APS mask policy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are still masking for the foreseeable future.

I tried talking to my kid this morning about treating everyone with the same kindness at school whether they were wearing a mask or not and he was legitimately offended, saying that people who were not wearing masks were failing to take care of the people in the community who had lower immunity levels or at risk people at home, and I said we would have to continue the conversation this evening (because, though I didn't say it, he wasn't really wrong and I don't know a great response to this argument).

Similar. We’re struggling with language that won’t add to any conflict/confusion at school. If you come up with something, would love to hear it. Ours is in 1st.

So you have filled your young child's head with judgmental and sanctimonious thoughts and now you're wondering what to say to them next to undo this.

Excellent parenting.

On the off chance you are serious, I would say to them that the scientists have said it's safe to unmask but some people may choose not to because of situations in their family or with their own health. The end.

And stop putting your agenda on your young child. It's so gross.

That's not really correct, though. People have been masking to protect everyone who is at risk, not just people in their own family or themselves. So you're not correctly addressing the issue. Maybe you can fudge things and say that CDC has said that transmission levels are low enough now that it is safer not to mask now than it was before. But the risk you are averting is spreading the disease generally in the community, and is not limited to one's own family or oneself.

Newsflash - masks did nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'm sure you felt so noble masking, but bars and restaurants were wide open, people were all hanging outside of the only forced masking area, school.

You take your medical and scientific advice from bars and restaurants?

No. COVID is spreading no matter what. Virus is going to virus. All of these non-pharmaceutical interventions have been proven continuously to fail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are still masking for the foreseeable future.

I tried talking to my kid this morning about treating everyone with the same kindness at school whether they were wearing a mask or not and he was legitimately offended, saying that people who were not wearing masks were failing to take care of the people in the community who had lower immunity levels or at risk people at home, and I said we would have to continue the conversation this evening (because, though I didn't say it, he wasn't really wrong and I don't know a great response to this argument).

Similar. We’re struggling with language that won’t add to any conflict/confusion at school. If you come up with something, would love to hear it. Ours is in 1st.

So you have filled your young child's head with judgmental and sanctimonious thoughts and now you're wondering what to say to them next to undo this.

Excellent parenting.

On the off chance you are serious, I would say to them that the scientists have said it's safe to unmask but some people may choose not to because of situations in their family or with their own health. The end.

And stop putting your agenda on your young child. It's so gross.

NP. I know it's hard for DCUM to reserve judgement, but, I'd suggest trying to do so.

We deliberately refrained from significant conversation with our second grader in advance of vaccines being approved, and even for a short while after they were approved for the 5-12 demographic, because we didn't want our child to feel any weight of responsibility for the decision, etc.

When we finally did discuss it with our child, they had already gotten significant input and feedback from the school--it surprised us just how much they had absorbed from others.

We continue to try and promote the notion that everyone is making the best decision for their families and that we are kind and considerate and respectful to all, but, if you consider how difficult it has been for some adults to weigh the various phases and actions and reactions to this pandemic, it makes sense that kids are taking all kinds of things away from it too. Everyone could continue to benefit from grace as we all navigate this next new territory.

I think you're on to something explaining that parents are making the best decisions for their families. We don't know what everyone's considerations are, be kind and considerate and play with everyone just as you would otherwise. But I'm also going to be clear about why our family is still wearing masks. My kids are early ES but I feel they need to be ready for kids to ask why they're still wearing masks. Our under 5 has a health condition that is at risk for COVID complications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are still masking for the foreseeable future.

I tried talking to my kid this morning about treating everyone with the same kindness at school whether they were wearing a mask or not and he was legitimately offended, saying that people who were not wearing masks were failing to take care of the people in the community who had lower immunity levels or at risk people at home, and I said we would have to continue the conversation this evening (because, though I didn't say it, he wasn't really wrong and I don't know a great response to this argument).

Sounds like his parents are nuts and have brainwashed him with propoganda. The CDC no longer recommends masking, and the science is incredibly weak on masking to begin with (with the only RCT showing masks don't work). So sad these families are not following the science, only some new religion.

We're so happy to be mask-free!

So I guess you'll insist any surgeon who ever operates on you will NOT wear a mask, and that your dentist won't wear a mask because they don't do anything to prevent or slow the spread of disease. In the early days of the pandemic I guess the CDC recommended only front line workers wear N95s because they don't really work, not because there was limited supply and they prioritized frontline workers.

If you're too dense to not understand or do the 2 minutes of research why surgeons and dentists wore masks pre-COVID, it's not worth my time to explain it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are still masking for the foreseeable future.

I tried talking to my kid this morning about treating everyone with the same kindness at school whether they were wearing a mask or not and he was legitimately offended, saying that people who were not wearing masks were failing to take care of the people in the community who had lower immunity levels or at risk people at home, and I said we would have to continue the conversation this evening (because, though I didn't say it, he wasn't really wrong and I don't know a great response to this argument).

