ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — As the operator of a regulated day home in St. John's, Lisa Piercey routinely stays on top of keeping the surfaces in her home clean and germ-free.
Being a stickler for such things is useful these days when it comes to having her six-year-old daughter, Cori, go back and forth between her place and the home of Cori's father, Jason Piercey.
"I'm a bit more extreme," she told The Telegram. "I'm regulated, so I have a lot of regulations in effect where I have to disinfect and sanitize everything anyway. I'm being more stringent about that. No one is in my house besides Jason and Cori. When they come in, they wash their hands right away or use hand sanitizer as soon as they come in my house."
Jason and Lisa separated a year and a half ago, a decision Jason described as what was in their daughter's best interest.
It took some time for the former couple to find a good rhythm for splitting parental responsibilities, as Jason initially lived with a friend and would come over to Lisa's home to spend time with Cori. Since Jason found a place of his own in Mount Pearl, they have managed to split overnight stays pretty evenly, with Cori going to her mom's house on weekdays after school.
But with the global spread of COVID-19 forcing schools in Newfoundland and Labrador to close indefinitely, Lisa and Jason are adjusting that routine, with Cori going back and forth between the homes on a day-to-day basis instead of every three to four days. Typically, there are five or six other children at Lisa's day home, but now it's just the mother and daughter.
Lisa said her daughter is always looking for someone to play with, and that can get tiring for a parent.
"She doesn't have her little play friends now, so that's a different thing for her, because it's just me and her," Lisa said. "But we've been doing really good with it in that we're alternating days so that she's not with one of us for two days in a row … and she's not getting bored of one house."
Jason has noticed Cori needs more time these days to fall asleep, given she's not burning as much energy during the day. Beyond that, he says she is handling things well.
"We've got a good kid — she's not hard to manage," Jason added.
Self-isolating mother
Dwayne Bedford and Jennifer Baker share custody of three boys in Paradise. Their homes are about a minute walk from each other, so it is typically no big deal for the boys to go from one to the other, even on short notice if something comes up for one of their parents or one of the boys wants to change their plans on the fly. Baker and Bedford separated in 2010 and are sharing custody evenly.
"We've never had a question about finances or who is paying for hockey or basketball or who is getting the kids," said Baker. "If he had to run to Corner Brook, he's just like, 'I'm travelling to Corner Brook,' and if I was here, it was almost expected that I'd take the kids. And same thing. I'll give him a heads up that I'm going here ... 'Can you take the kids?' ... It was never really an issue."
Baker returned home last Thursday from Cuba. She was initially willing to take the kids and remain in her room to self-isolate, but as she discussed the situation more with Bedford, they both came to agree it would be best for them to stay with him for the full two weeks.
"I wanted to take the kids and I would have been prepared to stay in my bedroom for two weeks," she said. "But I guess just to take extra precaution. He was working from home. The kids were safe."
"When she left, it was still a little vague on the criterias," Bedford said. "When she left, it was, OK, they're going to come for a week with me while she's gone. Then they would go spend a week with her, and then we'd go back to our regular schedule. Since then, things have changed."
They both ultimately agreed it wasn't worth risking the health of their kids. Baker has not been symptomatic for COVID-19 since returning home.
"We talk every day. She FaceTimes them," Bedford said, adding the boys did get to have a face-to-face conversation Saturday with their mom from a 20-foot distance outside her house. "They miss her."
The boys range in age from 11 to 17, so they fully understand their mom's situation. Once Baker completes her self-isolation next week, both parents are comfortable resuming their regular custody arrangement. They will also remain cognizant of protecting the health of other family members — Bedford's parents also live in his house, and Baker shares her home with her mother.
Doctor's take
Chief medical officer Dr. Janice Fitzgerald spoke directly about the issue of parents handling shared custody arrangements last Saturday during her daily media briefing. Her comments suggest Baker and Bedford made the right decision.
"If there's any travel, the children should be staying with the parent who didn't travel for the two weeks of isolation," Fitzgerald said. "But I think as long as both households are adhering to the principles of making sure you wash your hands well, of separating from others if you're not feeling well, not sharing utensils … then life has to carry on in that respect. We have to live within a realm of reality for those people. I think it's important for everybody to just make sure they're practising good infection-control measures within their households."
As parents, Jason and Lisa are trying to remain flexible with each other.
"We're trying to be as stable and accommodating with each other as we can, but there's still hiccups, obviously," Jason said, noting he and Lisa are both cut off from Cori's grandparents for the additional familial support they're accustomed to.
For the time being, they'll keep things pretty simple.
"Really, Cori is the main person I'm around," Lisa said. "She literally goes from from our house to the car to our house, with no other place."
Meanwhile, Baker and Bedford remain committed to looking out for their children.
"We're pretty good that way, that it has been a really open relationship back and forth — we put the kids first," said Bedford.
@CBNAndrew
