Daycare caregivers masking with infants

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Literally was able to make eye contact and exchange silly faces/head movements with a baby, sufficient to make him giggle, while in line at Target today wearing a KN95. I think babies' capacity to pick up human facial cues is broader than we even realize.

Your baby knows you. My baby has never seen the full faces of her daycare teachers nor ever seen them smile.

PP is talking about a stranger’s baby. And yes, I’ve had that experience, also. Plus, it’s not as if babies are never around unmasked adults.

[Anonymous]

I appreciate those acknowledging that we just don’t know. Anecdotal evidence is just that. Personally I’d be comfortable when rates drop soon if vaccinated caregivers of 0-2 group could unmask. It does not seem merited based on risk levels. Teachers should not have to mask forever and we just don’t know the effects on kids’ development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate those acknowledging that we just don’t know. Anecdotal evidence is just that. Personally I’d be comfortable when rates drop soon if vaccinated caregivers of 0-2 group could unmask. It does not seem merited based on risk levels. Teachers should not have to mask forever and we just don’t know the effects on kids’ development.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate those acknowledging that we just don’t know. Anecdotal evidence is just that. Personally I’d be comfortable when rates drop soon if vaccinated caregivers of 0-2 group could unmask. It does not seem merited based on risk levels. Teachers should not have to mask forever and we just don’t know the effects on kids’ development.

+1.

+2. My 21 month old has almost no words. Could it be the masks? Maybe? Or maybe it’s just his path. Who knows, but it has certainly crossed my mind that he should spend more time around unmasked people. The speech therapist we’ve just barely started working with also said there’s a lot of speech delayed kids right now, but it could be more attachment parenting because people are trying to wfh with their kids and just keep them happy. Again, who knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate those acknowledging that we just don’t know. Anecdotal evidence is just that. Personally I’d be comfortable when rates drop soon if vaccinated caregivers of 0-2 group could unmask. It does not seem merited based on risk levels. Teachers should not have to mask forever and we just don’t know the effects on kids’ development.

+1.

+2. My 21 month old has almost no words. Could it be the masks? Maybe? Or maybe it’s just his path. Who knows, but it has certainly crossed my mind that he should spend more time around unmasked people. The speech therapist we’ve just barely started working with also said there’s a lot of speech delayed kids right now, but it could be more attachment parenting because people are trying to wfh with their kids and just keep them happy. Again, who knows.

+1 to above PP
FWIW our DD had no words at 17 months after spending 5 months at home with us and no other in person interaction and started talking immediately after starting daycare with masked caregivers. I think it is likely the pandemic may be impacting speech development in more ways than one, not just because of masks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Literally was able to make eye contact and exchange silly faces/head movements with a baby, sufficient to make him giggle, while in line at Target today wearing a KN95. I think babies' capacity to pick up human facial cues is broader than we even realize.

Your baby knows you. My baby has never seen the full faces of her daycare teachers nor ever seen them smile.

PP is talking about a stranger’s baby. And yes, I’ve had that experience, also. Plus, it’s not as if babies are never around unmasked adults.

Yep, similar anecdote here. Also are you all really not able to see expressions on masked faces? Even though the lower half is covered it is certainly possible to tell what expression someone is wearing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate those acknowledging that we just don’t know. Anecdotal evidence is just that. Personally I’d be comfortable when rates drop soon if vaccinated caregivers of 0-2 group could unmask. It does not seem merited based on risk levels. Teachers should not have to mask forever and we just don’t know the effects on kids’ development.

+1.

+2. My 21 month old has almost no words. Could it be the masks? Maybe? Or maybe it’s just his path. Who knows, but it has certainly crossed my mind that he should spend more time around unmasked people. The speech therapist we’ve just barely started working with also said there’s a lot of speech delayed kids right now, but it could be more attachment parenting because people are trying to wfh with their kids and just keep them happy. Again, who knows.

Why would attachment parenting lead to delayed speech?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate those acknowledging that we just don’t know. Anecdotal evidence is just that. Personally I’d be comfortable when rates drop soon if vaccinated caregivers of 0-2 group could unmask. It does not seem merited based on risk levels. Teachers should not have to mask forever and we just don’t know the effects on kids’ development.

+1.

+2. My 21 month old has almost no words. Could it be the masks? Maybe? Or maybe it’s just his path. Who knows, but it has certainly crossed my mind that he should spend more time around unmasked people. The speech therapist we’ve just barely started working with also said there’s a lot of speech delayed kids right now, but it could be more attachment parenting because people are trying to wfh with their kids and just keep them happy. Again, who knows.

You’re right, we don’t know. We are definitely an outlier nation in our approach; betting differently than most of the world, and importantly in my opinion, the WHO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Literally was able to make eye contact and exchange silly faces/head movements with a baby, sufficient to make him giggle, while in line at Target today wearing a KN95. I think babies' capacity to pick up human facial cues is broader than we even realize.

Your baby knows you. My baby has never seen the full faces of her daycare teachers nor ever seen them smile.

PP is talking about a stranger’s baby. And yes, I’ve had that experience, also. Plus, it’s not as if babies are never around unmasked adults.

Yep, similar anecdote here. Also are you all really not able to see expressions on masked faces? Even though the lower half is covered it is certainly possible to tell what expression someone is wearing.

