So are some daycares and preschools planning on masking forever then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

Yeah I think this is one of those things that has become so hard to undo once started. The original directive to not mask under 2 for safety reasons never should have evolved into you-must-mask-at-age-2. I’d like to think the people responsible for this would have paused had they known how long this would go on. Maybe not. Many areas never adopted toddler masking to begin with but those that did just can’t seem to let it go.

Exactly. It's clear it's not about public health. It's like it's become part of some parents/preschools' identity. It struck me when we were visiting open houses for preschools that the way they talked about masking, they didn't talk about following public health guidance, they didn't say they'd stop masking when it was no longer recommended. They just said "we require masks, don't worry the children wear them better than adults! You should expect we'll require masks next year."

+1. It’s now some bizarre mental health crisis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

I posted on another thread that in MoCo, DHHS quarantine guidance says that children under 2 who cannot mask must quarantine for 10 days, not 5. Our daycare said they are keeping masks so as to avoid longer quarantines. I believe that masking will be in most daycares until there is a vaccine for under 5. We have been forced in needing a vaccine to end the masks in daycares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

I posted on another thread that in MoCo, DHHS quarantine guidance says that children under 2 who cannot mask must quarantine for 10 days, not 5. Our daycare said they are keeping masks so as to avoid longer quarantines. I believe that masking will be in most daycares until there is a vaccine for under 5. We have been forced in needing a vaccine to end the masks in daycares.

You can move. There are only a handful of other places still like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

I posted on another thread that in MoCo, DHHS quarantine guidance says that children under 2 who cannot mask must quarantine for 10 days, not 5. Our daycare said they are keeping masks so as to avoid longer quarantines. I believe that masking will be in most daycares until there is a vaccine for under 5. We have been forced in needing a vaccine to end the masks in daycares.

The thing is, DHHS has made pretty clear that they don’t trust toddlers masking well enough to begin with, so even keeping them masked won’t necessarily get you the shorter quarantine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

I posted on another thread that in MoCo, DHHS quarantine guidance says that children under 2 who cannot mask must quarantine for 10 days, not 5. Our daycare said they are keeping masks so as to avoid longer quarantines. I believe that masking will be in most daycares until there is a vaccine for under 5. We have been forced in needing a vaccine to end the masks in daycares.

The thing is, DHHS has made pretty clear that they don’t trust toddlers masking well enough to begin with, so even keeping them masked won’t necessarily get you the shorter quarantine.

That's right. We really need a study on proper mask wearing in children based on classroom observations and some type of quantitative scale. Most likely it would show that toddlers are quite good at wearing masks. It would be just another study to debunk the pandemic theater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

Yeah I think this is one of those things that has become so hard to undo once started. The original directive to not mask under 2 for safety reasons never should have evolved into you-must-mask-at-age-2. I’d like to think the people responsible for this would have paused had they known how long this would go on. Maybe not. Many areas never adopted toddler masking to begin with but those that did just can’t seem to let it go.

Exactly. It's clear it's not about public health. It's like it's become part of some parents/preschools' identity. It struck me when we were visiting open houses for preschools that the way they talked about masking, they didn't talk about following public health guidance, they didn't say they'd stop masking when it was no longer recommended. They just said "we require masks, don't worry the children wear them better than adults! You should expect we'll require masks next year."

+1. It’s now some bizarre mental health crisis.

Yup. I'm the first PP up top. We need a mask-choice mandate (i.e., you cannot legally run a daycare or preschool and have a policy requiring masking) because these people will never let it go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

Yeah I think this is one of those things that has become so hard to undo once started. The original directive to not mask under 2 for safety reasons never should have evolved into you-must-mask-at-age-2. I’d like to think the people responsible for this would have paused had they known how long this would go on. Maybe not. Many areas never adopted toddler masking to begin with but those that did just can’t seem to let it go.

Exactly. It's clear it's not about public health. It's like it's become part of some parents/preschools' identity. It struck me when we were visiting open houses for preschools that the way they talked about masking, they didn't talk about following public health guidance, they didn't say they'd stop masking when it was no longer recommended. They just said "we require masks, don't worry the children wear them better than adults! You should expect we'll require masks next year."

