Parent poll: majority prefer masks at our center

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP back.

I appreciate all your thoughts on this. I fell in the minority of survey respondents and preferred to remove the masks on kids. The teachers have been given time off to be vaccinated and boosted and time off (not counted against PTO) for any adverse reactions. Admittedly I was disappointed teachers almost unanimously wanted masking to continue and parents as well.

The survey was completed by a third party and asked for no identifying information. I have to believe it was truly anonymous.

Also, I agree that having them eat/nap/ eat again without masks is silly. Ours even still are required on the playground but not for snack that takes 30 min.

I was hoping the survey would yield different results and begin to set metrics for an off ramp. Instead they said masks will be continue and will be reevaluated later this year.

If kids get sick, parents miss work. If teachers get sick, parents miss work if there is not enough day care staffing. If parents get sick, they miss work.....the point of day care is to be able to work for most.

If you think parents aren’t sending sick kids to daycare and using their mask to hide symptoms then I have a bridge to sell you. Masks help in masking sickness while doing little to prevent it’s actual spread.

[Anonymous]

Squeaky wheel gets the grease - this saying has always been true, IMO.

We used a fantastic software package at work that everyone loved except for ONE person who was always very vocal and loud about his distaste of it. When it was time for our yearly renewal, our boss remembered all the negative complaints from the ONE person and chose to look for a new software. So then we all got to learn a new software and go about becoming certified users of it. What happens 2 months later? Squeaky wheel transfers to another department and we're all stuck with this terrible software for 10 more months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Squeaky wheel gets the grease - this saying has always been true, IMO.

We used a fantastic software package at work that everyone loved except for ONE person who was always very vocal and loud about his distaste of it. When it was time for our yearly renewal, our boss remembered all the negative complaints from the ONE person and chose to look for a new software. So then we all got to learn a new software and go about becoming certified users of it. What happens 2 months later? Squeaky wheel transfers to another department and we're all stuck with this terrible software for 10 more months.

I'm sorry you got stuck with a terrible software system, but if you consider that in this case the "squeaky wheels" are parents of children with special needs, this analogy has tinges of ableism. Also, in what universe is a toddler wearing a cloth mask for half the day analogous to a "fantastic software package"? Even experts now recognize the protection offered by cloth masks in ideal conditions is limited. As worn by toddlers in child care settings I don't know how you argue that plays any significant role in preventing transmission.

[Anonymous]

The daycare mask regs in DC could not be more pointless. I don’t care what the “majority” think. I’ll be moving my kids to a new center if this nonsense doesn’t shift soon.

[Anonymous]

One thing I have noticed is that parents of kids in daycare were maybe hit the hardest by omicron. Almost all I know have been sick for a week and/or had long or repeated daycare closures since Thanksgiving. I think they’re the most exhausted and cautious group and they want to do whatever they can to keep daycare open.

School age kids had major impacts especially in PG county but are easier to juggle if you wfh than daycare kids.

I think your daycare hopefully just needs a few more weeks of low cases and people will relax and the poll will shift. Spring weather will help too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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!

+1. I'm mask ambivalent for my preschooler, though would like masking policies to be regularly evaluated. I'm wearing my N95 in public places and at work (unless in private office), so I'm mostly promask (more ambivalent on whether or not it should be "mandated").

[Anonymous]

I'm just curious what the end game is for the self-declared "pro-maskers", particularly for toddlers/preschoolers should the vaccine for that age group never materialize. If that turns out to be the case, do people really support masking young kids until they turn 5?

In any event, the poll results do not surprise me, I imagine the numbers would be similar at mine. Everyone is still wearing masks when they migrate to the nearby playground at the end of the day. Lets see how long these parents last in their N95s once the weather heats up though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm just curious what the end game is for the self-declared "pro-maskers", particularly for toddlers/preschoolers should the vaccine for that age group never materialize. If that turns out to be the case, do people really support masking young kids until they turn 5?

In any event, the poll results do not surprise me, I imagine the numbers would be similar at mine. Everyone is still wearing masks when they migrate to the nearby playground at the end of the day. Lets see how long these parents last in their N95s once the weather heats up though.

You are probably not talking about me, but i did self describe as mostly pro-mask. I meant for myself, in indoor public / semi-public (work) settings. My 3 year old, I mostly just don't want to rock the boat. (I'm kind of enjoying the limited other sicknesses, but don't think it is a reasonable long term strategy)

For people that are MORE pro mask than that (including very pro masks for <5s), I am guessing that if it really becomes obvious there will not be a <5 vax for a long time, they will eventually get used to "mask optional" policies, and masks will slowly fade. Except in cases where there are extenuating circumstances (vunerable people in the same home?).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm just curious what the end game is for the self-declared "pro-maskers", particularly for toddlers/preschoolers should the vaccine for that age group never materialize. If that turns out to be the case, do people really support masking young kids until they turn 5?

In any event, the poll results do not surprise me, I imagine the numbers would be similar at mine. Everyone is still wearing masks when they migrate to the nearby playground at the end of the day. Lets see how long these parents last in their N95s once the weather heats up though.