I think it depends on your EQ and social skills. I am not great at reading facial expressions and with a mask forget about it. Surely some kids are intuitive and it’s fine. Probably not fine for those less socially attuned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate those acknowledging that we just don’t know. Anecdotal evidence is just that. Personally I’d be comfortable when rates drop soon if vaccinated caregivers of 0-2 group could unmask. It does not seem merited based on risk levels. Teachers should not have to mask forever and we just don’t know the effects on kids’ development.

+1.

+2. My 21 month old has almost no words. Could it be the masks? Maybe? Or maybe it’s just his path. Who knows, but it has certainly crossed my mind that he should spend more time around unmasked people. The speech therapist we’ve just barely started working with also said there’s a lot of speech delayed kids right now, but it could be more attachment parenting because people are trying to wfh with their kids and just keep them happy. Again, who knows.

Why would attachment parenting lead to delayed speech?

DP
I don't know if this fits the definition of attachment parenting but our DD's speech therapist said it's common for toddlers to not talk when they don't need to - if their caregivers anticipate all of their needs immediately, why say anything?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate those acknowledging that we just don’t know. Anecdotal evidence is just that. Personally I’d be comfortable when rates drop soon if vaccinated caregivers of 0-2 group could unmask. It does not seem merited based on risk levels. Teachers should not have to mask forever and we just don’t know the effects on kids’ development.

+1.

+2. My 21 month old has almost no words. Could it be the masks? Maybe? Or maybe it’s just his path. Who knows, but it has certainly crossed my mind that he should spend more time around unmasked people. The speech therapist we’ve just barely started working with also said there’s a lot of speech delayed kids right now, but it could be more attachment parenting because people are trying to wfh with their kids and just keep them happy. Again, who knows.

+1 to above PP
FWIW our DD had no words at 17 months after spending 5 months at home with us and no other in person interaction and started talking immediately after starting daycare with masked caregivers. I think it is likely the pandemic may be impacting speech development in more ways than one, not just because of masks.

You’ll find anecdata on either side. My friend’s older DD talked a lot after starting daycare and always credited daycare with her daughter’a speech. Her second DD had only 5 words at 24 months and they figured her language would explode at daycare. She’s 2.5 and her speech is still delayed. Masked environment most of her waking hours isn’t ideal for language development.

[Anonymous]

I do not worry about speech delay as much as I worry about kids' not seeing facial expression and not learning to read social cues, see emotions and connect emotions with facial expressions, or words with facial expressions except what they see in caregivers' eyes. I mean, we have no choice but yes, it bothers me as well. But I say, we should be grateful anyone even working in daycares, teachers are quitting in droves and no, they are not comfortable cuddling and hugging kids, and that is even worse than kids not seeing faces. It must be very stressful for teachers to work in daycare right now. I wish this would be over, it creates a whole host of issues that we never faced before! Courage everyone. Just make sure to spend a lot of time with your child at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not worry about speech delay as much as I worry about kids' not seeing facial expression and not learning to read social cues, see emotions and connect emotions with facial expressions, or words with facial expressions except what they see in caregivers' eyes. I mean, we have no choice but yes, it bothers me as well. But I say, we should be grateful anyone even working in daycares, teachers are quitting in droves and no, they are not comfortable cuddling and hugging kids, and that is even worse than kids not seeing faces. It must be very stressful for teachers to work in daycare right now. I wish this would be over, it creates a whole host of issues that we never faced before! Courage everyone. Just make sure to spend a lot of time with your child at home.

I hadn’t even considered the lack of cuddles. This makes me think I need to extend my leave. I’m supposed to go back when my baby is 16 weeks but I just don’t think I can stomach this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not worry about speech delay as much as I worry about kids' not seeing facial expression and not learning to read social cues, see emotions and connect emotions with facial expressions, or words with facial expressions except what they see in caregivers' eyes. I mean, we have no choice but yes, it bothers me as well. But I say, we should be grateful anyone even working in daycares, teachers are quitting in droves and no, they are not comfortable cuddling and hugging kids, and that is even worse than kids not seeing faces. It must be very stressful for teachers to work in daycare right now. I wish this would be over, it creates a whole host of issues that we never faced before! Courage everyone. Just make sure to spend a lot of time with your child at home.

I hadn’t even considered the lack of cuddles. This makes me think I need to extend my leave. I’m supposed to go back when my baby is 16 weeks but I just don’t think I can stomach this.

The caregivers at our daycare are just as hands-on and cuddly with the infants and toddlers now as they were pre-pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not worry about speech delay as much as I worry about kids' not seeing facial expression and not learning to read social cues, see emotions and connect emotions with facial expressions, or words with facial expressions except what they see in caregivers' eyes. I mean, we have no choice but yes, it bothers me as well. But I say, we should be grateful anyone even working in daycares, teachers are quitting in droves and no, they are not comfortable cuddling and hugging kids, and that is even worse than kids not seeing faces. It must be very stressful for teachers to work in daycare right now. I wish this would be over, it creates a whole host of issues that we never faced before! Courage everyone. Just make sure to spend a lot of time with your child at home.

I hadn’t even considered the lack of cuddles. This makes me think I need to extend my leave. I’m supposed to go back when my baby is 16 weeks but I just don’t think I can stomach this.

The caregivers at our daycare are just as hands-on and cuddly with the infants and toddlers now as they were pre-pandemic.

They shouldn’t be cuddling. And they are masked. I would extend leave as long as possible or find other arrangements with an infant.