Your son sounds like a nice kid. I can tell you my perspective as the parent of a mildly autistic kid. Despite his disability, in March 2020 he was a happy, outgoing, curious, albeit awkward kid. The APS decision to abandon all teaching for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year was disastrously bad for him because it cut him off from some great teachers and kids. We are glad that school (eventually) reopened but the masks present two challenges to him. First, under the best of circumstances (without masks) understanding subtle social cues and messages is a significant challenge for him. But with everyone wearing a mask it's nearly impossible. He has more or less decided that making friends is a code he will never crack and having a friend is not something he really even thinks about anymore. He comes home from school exhausted and dispirited nearly every day from trying to decipher the world. Second, he has sensory issues and wearing a mask is uncomfortable for him, both with respect to the feeling of the mask on his face and just plain simple breathing. Weirdly though, even though he is fully vaccinated and has had covid, part of him is also scared of taking off his mask because he has received angry reprimands from so many adults who have no idea of his situation but have convinced him that the mask is saving his life. Every time I see a post from an adult that no child minds wearing a mask, I feel like screaming.

Bottom line, the happy, outgoing, curious kid from March 2020 gets through his day by taking 15 mg of Lexapro every morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell your kids that the excellent quality KN95 you have provided for them when worn properly by them will protect their family members. Explain that the situation 2 years into the pandemic is much different and we all know a lot more and have better options to help protect and treat us.

Mention to them that the case for masking in children at school has always been debated and many countries have not been doing it all along and the WHO has long not recommended it.

Read this article for more pointers.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/kids-masks-schools-weak-science/621133/

This and the earlier response from the person who is immunocompromised are helpful. Something along the lines of as time has passed with the disease, we have developed vaccines and treatments and procedures that make the disease somewhat less deadly even for immunocompromised people. While we think that transmission levels are still high enough that mask wearing continues to be warranted for some time to protect other people, there are others who look at the CDC guidance and how transmission levels have lowered and judge that the situation is now safe enough to ease mask wearing at schools. There will be some point in the future where we probably think mask wearing isn't needed yet, either -- hopefully people who still wear masks at that point will still be kind to us.

This is my noodling for my 7th grader -- not sure this level of nuance would be helpful for a younger kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are still masking for the foreseeable future.

I tried talking to my kid this morning about treating everyone with the same kindness at school whether they were wearing a mask or not and he was legitimately offended, saying that people who were not wearing masks were failing to take care of the people in the community who had lower immunity levels or at risk people at home, and I said we would have to continue the conversation this evening (because, though I didn't say it, he wasn't really wrong and I don't know a great response to this argument).

Sounds like his parents are nuts and have brainwashed him with propoganda. The CDC no longer recommends masking, and the science is incredibly weak on masking to begin with (with the only RCT showing masks don't work). So sad these families are not following the science, only some new religion.

We're so happy to be mask-free!

So I guess you'll insist any surgeon who ever operates on you will NOT wear a mask, and that your dentist won't wear a mask because they don't do anything to prevent or slow the spread of disease. In the early days of the pandemic I guess the CDC recommended only front line workers wear N95s because they don't really work, not because there was limited supply and they prioritized frontline workers.

If you're too dense to not understand or do the 2 minutes of research why surgeons and dentists wore masks pre-COVID, it's not worth my time to explain it.

Brilliant. I guess it isn't worth trying to explain anything to you either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure the anti maskers in here are really going to be able to provide reasonable responses to this question that aren't full of propaganda that folks like me who believe in mask safety reject. Which is too bad, because I'm trying to help you here, really, and prevent my kid from seeing your kids as callous and unconcerned about people who are immunocompromised.

I've also thought about saying that you shouldn't necessarily fault a kid this age for following what their parents believe.

So The Atlantic and WHO are propaganda now?

People are not anti-maskers if they now are considering not masking in certain settings based on the guidance of health professionals. I am not an anti masker. Never have been. Never will be. Haven't even decided what my own kids will do next week. But the point is this is nuanced and complex topic and people thinking it through and considering not masking children at school are not "callous and unconcerned". You feeling your child's head with this crap is just wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are still masking for the foreseeable future.

I tried talking to my kid this morning about treating everyone with the same kindness at school whether they were wearing a mask or not and he was legitimately offended, saying that people who were not wearing masks were failing to take care of the people in the community who had lower immunity levels or at risk people at home, and I said we would have to continue the conversation this evening (because, though I didn't say it, he wasn't really wrong and I don't know a great response to this argument).