+1. It’s now some bizarre mental health crisis.

Yup. I'm the first PP up top. We need a mask-choice mandate (i.e., you cannot legally run a daycare or preschool and have a policy requiring masking) because these people will never let it go.

Ours is now mask optional, but of course with that string recommendation from DHHS to keep continue for unvaccinated kids, and virtually all parents made the choice to keep masking the kids. So while not a requirement, the parents seem to be taking that recommendation to heart. Last week, my 3yo was one of two kids in her class without a mask. This week she was the only one, and asked for a mask this morning. I’m not going to be that wacko parent forcing my kid to NOT wear one, and the benefits of no mask are diminished when she can’t see anyone else’s face anyway. I’m just rather dismayed that it’s going to be some flavor of this until the vaccine is authorized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

Yeah I think this is one of those things that has become so hard to undo once started. The original directive to not mask under 2 for safety reasons never should have evolved into you-must-mask-at-age-2. I’d like to think the people responsible for this would have paused had they known how long this would go on. Maybe not. Many areas never adopted toddler masking to begin with but those that did just can’t seem to let it go.

Exactly. It's clear it's not about public health. It's like it's become part of some parents/preschools' identity. It struck me when we were visiting open houses for preschools that the way they talked about masking, they didn't talk about following public health guidance, they didn't say they'd stop masking when it was no longer recommended. They just said "we require masks, don't worry the children wear them better than adults! You should expect we'll require masks next year."

+1. It’s now some bizarre mental health crisis.

Yup. I'm the first PP up top. We need a mask-choice mandate (i.e., you cannot legally run a daycare or preschool and have a policy requiring masking) because these people will never let it go.

Ours is now mask optional, but of course with that string recommendation from DHHS to keep continue for unvaccinated kids, and virtually all parents made the choice to keep masking the kids. So while not a requirement, the parents seem to be taking that recommendation to heart. Last week, my 3yo was one of two kids in her class without a mask. This week she was the only one, and asked for a mask this morning. I’m not going to be that wacko parent forcing my kid to NOT wear one, and the benefits of no mask are diminished when she can’t see anyone else’s face anyway. I’m just rather dismayed that it’s going to be some flavor of this until the vaccine is authorized.

I am one of the PP's who posted about our MoCo daycare no longer requiring masks, and we're going through the same with 3yo DS. I sent him back without a mask the day the mandate was lifted, but all the other kids in his class were still wearing them, as were most of the teachers. While there doesn't seem to be any peer pressure or singling out as the only kid not wearing a mask, he has started to put stuff in his mouth and chew on his fingers, which he didn't have a habit of doing before. His teachers asked us to keep an eye on it; my guess is that he is adjusting to the feeling of *not* wearing a mask, and putting stuff in his mouth as a comfort strategy.

He said this AM he wanted to wear the mask again, so I sent him in with a few extras and told him to ask his teachers if he wanted to wear it. I guess it'll be more of an adjustment period than I anticipated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

Yeah I think this is one of those things that has become so hard to undo once started. The original directive to not mask under 2 for safety reasons never should have evolved into you-must-mask-at-age-2. I’d like to think the people responsible for this would have paused had they known how long this would go on. Maybe not. Many areas never adopted toddler masking to begin with but those that did just can’t seem to let it go.

Exactly. It's clear it's not about public health. It's like it's become part of some parents/preschools' identity. It struck me when we were visiting open houses for preschools that the way they talked about masking, they didn't talk about following public health guidance, they didn't say they'd stop masking when it was no longer recommended. They just said "we require masks, don't worry the children wear them better than adults! You should expect we'll require masks next year."

+1. It’s now some bizarre mental health crisis.

Yup. I'm the first PP up top. We need a mask-choice mandate (i.e., you cannot legally run a daycare or preschool and have a policy requiring masking) because these people will never let it go.

