Will schools really open in March? Shattered parents have had their hopes dashed too many times For most families, life is now about surviving one day at a time, and few of us expect the Government to stick to its latest schools plan 27 January 2021 • 4:20pm 'When you see your child’s normally sunny disposition replaced by gloom, you experience a physical pain at the sheer impotence that you feel as a parent' Credit: Getty Images One thing you learn pretty swiftly as a parent is the management of expectations. Over promising and under delivering, or worse, failing to deliver, usually has catastrophic consequences for all concerned.