Likelihood of masks still being required for 2 year olds in the fall?

[Anonymous]

Agree on in-homes. I am generally very pro-masking but not for under 5. My DD already has a speech delay.

[Anonymous]

If you believe masking should be optional for kids under 5 now, please join a group of parents who is working on this. We are also fighting to decrease the crushing quarantine burden on families. Please see below for our advocacy guides and petition.

Montgomery County daycare advocacy guide: https://tinyurl.com/yd2jr5pu

DC daycare advocacy guide: https://tinyurl.com/57sapzjy

Generic advocacy guide (to share with folks outside of DC): https://tinyurl.com/3uh5jkmh

Petition: https://chng.it/vTzRTQKGHf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I could see them going away, but having different quarantine requirements for exposures based on whether your kid was vaccinated or wearing a mask.

If you're that worried why not hire a nanny? With 2 other kids it would probably be more cost effective to have a nanny for the 2 year old that also watched the older kids in the afternoon than to pay for 2 lots of aftercare?

For what its worth, my kid is 2 and has been in part time preschool masked this year. She is speaking in full sentences and has a large vocabulary. From talking with the other parents in her class / age group no one is seeing a language delay in their kids either. (Small sample I know). I think if your kid is going to have a language delay its going to happen regardless of Covid. Its probably only a very small number of kids for whom Covid is making a significant difference with respect to language acquisition.

My older kids are old enough to actually stay home by themselves for short periods and in a couple years will even be old enough to babysit the youngest once in a while. We have a very large gap. A nanny would actually be more expensive since we only have one that needs care and only need part time. I also do not trust nannies at all due to a very bad experience within our family with one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia doesn’t require them now.

MoCo will probably require them in the fall. My child’s speech therapist is booked solid and has a long waitlist from all the new speech issues caused by masking around kids this young, so you have good instincts.

Even in MoCo, there are a number of in-home daycares that never required them for the kids. I think that would be your best bet because I agree with others that there is no offramp in center environments.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I could see them going away, but having different quarantine requirements for exposures based on whether your kid was vaccinated or wearing a mask.

If you're that worried why not hire a nanny? With 2 other kids it would probably be more cost effective to have a nanny for the 2 year old that also watched the older kids in the afternoon than to pay for 2 lots of aftercare?

For what its worth, my kid is 2 and has been in part time preschool masked this year. She is speaking in full sentences and has a large vocabulary. From talking with the other parents in her class / age group no one is seeing a language delay in their kids either. (Small sample I know). I think if your kid is going to have a language delay its going to happen regardless of Covid. Its probably only a very small number of kids for whom Covid is making a significant difference with respect to language acquisition.

DP but so tired of this argument. We could not afford a nanny, even paid under the table, even with 2 good white-collar FT jobs. No household space (or desire) for an au pair/live-in either.

Money doesn't grow on trees and neither do nannies! Also, I can definitely tell which kids in my life have had socialization/exposure to other kids and which ones haven't. There is value to socializing for 2-year-olds and up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia doesn’t require them now.

MoCo will probably require them in the fall. My child’s speech therapist is booked solid and has a long waitlist from all the new speech issues caused by masking around kids this young, so you have good instincts.

Even in MoCo, there are a number of in-home daycares that never required them for the kids. I think that would be your best bet because I agree with others that there is no offramp in center environments.

How have they gotten away with this? I thought the county required masks in childcare settings for 2 and up. Is licensing just turning a blind eye during inspections? Just curious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia doesn’t require them now.

MoCo will probably require them in the fall. My child’s speech therapist is booked solid and has a long waitlist from all the new speech issues caused by masking around kids this young, so you have good instincts.

Even in MoCo, there are a number of in-home daycares that never required them for the kids. I think that would be your best bet because I agree with others that there is no offramp in center environments.

How have they gotten away with this? I thought the county required masks in childcare settings for 2 and up. Is licensing just turning a blind eye during inspections? Just curious.

From my understanding of it-non public non county sponsored has always been recommended and not a requirement.