Ours is now mask optional, but of course with that string recommendation from DHHS to keep continue for unvaccinated kids, and virtually all parents made the choice to keep masking the kids. So while not a requirement, the parents seem to be taking that recommendation to heart. Last week, my 3yo was one of two kids in her class without a mask. This week she was the only one, and asked for a mask this morning. I’m not going to be that wacko parent forcing my kid to NOT wear one, and the benefits of no mask are diminished when she can’t see anyone else’s face anyway. I’m just rather dismayed that it’s going to be some flavor of this until the vaccine is authorized.

I am one of the PP's who posted about our MoCo daycare no longer requiring masks, and we're going through the same with 3yo DS. I sent him back without a mask the day the mandate was lifted, but all the other kids in his class were still wearing them, as were most of the teachers. While there doesn't seem to be any peer pressure or singling out as the only kid not wearing a mask, he has started to put stuff in his mouth and chew on his fingers, which he didn't have a habit of doing before. His teachers asked us to keep an eye on it; my guess is that he is adjusting to the feeling of *not* wearing a mask, and putting stuff in his mouth as a comfort strategy.

He said this AM he wanted to wear the mask again, so I sent him in with a few extras and told him to ask his teachers if he wanted to wear it. I guess it'll be more of an adjustment period than I anticipated.

PP here- agreed. I was initially very glad/relieved when it was announced, now it feels anticlimactic as nothing has really changed. I remind myself to keep things in perspective, but realizing more and more how much of a bubble this area is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

Yeah I think this is one of those things that has become so hard to undo once started. The original directive to not mask under 2 for safety reasons never should have evolved into you-must-mask-at-age-2. I’d like to think the people responsible for this would have paused had they known how long this would go on. Maybe not. Many areas never adopted toddler masking to begin with but those that did just can’t seem to let it go.

Exactly. It's clear it's not about public health. It's like it's become part of some parents/preschools' identity. It struck me when we were visiting open houses for preschools that the way they talked about masking, they didn't talk about following public health guidance, they didn't say they'd stop masking when it was no longer recommended. They just said "we require masks, don't worry the children wear them better than adults! You should expect we'll require masks next year."

+1. It’s now some bizarre mental health crisis.

Yup. I'm the first PP up top. We need a mask-choice mandate (i.e., you cannot legally run a daycare or preschool and have a policy requiring masking) because these people will never let it go.

Ours is now mask optional, but of course with that string recommendation from DHHS to keep continue for unvaccinated kids, and virtually all parents made the choice to keep masking the kids. So while not a requirement, the parents seem to be taking that recommendation to heart. Last week, my 3yo was one of two kids in her class without a mask. This week she was the only one, and asked for a mask this morning. I’m not going to be that wacko parent forcing my kid to NOT wear one, and the benefits of no mask are diminished when she can’t see anyone else’s face anyway. I’m just rather dismayed that it’s going to be some flavor of this until the vaccine is authorized.

I am one of the PP's who posted about our MoCo daycare no longer requiring masks, and we're going through the same with 3yo DS. I sent him back without a mask the day the mandate was lifted, but all the other kids in his class were still wearing them, as were most of the teachers. While there doesn't seem to be any peer pressure or singling out as the only kid not wearing a mask, he has started to put stuff in his mouth and chew on his fingers, which he didn't have a habit of doing before. His teachers asked us to keep an eye on it; my guess is that he is adjusting to the feeling of *not* wearing a mask, and putting stuff in his mouth as a comfort strategy.

He said this AM he wanted to wear the mask again, so I sent him in with a few extras and told him to ask his teachers if he wanted to wear it. I guess it'll be more of an adjustment period than I anticipated.

Pretty much the same situation here. I’ve been asking him if he wants a mask in the morning, and he keeps saying yes. When we go to other places, like the grocery store, I don’t ask because I’m trying to make sure he understands that masks aren’t required.

I don’t really care if he wears a mask. There’s not really a benefit or harm to himself for wearing a mask. The benefit would be his teachers and classmates removing masks, which I acknowledge is their own choice. I do hope that everyone can collectively calm down over the next few weeks, but I’m concerned that the lack of a vaccine is a big mental block for a lot of parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

Yeah I think this is one of those things that has become so hard to undo once started. The original directive to not mask under 2 for safety reasons never should have evolved into you-must-mask-at-age-2. I’d like to think the people responsible for this would have paused had they known how long this would go on. Maybe not. Many areas never adopted toddler masking to begin with but those that did just can’t seem to let it go.