Your son sounds like a nice kid. I can tell you my perspective as the parent of a mildly autistic kid. Despite his disability, in March 2020 he was a happy, outgoing, curious, albeit awkward kid. The APS decision to abandon all teaching for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year was disastrously bad for him because it cut him off from some great teachers and kids. We are glad that school (eventually) reopened but the masks present two challenges to him. First, under the best of circumstances (without masks) understanding subtle social cues and messages is a significant challenge for him. But with everyone wearing a mask it's nearly impossible. He has more or less decided that making friends is a code he will never crack and having a friend is not something he really even thinks about anymore. He comes home from school exhausted and dispirited nearly every day from trying to decipher the world. Second, he has sensory issues and wearing a mask is uncomfortable for him, both with respect to the feeling of the mask on his face and just plain simple breathing. Weirdly though, even though he is fully vaccinated and has had covid, part of him is also scared of taking off his mask because he has received angry reprimands from so many adults who have no idea of his situation but have convinced him that the mask is saving his life. Every time I see a post from an adult that no child minds wearing a mask, I feel like screaming.

Bottom line, the happy, outgoing, curious kid from March 2020 gets through his day by taking 15 mg of Lexapro every morning.

This is a good point, I will also mention that some kids legit have more trouble dealing with masks than others do. Sounds like your son has had a rough time, I'm sorry. My kid is also mildly autistic fwiw (it's part of what makes him feel the injustice of ignoring the risks to immunocompromised people so strongly), but doesn't have any sensory issues with mask wearing. I could say that for some kids it's like having a tag inside their shirt and he will totally get that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure the anti maskers in here are really going to be able to provide reasonable responses to this question that aren't full of propaganda that folks like me who believe in mask safety reject. Which is too bad, because I'm trying to help you here, really, and prevent my kid from seeing your kids as callous and unconcerned about people who are immunocompromised.

I've also thought about saying that you shouldn't necessarily fault a kid this age for following what their parents believe.

So The Atlantic and WHO are propaganda now?

People are not anti-maskers if they now are considering not masking in certain settings based on the guidance of health professionals. I am not an anti masker. Never have been. Never will be. Haven't even decided what my own kids will do next week. But the point is this is nuanced and complex topic and people thinking it through and considering not masking children at school are not "callous and unconcerned". You feeling your child's head with this crap is just wrong.

I'm the PP who posted this about propaganda, and if you look at the time stamps you can see that this post was only written a minute or two after the WHO and Atlantic article was posted, and I wasn't responding to it, but to earlier commenters who were saying that masks didn't work at all etc.

Actually I posted again above and specifically highlighted this post as one which WAS helpful to me in putting together a response to my kid. Maybe you didn't see that.

[Anonymous]

So much of the masking that is happening right now is performative anyway. Example - I went to the new aquatic center for family open swim yesterday. It was packed! Arlington parents still dutifully wore their masks waiting to get in and walking through the locker rooms only to take them off to play in the very crowded pool for an hour or two. Then we all put the masks back on to leave. It's just absurd at that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure the anti maskers in here are really going to be able to provide reasonable responses to this question that aren't full of propaganda that folks like me who believe in mask safety reject. Which is too bad, because I'm trying to help you here, really, and prevent my kid from seeing your kids as callous and unconcerned about people who are immunocompromised.

I've also thought about saying that you shouldn't necessarily fault a kid this age for following what their parents believe.

So The Atlantic and WHO are propaganda now?

People are not anti-maskers if they now are considering not masking in certain settings based on the guidance of health professionals. I am not an anti masker. Never have been. Never will be. Haven't even decided what my own kids will do next week. But the point is this is nuanced and complex topic and people thinking it through and considering not masking children at school are not "callous and unconcerned". You feeling your child's head with this crap is just wrong.

I'm the PP who posted this about propaganda, and if you look at the time stamps you can see that this post was only written a minute or two after the WHO and Atlantic article was posted, and I wasn't responding to it, but to earlier commenters who were saying that masks didn't work at all etc.

Actually I posted again above and specifically highlighted this post as one which WAS helpful to me in putting together a response to my kid. Maybe you didn't see that.

Genuine question though. Were you not aware that the mask in schools issue is debated by serious people and the WHO has a position that does not support it? How were you able to arrive at your position as a person who believes in mask safety without looking into things further? Because you're throwing around some pretty big words. Anti-masker, propaganda, callous, unconcerned, etc. Sincerely, if you were completely unaware that reasonable people have and have had a different position than you on this topic, you need to commit to better educating yourself going forward prior to coming out with such strong opinions and statements.

[Anonymous]

"This is more of a comment than a question" vibes ha

[Anonymous]

Honest question: What is the benefit of 3/25 students in a classroom wearing a mask? And what is the benefit of a teacher masking when all 25 of her students are unmasked?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honest question: What is the benefit of 3/25 students in a classroom wearing a mask? And what is the benefit of a teacher masking when all 25 of her students are unmasked?

I think there can be one-way benefit to the wearer of the mask if it's a high quality mask.

[Anonymous]

Masking decreases your dosage, which affects (1) whether you get covid; and (2) whether you get such a large dose of covid that it overwhelms your antibodies and possibly results in long covid. So masking with a quality mask can still provide significant assistance even if the masking is only one way (though two way masking would be even better at reducing both transmission and severity).