The celebrities that have decided to send and not send their kids back to school

While getting your child back into the swing of things and back to their studies in the classroom sounds like a good idea, the risk of them contracting a deadly virus and returning home to possibly infect other family members does not.

SA celebs are also facing the Catch 22 situation – some are okay with the move, whilst others are strongly against it.

Here’s what some of the country’s celebrity parents had to say…

Sending them back

Heniz & Alette Winckler

The Idols SA season one winner and his wife made the decision to send their two eldest sons back to school in June and their youngest son to Grade R more recently.

“They are stoked to be back, they were very nervous in the beginning about wearing a mask all the time.They have adapted so well and are enjoying it so much, just being out of the house and learning something,” Alette told All4Women.

The author and motivational speaker added that the boys attend school for a few hours a day, which came with it’s own set of challenges.

“Three solid hours of no play, no food, just school”.

But despite the doom and gloom of what is happening, the Winckler household are happy with their decision.

Alette continued: “I am thankful for them to be out of the house because I have three hours of work I can get per day.

“It’s all round good from our side, we’re trusting in God for us to resume normal schooling or continue with this, but just [without the masks].

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBjKarZgINR/?utm_source=ig_embed

Carly Fields

The radio host and former Yo-TV presenter sent her eldest daughter Indiana back to school last week.

She wrote on Instagram; “I sent my first born into the lions den this morning… Felt like the first day of school all over again, it’s her first time in winter uniform too. Surreal, strange and scary times we are living in.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCaRllZjvJj/?utm_source=ig_embed

Keeping them at home

Melanie Ramjee

“I’d rather have a healthy child than a coffin….I have strong feelings about it,” the celebrity PR exec who has three children aged 17, 8 and 2, told All4Women.

“There is so much we don’t know about the virus and how it affects children….why risk their lives?” she adds.

Melanie fears that by letting her kids go back, they could return and infect her helper and parents. She will be homeschooling her 17-year-old (in Grade 11) as well as her 8-year-old (in Grade 3).

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCilOxrDtk8/

Florence Masebe

The soapie actress was torn about sending her son back to school, given the fact that she has asthma.

In the end, she decided to homeschool him instead.

Leanne Dlamini

Singer Leanne Dlamini voiced her strong opinions about the back-to-school debate in an open letter to Minister of Education, Angie Motshekga, on her Instagram page, in which she made light of schools overseas where kids had become infected with Covid-19 and died as a result of the complications.

She wrote: “I hope you are ready for the repercussions if our children contract #covid19 in schools. Are our teachers immune to the coronavirus? Can they not give it to our children?…

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAYKxecnAMX/?utm_source=ig_embed

I also believe that opening schools is a BAD move.

Are the 1 million graves for our children? Kids infect each other anyway, pandemic aside… flu, pneumonia, chicken pox etc… with an overwhelmed health system, where will parents take them WHEN they fall sick????

Come on!

— Melanin Magic (@MonaMonyane) July 12, 2020

Please close schools down. You’re playing Russian roulette with our kids’ lives and by extension our lives. @lesufi pls focus on gazetting this. Our kids are bringing this virus home

— #BamakoIsHere (@simphiwedana) July 12, 2020

Now that we’ve sobered up, the issue with our children being back at school…? Are we ever gonna address it? Everyone must stay home except students? Okay. #cyrilramaphosa

— Rami Chuene????????️‍???? (@ramichuene) July 12, 2020

CANCEL THE ACADEMIC YEAR!!!#CyrilRamaphosa

— Khutso Theℓedi (@KhutsoTheledi) July 12, 2020

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.