Exactly. It's clear it's not about public health. It's like it's become part of some parents/preschools' identity. It struck me when we were visiting open houses for preschools that the way they talked about masking, they didn't talk about following public health guidance, they didn't say they'd stop masking when it was no longer recommended. They just said "we require masks, don't worry the children wear them better than adults! You should expect we'll require masks next year."

+1. It’s now some bizarre mental health crisis.

Yup. I'm the first PP up top. We need a mask-choice mandate (i.e., you cannot legally run a daycare or preschool and have a policy requiring masking) because these people will never let it go.

Ours is now mask optional, but of course with that string recommendation from DHHS to keep continue for unvaccinated kids, and virtually all parents made the choice to keep masking the kids. So while not a requirement, the parents seem to be taking that recommendation to heart. Last week, my 3yo was one of two kids in her class without a mask. This week she was the only one, and asked for a mask this morning. I’m not going to be that wacko parent forcing my kid to NOT wear one, and the benefits of no mask are diminished when she can’t see anyone else’s face anyway. I’m just rather dismayed that it’s going to be some flavor of this until the vaccine is authorized.

I am one of the PP's who posted about our MoCo daycare no longer requiring masks, and we're going through the same with 3yo DS. I sent him back without a mask the day the mandate was lifted, but all the other kids in his class were still wearing them, as were most of the teachers. While there doesn't seem to be any peer pressure or singling out as the only kid not wearing a mask, he has started to put stuff in his mouth and chew on his fingers, which he didn't have a habit of doing before. His teachers asked us to keep an eye on it; my guess is that he is adjusting to the feeling of *not* wearing a mask, and putting stuff in his mouth as a comfort strategy.

He said this AM he wanted to wear the mask again, so I sent him in with a few extras and told him to ask his teachers if he wanted to wear it. I guess it'll be more of an adjustment period than I anticipated.

Pretty much the same situation here. I’ve been asking him if he wants a mask in the morning, and he keeps saying yes. When we go to other places, like the grocery store, I don’t ask because I’m trying to make sure he understands that masks aren’t required.

I don’t really care if he wears a mask. There’s not really a benefit or harm to himself for wearing a mask. The benefit would be his teachers and classmates removing masks, which I acknowledge is their own choice. I do hope that everyone can collectively calm down over the next few weeks, but I’m concerned that the lack of a vaccine is a big mental block for a lot of parents.

COVID rates in Europe are going up, and the rates in wastewater here are starting to go up as well. The next few weeks will be very telling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

Yeah I think this is one of those things that has become so hard to undo once started. The original directive to not mask under 2 for safety reasons never should have evolved into you-must-mask-at-age-2. I’d like to think the people responsible for this would have paused had they known how long this would go on. Maybe not. Many areas never adopted toddler masking to begin with but those that did just can’t seem to let it go.

Exactly. It's clear it's not about public health. It's like it's become part of some parents/preschools' identity. It struck me when we were visiting open houses for preschools that the way they talked about masking, they didn't talk about following public health guidance, they didn't say they'd stop masking when it was no longer recommended. They just said "we require masks, don't worry the children wear them better than adults! You should expect we'll require masks next year."

+1. It’s now some bizarre mental health crisis.

Yup. I'm the first PP up top. We need a mask-choice mandate (i.e., you cannot legally run a daycare or preschool and have a policy requiring masking) because these people will never let it go.

Ours is now mask optional, but of course with that string recommendation from DHHS to keep continue for unvaccinated kids, and virtually all parents made the choice to keep masking the kids. So while not a requirement, the parents seem to be taking that recommendation to heart. Last week, my 3yo was one of two kids in her class without a mask. This week she was the only one, and asked for a mask this morning. I’m not going to be that wacko parent forcing my kid to NOT wear one, and the benefits of no mask are diminished when she can’t see anyone else’s face anyway. I’m just rather dismayed that it’s going to be some flavor of this until the vaccine is authorized.

