Parent poll: majority prefer masks at our center

[Anonymous]

Obviously masking in daycares and the 5 and under population is a hot topic here. Our daycare recently polled parents on their preferences regarding masking and 74% preferred their children remain masked and when teachers were asked the same question 90% preferred children remain masked.

These results honestly shocked me. Are the people who want masking to end just the same people posting over and over so it appears more people want to unmask or is our center just an outlier? I have two there (2 and 4) so we are in the thick of masking.

FWIW the center is in DC and always has a long waitlist.

[Anonymous]

I think the anti-maskers are just loud and/or really annoyed and pro-maskers are more ambivalent and/or don’t need to yell about it because masking is default policy in DC these days. But thank you for the reminder that DCUM is not real life!

[Anonymous]

I'll bite. I've got 2 kids, one in DCPS, the other in a NW DC daycare. We rarely travel and if we do it's by car, my husband and I have gone out to eat once, we haven't been to museums or indoor activities, we attend parties if they are outside, our playdates have only happened with about 2 other families and maybe only once or twice a month - if they are indoors the kids mask up because the other family requests that. I always wear a mask at work (I'm essential personnel). All of us that can be vaxxed and boosted are, and I plan on getting my under 5 yr old vaccinated as soon as one is available. Both my kids got COVID during the omicron wave. My husband and I had COVID during the DELTA wave.

I am ready to stop wearing masks.

If DCPS or daycare said it was optional, I wouldn't make my kids wear them. They would have a choice.

I'm not antimask, and I'm not advocating for people to stop wearing them, but I'm ready to phase them out.

I think the metrics of what we're seeing are showing us that cases and hospitalizations are declining.

For those of you who absolutely want to stay in masks - when would you be comfortable getting rid of them? What has to happen?

[Anonymous]

I'm an anti-masker for young children because my child started displaying atypical behavior (for which she is now receiving therapy) when she turned 2 and started being required to wear a mask. While the mask most certainly did not cause her condition (other children in her daycare did not have the same issue - it's not very common), and for a variety of reasons we have kept her in the mask, I do have a lot of concerns about how masks are affecting young children in terms of their speech and social development. Most children will be fine, but we don't know which children will be impacted and often these issues are not identified until later when they are harder to treat.

It's not surprising that I am in the minority. If your child appears to do fine, I get why you would prefer the added security of children wearing masks, even though masks play a relatively small role in preventing transmission of COVID (especially cloth masks worn by young children in child care settings). But, to me, I'm kind of stunned that as a society we made super sure the vaccines were safe, but can't even tolerate simple questions about the potential harms of masking young children.

[Anonymous]

I've seen several polls showing that the majority of Americans support mask and vaccine mandates for various activities and places. News coverage and social media amplify the people opposed, but it seems like a lot of people support the mandates, even if they aren't screaming about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've seen several polls showing that the majority of Americans support mask and vaccine mandates for various activities and places. News coverage and social media amplify the people opposed, but it seems like a lot of people support the mandates, even if they aren't screaming about it.

My guess is many respondents know they either won't be subject to these requirements or when they are it is for very short periods of time. I feel like these questions tell you more about what adults want other people do to than what they want to do. IME most adults are more than happy to take off their own masks the minute the rules allow it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've seen several polls showing that the majority of Americans support mask and vaccine mandates for various activities and places. News coverage and social media amplify the people opposed, but it seems like a lot of people support the mandates, even if they aren't screaming about it.

My guess is many respondents know they either won't be subject to these requirements or when they are it is for very short periods of time. I feel like these questions tell you more about what adults want other people do to than what they want to do. IME most adults are more than happy to take off their own masks the minute the rules allow it.

Your guess would likely be wrong, as the lists I've seen included stuff like taking domestic flights, schools, eating in restaurants, attending concerts, etc., so it seems like things that people would expect to do. And I know a lot of people who can't wait to ditch the masks but want vaccine mandates in their place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've seen several polls showing that the majority of Americans support mask and vaccine mandates for various activities and places. News coverage and social media amplify the people opposed, but it seems like a lot of people support the mandates, even if they aren't screaming about it.

My guess is many respondents know they either won't be subject to these requirements or when they are it is for very short periods of time. I feel like these questions tell you more about what adults want other people do to than what they want to do. IME most adults are more than happy to take off their own masks the minute the rules allow it.

Your guess would likely be wrong, as the lists I've seen included stuff like taking domestic flights, schools, eating in restaurants, attending concerts, etc., so it seems like things that people would expect to do. And I know a lot of people who can't wait to ditch the masks but want vaccine mandates in their place.

I'll give you domestic flights and concerts. Schools apply to people's children, not themselves. If you have ever eaten indoors at a restaurant you know people have masks off as soon as they sit down so clearly they are referring to the staff. Not sure why you bring up vaccine mandates but I have no problem with them personally. Though there is a reason cities that have used them have gotten rid of them.

