“It’s the anxiety of starting over”, “It’s going to be a double day” … The closure of schools worries parents

“It’s going to be a hassle! », Anaïs predicts. “No desire to relive the 2 months of last year! Alexandra exclaims in turn. The announcement, Wednesday evening by Emmanuel Macron, of a closure of schools and nurseries from Monday, does not pass like a letter in the mail to the parents who read us. Because they have to reorganize family life in two stages, three movements.

For those who were attached to spring break to keep their spirits up and who had planned to go to air, it’s the cold shower. Because not only interregional travel will be prohibited throughout the country except for compelling reasons from Monday evening, but the holiday calendar has itself been modified. They will be unified for all zones from April 12.

Families in zone A are not affected by this modification of the calendar. But for the others, all the plans are often to be reviewed. This is the case of Coralie, who responded to our call for witnesses: “My husband and I had planned for months a week of leave to take care of our son. We had booked a rental to get a change of scenery and discover a new region of France. As a result, we will be on vacation when our son is in school. Having only 5 weeks of leave per year, I would prefer to spend it with him. And as I have to clear them before May 31, it is impossible to postpone them ”.

“Our Easter holidays are canceled like last year. Short of bowl ! “

Caroline must also give up the reservation she had planned and this hurts her morale as well as her wallet: “The postponement of the school holidays is not a cancellation clause. I am really disappointed, because we lost our reservation ”. Isabelle, she has the impression of reliving a bad memory: “Our paid holidays cannot be moved, so our Easter holidays are canceled like last year. Short of bowl ! She writes.

Having to give up a vacation is not only a heartbreak for parents, but also for their children, as Marie’s heartbreaking testimony shows: “My 15-year-old son had a very bad experience with the shutdown. lessons last year: more than 10 kg on the scale, dropping out of school, depression… He managed to re-motivate himself with a lot of difficulty but there, I found him crying in his room… We had to go and get some air in Charente- Maritime the first week of May, our first vacation since the start of this crisis, but it was impossible to postpone them, ”she explains.

Another source of stress: the week of April 5 to 12, classes for schools, colleges and high schools will be at home. And rebel the week of April 26 for middle school and high school students. Which poses childcare problems. Of course, private sector employees will be able to benefit from partial activity if they have to keep a child under 11 years old. And the self-employed, liberal professions or health and contract workers can take sick leave if they cannot telework. But many of them do not intend to benefit from these devices, not being able to be absent. This is the case for Lætitia: “We are sales executives, so always at work, and during these 3 weeks, I don’t know how we are going to do it because our daughter is only 8 years old”.

“It’s going to be the double, even the triple day”

Same search for the miracle solution for Morgane: “How can I find in two days a solution of care for my two children in primary school? The grandparents are too old and at risk, I am not going to give them the children for a month, hoping that they do not catch the virus ”. Alison, who is from the border, will not be able to benefit from these measures: “My job is governed by the Swiss labor regime, a country that is not confined. I am the single mother of a 3-year-old boy educated in France and here I am, from Tuesday morning, without a custody solution for 3 weeks, ”she laments. Valoris, who is raising his son alone, will have no choice but to ask to be on short-time work to keep him, “which will impact us financially”, he laments. And as when schools were closed in March 2020, this reorganization will be more complex for separated parents: “Has the government thought about parents who follow court decisions concerning joint custody? It is already complicated in normal times, but here, I do not know how we will manage it with the dad ”, worries Sandra.

For those who will not be able to stop, it will still be necessary to juggle teleworking, home schooling and activities to plan to occupy the children. A perspective that does not delight Myriam: “I have two college students and a child in CE1. It will be the double, even the triple day ”. Tiffany already knows that her productivity will take a hit: “I am a fire safety sales representative and my purchasing partner. Let’s be honest, our son is only 6 months old and when he’s around we don’t work the way we would like. We will have to adapt our working hours according to his naps ”.

“We have a family computer for three children”

Finally, many parents see with concern returning home school. Because during the confinement of March 2020, they understood that they had neither the skills nor the patience of the teachers. And that the learning of their children had taken a hit: “It is the anguish of starting over distance education for my two children, in 5th and CM1. The oldest already had 1 to 2 days of distancing per week in his college. He is disabled. I must therefore be both a teacher, AESH (accompanying students with disabilities) and also take care of my daughter… ”, confides Emilie.

Alison, a mother of three children aged 9, 12 and 15, will be faced with a very practical problem: “We have a family computer for three children”. Difficult to make them work in these conditions. Magali, mother of three children, also has a heavy heart: “Our life has not belonged to us for over a year”, she sums up, fatalistic.