I am one of the PP's who posted about our MoCo daycare no longer requiring masks, and we're going through the same with 3yo DS. I sent him back without a mask the day the mandate was lifted, but all the other kids in his class were still wearing them, as were most of the teachers. While there doesn't seem to be any peer pressure or singling out as the only kid not wearing a mask, he has started to put stuff in his mouth and chew on his fingers, which he didn't have a habit of doing before. His teachers asked us to keep an eye on it; my guess is that he is adjusting to the feeling of *not* wearing a mask, and putting stuff in his mouth as a comfort strategy.

He said this AM he wanted to wear the mask again, so I sent him in with a few extras and told him to ask his teachers if he wanted to wear it. I guess it'll be more of an adjustment period than I anticipated.

Pretty much the same situation here. I’ve been asking him if he wants a mask in the morning, and he keeps saying yes. When we go to other places, like the grocery store, I don’t ask because I’m trying to make sure he understands that masks aren’t required.

I don’t really care if he wears a mask. There’s not really a benefit or harm to himself for wearing a mask. The benefit would be his teachers and classmates removing masks, which I acknowledge is their own choice. I do hope that everyone can collectively calm down over the next few weeks, but I’m concerned that the lack of a vaccine is a big mental block for a lot of parents.

COVID rates in Europe are going up, and the rates in wastewater here are starting to go up as well. The next few weeks will be very telling.

Didn’t Omicron demonstrate to people that even worst-case-scenarios really aren’t that bad? The level of risk isn't tied so much to case counts as it is virulence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

Yeah I think this is one of those things that has become so hard to undo once started. The original directive to not mask under 2 for safety reasons never should have evolved into you-must-mask-at-age-2. I’d like to think the people responsible for this would have paused had they known how long this would go on. Maybe not. Many areas never adopted toddler masking to begin with but those that did just can’t seem to let it go.

Exactly. It's clear it's not about public health. It's like it's become part of some parents/preschools' identity. It struck me when we were visiting open houses for preschools that the way they talked about masking, they didn't talk about following public health guidance, they didn't say they'd stop masking when it was no longer recommended. They just said "we require masks, don't worry the children wear them better than adults! You should expect we'll require masks next year."

+1. It’s now some bizarre mental health crisis.

Yup. I'm the first PP up top. We need a mask-choice mandate (i.e., you cannot legally run a daycare or preschool and have a policy requiring masking) because these people will never let it go.

Ours is now mask optional, but of course with that string recommendation from DHHS to keep continue for unvaccinated kids, and virtually all parents made the choice to keep masking the kids. So while not a requirement, the parents seem to be taking that recommendation to heart. Last week, my 3yo was one of two kids in her class without a mask. This week she was the only one, and asked for a mask this morning. I’m not going to be that wacko parent forcing my kid to NOT wear one, and the benefits of no mask are diminished when she can’t see anyone else’s face anyway. I’m just rather dismayed that it’s going to be some flavor of this until the vaccine is authorized.

I am one of the PP's who posted about our MoCo daycare no longer requiring masks, and we're going through the same with 3yo DS. I sent him back without a mask the day the mandate was lifted, but all the other kids in his class were still wearing them, as were most of the teachers. While there doesn't seem to be any peer pressure or singling out as the only kid not wearing a mask, he has started to put stuff in his mouth and chew on his fingers, which he didn't have a habit of doing before. His teachers asked us to keep an eye on it; my guess is that he is adjusting to the feeling of *not* wearing a mask, and putting stuff in his mouth as a comfort strategy.

He said this AM he wanted to wear the mask again, so I sent him in with a few extras and told him to ask his teachers if he wanted to wear it. I guess it'll be more of an adjustment period than I anticipated.

Pretty much the same situation here. I’ve been asking him if he wants a mask in the morning, and he keeps saying yes. When we go to other places, like the grocery store, I don’t ask because I’m trying to make sure he understands that masks aren’t required.

