Covid: 'I can't ask one of my teenage children to sit in their room on Christmas Day'

11 December 2020, 19:05

Covid: 'I can't ask one of my teenage children to sit in their room on Christmas Day'

This is the moment a mother of five told LBC she is allowing her children to miss school to guarantee they can celebrate Christmas with their grandparents.

Emma Parker, who is also a teacher, told Andrew Castle, her and her children are self-isolating from tomorrow.

Explaining her decision, Mrs Parker told Andrew: "My priority and my first role as a parent always has to be the safety of my children. That is the priority role of any parent. That safety and their health is always paramount.

"Myself and my husband have talked long and hard about this. We've debated it for weeks upon weeks.

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"I've got four children who are in that 11-18-year-old bracket [which] is seeing significant rises in infections.

"My three boys are autistic and they have went through a massive amount this year. They've missed birthdays. They've missed Easter. They've missed out on sports and school and all of those things.

"When your teenage boys tell you that they don't want Christmas presents but they want a hug of their grandparent, you have to act.

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"In my household, my husband got medical conditions, which makes him vulnerable. So if anybody in my household catches Covid, they will have to isolate in their bedroom for a fortnight to try and protect my husband.

"I can't ask one of my teenage children to sit in their room on Christmas Day."