[Anonymous]

I am also anti masks for children but I wasn’t at first. So it makes sense to me that the tide takes time to turn, and likely 75% of kids don’t have speech issues, so the costs are lower to them than to my kid and others like him. Sadly, we don’t make policies with SN kids in mind.

[Anonymous]

NP. I would like to see masking phased out based on metrics. I've said in many threads that while numbers are dropping, we're still at a high rate of transmission. I think you'll see a lot more support for this later in the spring.

Parents may also be risk averse because a Covid exposure and/or positive test still means missing a lot of work and childcare. If masking decreases the risk of having to miss work due to lack of childcare, that's no small thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. I would like to see masking phased out based on metrics. I've said in many threads that while numbers are dropping, we're still at a high rate of transmission. I think you'll see a lot more support for this later in the spring.

Parents may also be risk averse because a Covid exposure and/or positive test still means missing a lot of work and childcare. If masking decreases the risk of having to miss work due to lack of childcare, that's no small thing.

I am a PP, and I get it - the delay in little kid vaccines makes it harder to give up masks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am also anti masks for children but I wasn’t at first. So it makes sense to me that the tide takes time to turn, and likely 75% of kids don’t have speech issues, so the costs are lower to them than to my kid and others like him. Sadly, we don’t make policies with SN kids in mind.

+1 This

Of course some will say that some SN kids have high risk health conditions and therefore need the masks more than anybody. I will just say that a 3 year old wearing a cloth mask under his nose is not protecting anybody. It's not unreasonable to suggest that the mild benefit of some kids wearing a cloth mask reasonably properly for some of the day is not worth the potential and unknown risks to children vulnerable to speech and social development delays and issues. Part of the problem with public opinion about masking is people seem to have this perception that masks equals "safe" and no masks equals "unsafe" when in reality it is vaccinated + boosted equals a significant level of protection, high quality properly worn respirators also provide significant protection (as a bonus, they protect the wearer even if others are not wearing it), while cloth and surgical masks most commonly worn by young children (often not properly worn) for only part of the day add a marginal if any level of protection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an anti-masker for young children because my child started displaying atypical behavior (for which she is now receiving therapy) when she turned 2 and started being required to wear a mask. While the mask most certainly did not cause her condition (other children in her daycare did not have the same issue - it's not very common), and for a variety of reasons we have kept her in the mask, I do have a lot of concerns about how masks are affecting young children in terms of their speech and social development. Most children will be fine, but we don't know which children will be impacted and often these issues are not identified until later when they are harder to treat.

It's not surprising that I am in the minority. If your child appears to do fine, I get why you would prefer the added security of children wearing masks, even though masks play a relatively small role in preventing transmission of COVID (especially cloth masks worn by young children in child care settings). But, to me, I'm kind of stunned that as a society we made super sure the vaccines were safe, but can't even tolerate simple questions about the potential harms of masking young children.

I agree. The teachers tell me that my 3yo doesn't talk with her mask on, she waits until one of the various times where they take them off and then is goofy and chatty. For a while I've felt that her verbal skills have been behind where my older DC's were at that age, and several hours per day of non-verbalization can't be helping. We are on a waitlist for speech services.

I've also just never seen any data to support masking in childcares. The vast majority of kids are wearing cloth, many aren't even wearing those well, and they're taking them on and off all day. There are plenty of daycares that have never required masks to begin with. What seemed like a reasonable precaution in the beginning should be more evidenced-based at this point in the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've seen several polls showing that the majority of Americans support mask and vaccine mandates for various activities and places. News coverage and social media amplify the people opposed, but it seems like a lot of people support the mandates, even if they aren't screaming about it.

My guess is many respondents know they either won't be subject to these requirements or when they are it is for very short periods of time. I feel like these questions tell you more about what adults want other people do to than what they want to do. IME most adults are more than happy to take off their own masks the minute the rules allow it.

Your guess would likely be wrong, as the lists I've seen included stuff like taking domestic flights, schools, eating in restaurants, attending concerts, etc., so it seems like things that people would expect to do. And I know a lot of people who can't wait to ditch the masks but want vaccine mandates in their place.

I'll give you domestic flights and concerts. Schools apply to people's children, not themselves. If you have ever eaten indoors at a restaurant you know people have masks off as soon as they sit down so clearly they are referring to the staff. Not sure why you bring up vaccine mandates but I have no problem with them personally. Though there is a reason cities that have used them have gotten rid of them.

Also people aren't on domestic flights for 6 hours every day and they definitely aren't at concerts every day. It's one thing to say you want people to wear masks in the one crowded setting you will be in for a few hours on one day, it's another to say you support masking when you have to mask for most of your waking hours most of the week.

[Anonymous]

I think your poll is pretty indicative of the real community in this area. I think there’s a 50/50 split of anti mask trolls and real people who post here. Anonymous forum means there are a lot of MAGA trolls. Ask Jeff.