I don’t really care if he wears a mask. There’s not really a benefit or harm to himself for wearing a mask. The benefit would be his teachers and classmates removing masks, which I acknowledge is their own choice. I do hope that everyone can collectively calm down over the next few weeks, but I’m concerned that the lack of a vaccine is a big mental block for a lot of parents.

COVID rates in Europe are going up, and the rates in wastewater here are starting to go up as well. The next few weeks will be very telling.

Didn’t Omicron demonstrate to people that even worst-case-scenarios really aren’t that bad? The level of risk isn't tied so much to case counts as it is virulence.

Tell that to all the dead people!

[Anonymous]

It's quite possible we'll have another surge that will kill a lot of people, mostly unvaccinated adults but some vaccinated and a small number of children in the US. BA2 is almost as transmissible as the measles though so I'm not sure what the point is of masking toddlers and preschoolers that can't wear respirators properly and are by and large wearing cloth masks (at least those at our daycare).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool just informed us that they will be insisting on masking until the under 5s are vaccine eligible, due to parental paranoia.

Yeah I think this is one of those things that has become so hard to undo once started. The original directive to not mask under 2 for safety reasons never should have evolved into you-must-mask-at-age-2. I’d like to think the people responsible for this would have paused had they known how long this would go on. Maybe not. Many areas never adopted toddler masking to begin with but those that did just can’t seem to let it go.

Exactly. It's clear it's not about public health. It's like it's become part of some parents/preschools' identity. It struck me when we were visiting open houses for preschools that the way they talked about masking, they didn't talk about following public health guidance, they didn't say they'd stop masking when it was no longer recommended. They just said "we require masks, don't worry the children wear them better than adults! You should expect we'll require masks next year."

+1. It’s now some bizarre mental health crisis.

Yup. I'm the first PP up top. We need a mask-choice mandate (i.e., you cannot legally run a daycare or preschool and have a policy requiring masking) because these people will never let it go.

Ours is now mask optional, but of course with that string recommendation from DHHS to keep continue for unvaccinated kids, and virtually all parents made the choice to keep masking the kids. So while not a requirement, the parents seem to be taking that recommendation to heart. Last week, my 3yo was one of two kids in her class without a mask. This week she was the only one, and asked for a mask this morning. I’m not going to be that wacko parent forcing my kid to NOT wear one, and the benefits of no mask are diminished when she can’t see anyone else’s face anyway. I’m just rather dismayed that it’s going to be some flavor of this until the vaccine is authorized.

I am one of the PP's who posted about our MoCo daycare no longer requiring masks, and we're going through the same with 3yo DS. I sent him back without a mask the day the mandate was lifted, but all the other kids in his class were still wearing them, as were most of the teachers. While there doesn't seem to be any peer pressure or singling out as the only kid not wearing a mask, he has started to put stuff in his mouth and chew on his fingers, which he didn't have a habit of doing before. His teachers asked us to keep an eye on it; my guess is that he is adjusting to the feeling of *not* wearing a mask, and putting stuff in his mouth as a comfort strategy.

He said this AM he wanted to wear the mask again, so I sent him in with a few extras and told him to ask his teachers if he wanted to wear it. I guess it'll be more of an adjustment period than I anticipated.

Pretty much the same situation here. I’ve been asking him if he wants a mask in the morning, and he keeps saying yes. When we go to other places, like the grocery store, I don’t ask because I’m trying to make sure he understands that masks aren’t required.

I don’t really care if he wears a mask. There’s not really a benefit or harm to himself for wearing a mask. The benefit would be his teachers and classmates removing masks, which I acknowledge is their own choice. I do hope that everyone can collectively calm down over the next few weeks, but I’m concerned that the lack of a vaccine is a big mental block for a lot of parents.

COVID rates in Europe are going up, and the rates in wastewater here are starting to go up as well. The next few weeks will be very telling.

Didn’t Omicron demonstrate to people that even worst-case-scenarios really aren’t that bad? The level of risk isn't tied so much to case counts as it is virulence.

Tell that to all the dead people!

They didn’t listen when they were told to get vaccinated/boosted, so why would they listen now?