be going to practice and doing strength and endurance training that was safe for whatever injury they had. Now, absolutely nothing except stretches on their own and the little amount of skills they can safely do indoors on panel mats, A kip bar, and low beam.

 

[bookworm]

The quarantine advice you were given was exactly what's given around here with in house exposures like parent and child... the only way to reduce it is to separate your actual living spaces (via hotel or empty alternate house) but with an 11 and 9 yo , that seems unlikely. I suppose in pre pandemic times , you could have relocated your kids to a different house (grandparents, aunt, friend) but that would lock down that house as well....

At their ages and levels, I wouldn't fret about them missing the meet ... I would be worried about not having enough practices for them to be safe competing. I know it's a disappointment for them but I wouldn't risk their safety either.

 

[jennifunk]

I agree with Getoutyall, I’d probably try to squeeze in a private if possible. And I’d probably allow them to compete to the extent they and the coaches felt they could do so safely, even if a few of the bigger skills had to be subbed for easier ones or an event scratched. It would be a shame to miss 1/3 of their competition season and extend the functional effect of their quarantine more than necessary on the assumption they wouldn’t be able to hang. I don’t think a month off would necessarily be so much they can’t bounce back pretty well very quickly.

 

[ReluctantGymMom]

You’re gonna need to find out if your gym would even let them compete - our gym won’t let you compete if you miss practice the week of the meet (unless there’s a real good reason and preferably you can make it up - for higher levels they’ll scratch you) - missing a whole month, they might not let your level 7 especially compete, for safety reasons

 

[profmom]

... That means that the earliest they can be released is 1/14. We are due to have a meet on the weekend of 1/15. My DD’s have not been to practice since 12/10, meaning out of the gym for a full month plus and then a meet.

I feel like I am not understanding the situation based on the answers you are receiving. What I am seeing above is the following:

-- No gym at all since 12/10
-- Release from quarantine and back to gym 1/14
-- Private lesson on . . .1/14?
-- Compete 1/15 or 1/16?

Unless you are talking about violating the quarantine to do private lessons, which I hope you are not considering.

Look, COVID sucks. I get it. This is my son's senior year. So far he's lost half of last winter's season, his junior prom, his senior homecoming, his last winter jazz cabaret, and his first two meets have been canceled. He hasn't been able to do a single physical college visit. We are hoping there might be a few virtual meets in late winter. Maybe there will be states but right now I am not optimistic. But this is the hand we are dealt, and we have no choice but to play it. My job as a parent is to help him manage all this disappointment and understand that, while senior year is important, sometimes you just are not going to get what you want out of life.

I just think the risk involved in having a child compete after only having had one practice in an entire month is not worth it. I've seen why my own gymnasts are capable of doing after a month off due to injuries. You generally want to figure on 3-4 weeks of retraining to get back what you have lost in a month off. I just do not see what good can possibly come of this, while the down side -- either doing only what can be done safely, which likely won't meet SV requirements and will be sloppy, or alternatively doing dicey skills that, especially on bars, risk serious injury -- is quite evident.

 

[skschlag]

DH and I have both had COVID over the past 2 weeks. DH is out of isolation and I still have a little over a week left. Our local health department just advised us that our kids will have to further quarantine for 14 days past the date I come out of isolation, which is 12/31. This is despite the fact that we have been very careful to isolate away from them In separate rooms and bathrooms and make masks mandatory in common spaces for everyone, wearing gloves when we prepare food, ordering delivery as we are able, etc. In hopes that they wouldn’t have to quarantine as long. That means that the earliest they can be released is 1/14. We are due to have a meet on the weekend of 1/15. My DD’s have not been to practice since 12/10, meaning out of the gym for a full month plus and then a meet. All kids have been asymptomatic to this point and I feel like if they were to develop symptoms, it probably would have already happened. Should I pull them from the meet? I’m concerned that they will only have 1 or 2 practices between their release and the meet and I don’t want them to get injured trying to do skills that they may not have practiced in over a month (for example, giants on bars for DD1). They are adamant that they want to go and we have already paid the fees. This meet is only 1 of 3 meets for 2021 on our roster so I want them to have the experience, but not injuries or the days of self pity that happen after bad meets when scores are low because skills aren’t made. There is a part of me that is saying don’t even worry about it. I don’t foresee this meet happening in the first few weeks after the holidays when cases will probably spike again and events will be cancelled. But, I cannot rely on that being our plan A.

