Why does the parents' needs to have someone take care of their kids trump the needs of the teachers and kids to stay safe (and alive)?
First of all, that's a terribly stark choice that probably very very few parents would have to make.
I'll give you a much more common predicament parents face.
Single mom, low job skills, just getting by
before Covid.
She's been out of work for six months, and has subsisted only on her unemployment and the $600 supplement the federal government provided. That $600 payment has now expired, and Congress is
not even negotiating to replace it. The President created a temporary $300 supplement by executive order, but that was only for 6 weeks and that's expiring now as well.
The mom has no income, no savings, and can't return to work or get a job because she has nobody to take care of the kids.
She is now facing eviction from her apartment, and
that federal protection is now also expiring and Congress
isn't even talking about a solution.
Her employer wants her to come back to work, and is at the point where they will replace her if she can't return. They need her back; their business is suffering because they have a lot of employees in the same boat. The business could fail, putting many more people out of work.
She and her children are going to be homeless in a few weeks.
This example is not one Mom.
This is millions of real people, and this is why these problems are not as simplistic as we sometimes think.