Many of us have told you the end game for us and you don't care and just keep posting the same thing every day. We will continue to mask indoors in the summer and would ever go to somewhere in close contact like a playground as that's wildly unsafe with people like you around.

[Anonymous]

Yeah I don’t get it either. I don’t see the point given that they don’t wear masks for much of the day as other posters have mentioned. It’s hard to get a sense of where people are really at - do they actually want to mask their kids or are they just doing it because everyone else is and they don’t want to rock the boat?

Also curious what the teachers think. I’d imagine they have to be tired of dealing with putting masks on and off kids. Is it because they think parents want masks? Or do they want them bc it makes them feel “safe”? Quotes bc they are around the kids for hours and unmasked for much of that time so I question what it is making them feel safe from.

It feels like a stand off where no one wants to make the first move and put themselves out there to say let’s stop this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I don’t get it either. I don’t see the point given that they don’t wear masks for much of the day as other posters have mentioned. It’s hard to get a sense of where people are really at - do they actually want to mask their kids or are they just doing it because everyone else is and they don’t want to rock the boat?

Also curious what the teachers think. I’d imagine they have to be tired of dealing with putting masks on and off kids. Is it because they think parents want masks? Or do they want them bc it makes them feel “safe”? Quotes bc they are around the kids for hours and unmasked for much of that time so I question what it is making them feel safe from.

It feels like a stand off where no one wants to make the first move and put themselves out there to say let’s stop this

At our daycare I think not. A few of the children in our 2s room that started recently aren't currently wearing masks based on photos. It may be that they haven't actually turned 2? I don't think they would post those photos if someone had been making a stink about it but I could be wrong.

[Anonymous]

My son’s teacher has very vocal that she wants kids to be done with masks. I appreciate her caring about what is actually good for the children and respect her experience in the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I don’t get it either. I don’t see the point given that they don’t wear masks for much of the day as other posters have mentioned. It’s hard to get a sense of where people are really at - do they actually want to mask their kids or are they just doing it because everyone else is and they don’t want to rock the boat?

Also curious what the teachers think. I’d imagine they have to be tired of dealing with putting masks on and off kids. Is it because they think parents want masks? Or do they want them bc it makes them feel “safe”? Quotes bc they are around the kids for hours and unmasked for much of that time so I question what it is making them feel safe from.

It feels like a stand off where no one wants to make the first move and put themselves out there to say let’s stop this

At our daycare I think not. A few of the children in our 2s room that started recently aren't currently wearing masks based on photos. It may be that they haven't actually turned 2? I don't think they would post those photos if someone had been making a stink about it but I could be wrong.

My kiddo just turned 2 and he will kind of wear a mask sometimes, sometimes not. When he does it hangs under his nose. If I fix it he gets annoyed and takes it off. I am so so annoyed that at this stage in the pandemic I have to go through the motions of teaching him (because of “requirements”). It’s theatre. It will be many months before he can really do it, and God forbid we’re still doing this to the littles then (😬😬😬). I found with my older kid that her peers were closer to 3 when they would reliably keep a mask on (even if badly).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm just curious what the end game is for the self-declared "pro-maskers", particularly for toddlers/preschoolers should the vaccine for that age group never materialize. If that turns out to be the case, do people really support masking young kids until they turn 5?

In any event, the poll results do not surprise me, I imagine the numbers would be similar at mine. Everyone is still wearing masks when they migrate to the nearby playground at the end of the day. Lets see how long these parents last in their N95s once the weather heats up though.

Many of us have told you the end game for us and you don't care and just keep posting the same thing every day. We will continue to mask indoors in the summer and would ever go to somewhere in close contact like a playground as that's wildly unsafe with people like you around.

Or you could just avoid these unsafe people like we do- is a public playground really worth a potential trip to the ICU? Do what you want I guess but I can’t see ever returning to germy places like that. My kids have had ZERO colds or any illnesses in two years. Worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I don’t get it either. I don’t see the point given that they don’t wear masks for much of the day as other posters have mentioned. It’s hard to get a sense of where people are really at - do they actually want to mask their kids or are they just doing it because everyone else is and they don’t want to rock the boat?

Also curious what the teachers think. I’d imagine they have to be tired of dealing with putting masks on and off kids. Is it because they think parents want masks? Or do they want them bc it makes them feel “safe”? Quotes bc they are around the kids for hours and unmasked for much of that time so I question what it is making them feel safe from.

It feels like a stand off where no one wants to make the first move and put themselves out there to say let’s stop this

At our daycare I think not. A few of the children in our 2s room that started recently aren't currently wearing masks based on photos. It may be that they haven't actually turned 2? I don't think they would post those photos if someone had been making a stink about it but I could be wrong.

I also wonder if the responses depend on how daycares are enforcing masks (or not)? I posted up thread about being mask ambivalent but I might be pushed into the anti-mask camp if my daycare was harsh with the kids about it. However, they seem to take a very best-effort sort of approach to the situation so I don’t really feel like the kids are being overly impacted.