So, are both of you positive?

I think the tricky part is, that if you are around your kids, even with masks on, then it isn't a true isolation. So technically, they can still get sick. Symptoms can develop between 2 and 14 days after exposure, so each time they are around a person who is positive, their "clock" restarts, if that makes sense. Thus the longer quarantine for close contacts.

My sister's husband is covid positive, but because he can truly isolate and never leave the room, she does not have to quarantine as long, as she has not been around him at all since last Monday.

I think for this meet, it might just have to be a scratch. It very well could be cancelled, but for me, the risks of injury are just too high.

 

[NutterButter]

Don't let them compete! Aside from the COVID issue and coming out of quarantine, the risk of injury since they have been out of gym too long is simply too high.

Also, I'm sorry you and your husband have been sick. Ugh. I hope you all are better soon.

 

[bookworm]

And now that I'm rereading the timeline, I don't think the husband can/should be out of quarantine a week earlier....because he's been in close contact with his covid positive wife (the OP) ... I think the whole family should be on the kids' timeline that after they are considered safe, so are their parents..

 

[cogymmom2dd]

And now that I'm rereading the timeline, I don't think the husband can/should be out of quarantine a week earlier....because he's been in close contact with his covid positive wife (the OP) ... I think the whole family should be on the kids' timeline that after they are considered safe, so are their parents..

You would think, but the timeline is different for positive cases vs. close contact. If any of our kids tested positive now, they would be released from isolation on day 10 after symptoms develop and could go back to normal activity/school.
And, it’s different for each situation. My work policy when my husband first tested positive was for me quarantine for 10 days and monitor. If I was asymptomatic on day 10, due back to work that day. I could have actually had a PCR test done on day 5 and if negative, reported back to work on day 7. I was Actually asymptomatic on day 5 and didn’t develop symptoms until day 8, so In theory, I could have tested on day 5 and negative and gone to work for the 1 day that I was asymptomatic. I didn’t do this because my work schedule worked out that I wasn’t due back to work until day 10 anyways and there was no need to test early (I work part time only 2 days a week). Unfortunately, I developed symptoms/ positive test before the 10 days, so I have to isolate for 10 days and then I am due back to work on day 11. I don’t think that having a positive child/household member past my isolation period would have an effect on my return to work if I was considered a recovered positive case. It may have an effect because I would need to take time off to care for a sick kid, but not necessarily to further quarantine.

 

[cogymmom2dd]

So, are both of you positive?

I think the tricky part is, that if you are around your kids, even with masks on, then it isn't a true isolation. So technically, they can still get sick. Symptoms can develop between 2 and 14 days after exposure, so each time they are around a person who is positive, their "clock" restarts, if that makes sense. Thus the longer quarantine for close contacts.

My sister's husband is covid positive, but because he can truly isolate and never leave the room, she does not have to quarantine as long, as she has not been around him at all since last Monday.

I think for this meet, it might just have to be a scratch. It very well could be cancelled, but for me, the risks of injury are just too high.

Yes. My husband 100% isolated up until the point where I developed symptoms and tested positive, which was like day 8. Then, I joined him in his quarantine room (our master suite) But kept distance from him, he slept on the chaise lounger in our room, which is about 10 feet away from the bed. We left the bedroom door open and the kids came to the doorway with masks on if they ever needed anything. We ordered out or had friends/neighbors drop off food and had very minimal contact with them. Definitively not even the 15 minutes cumulative to consider it a close contact. My DH came out of isolation on day 10 but has still tried to maintain his distance and wears a mask at all times, prepares food with gloves,etc. I will stay in isolation until day 10. By then, it will be 20 days since the first person was symptomatic. And 20 days that we have maintained pretty strict precautions.

 

[gymgal]

And now that I'm rereading the timeline, I don't think the husband can/should be out of quarantine a week earlier....because he's been in close contact with his covid positive wife (the OP) ... I think the whole family should be on the kids' timeline that after they are considered safe, so are their parents..

Husband tested positive before wife so he would get out of isolation earlier. He is not at risk of getting re-infected so soon afterward, if at all.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Our coaches would absolutely not let a gymnast compete directly after 4-6 weeks of no practice.

And if they were higher then L 3 or 4 they wouldn't let them compete if they were not practicing the week before a meet.