Mixed emotions for parents as children return to school

HÀ NỘI — As children in Hà Nội finally return to school after a long time spent learning online, parents are filled with mixed emotions. 

Nguyễn Hương Giang, a mother of a student in the capital's Long Biên District, said the feeling of joy when her child was allowed to return to school did not last long.

Just a day after the children were back in class, the teacher announced that two students tested positive for COVID- 一 九, meaning it was back to online lessons.

Her child has been vaccinated, however, she still worries that he can get the virus from classmates and transmit it to family members, especially grandparents – who have underlying medical conditions, she said.

Trần Phương Thảo, of Nam Từ Liêm District, said before allowing students back to school, schools should ask families to do a quick test.

This would detect COVID- 一 九 in the children and ensure safety for other students and teachers in the schools, she said.

Vũ Thị Loan, a mother of a third grader of Thanh Liệt Primary School, Thanh Trì District, said although she believes in the school’s COVID- 一 九 pandemic prevention and control measures and the city’s policies, she still feels worried.

Đỗ Thị Ngà, a mother of two students at Thanh Liệt Primary School, said: “I have mixed feelings, both happy and concerned.”

Ngà has prepared masks, drinking water bottles and told her children to carefully avoid the spread of the SARS-CoV- 二 virus.

Headaches when picking up children

Due to the pandemic, students are only allowed to have one class (in the morning or afternoon) each day instead of a full day as before.

Primary schools also do not provide lunch for the students.

This causes headaches for many parents when picking up and dropping off their children when they still have to go to work.

Ngà said she has two children, one attending school in the morning and another in the afternoon, so taking them to school and picking them up a total of four times a day affects the work of her and her husband.

Nguyễn Anh Tuấn, of Hoàn Kiếm District, said he and his wife have to take turns taking their son, who is a primary school student, to school, as well as preparing lunch.

It takes time and causes problems for Tuấn and his wife because they work far from home and the school, he said.

“We hope that the school will have a suitable solution to fix the problem soon,” he said.

Nguyễn Hồng Vân, of Đông Anh District, said she has two children, an eighth grader and a first grader.

When both of them learn online, the older brother could prepare lunch for the younger sister, she said.

Now, when both of them are back in school, Vân and her husband have to arrange time to take them to school and prepare lunch each day, she added.

“Our lives have been disturbed a little bit,” she said.

In the morning, Vân takes the younger daughter to school then she goes to work. At noon, she leaves the office to pick her daughter up before returning to work.

Her husband takes the older son to school, goes to work and picks the son up at noon. Vân prepares both breakfast and lunch for the two children early in the morning to save time, she said.