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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this was that serious to you, you'd find an alternate childcare arrangement. Nanny, nanny share, family help, in-home daycare provider with looser restrictions. Stop complaining and solve the problem.

This comment is nonsensical. First of all, surely anyone with two brain cells to rub together realizes that not everyone has a ton of childcare options. Like if your options for childcare really are "nanny, nanny share, family help, in-home provider with looser restrictions, daycare," congratulations! You are incredibly privileged and well-resourced and life must be a lot easier for you than it is for the rest of us. Most of us have really limited childcare options. It's more like "daycare near my house or daycare near my work." Or "daycare I like and that we can barely afford, or daycare I feel not great about but that is in budget." That kind of thing.

But second, if you are fine with kids going to in-home daycares with looser restrictions, you are obviously not personally invested in masking young children as a Covid mitigation measure. A lot of people justify these masking requirements by arguing that kids are disease vectors and they have to mask to keep everyone else safe, since kids themselves don't seem to be particularly vulnerable to Covid. If you don't think this, you should support removing mask mandates for daycares and preschools, since it's apparently not a useful mitigation measure and it places a major burden on very young kids and their families.

So which is it? Are you just a tone deaf rich person or a hypocrite, or both?

Yes I am aware of the challenge of childcare and guess what - I figured it out! Without expecting childcare providers to put their health at risk or expecting other kids to sit around exposed to my child. maskless all day.

As to your second point, obviously parents that are hysterical on this point are not taking covid precautions at all so I really don't care what they do with their kids. Clearly their families aren't taking precautions so have at it.

Its not 2020. If you’re vaccinated, you’re fine so are the kids actually going to get from? We are a very vaccinated area

[Anonymous]

We are at an MCCA center and the kids are back to masking OUTSIDE again, so I have no hope of dropping them inside anytime soon. They even sent around an email recently recommending we upgrade the kids to KN95 masks. F that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at an MCCA center and the kids are back to masking OUTSIDE again, so I have no hope of dropping them inside anytime soon. They even sent around an email recently recommending we upgrade the kids to KN95 masks. F that.

That's unbelivable!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at an MCCA center and the kids are back to masking OUTSIDE again, so I have no hope of dropping them inside anytime soon. They even sent around an email recently recommending we upgrade the kids to KN95 masks. F that.

That's unbelivable!

Wow. How recently was this? I would be so depressed. We've considered MCCA centers in the past - kinda glad it never worked out now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this was that serious to you, you'd find an alternate childcare arrangement. Nanny, nanny share, family help, in-home daycare provider with looser restrictions. Stop complaining and solve the problem.

This comment is nonsensical. First of all, surely anyone with two brain cells to rub together realizes that not everyone has a ton of childcare options. Like if your options for childcare really are "nanny, nanny share, family help, in-home provider with looser restrictions, daycare," congratulations! You are incredibly privileged and well-resourced and life must be a lot easier for you than it is for the rest of us. Most of us have really limited childcare options. It's more like "daycare near my house or daycare near my work." Or "daycare I like and that we can barely afford, or daycare I feel not great about but that is in budget." That kind of thing.

But second, if you are fine with kids going to in-home daycares with looser restrictions, you are obviously not personally invested in masking young children as a Covid mitigation measure. A lot of people justify these masking requirements by arguing that kids are disease vectors and they have to mask to keep everyone else safe, since kids themselves don't seem to be particularly vulnerable to Covid. If you don't think this, you should support removing mask mandates for daycares and preschools, since it's apparently not a useful mitigation measure and it places a major burden on very young kids and their families.

So which is it? Are you just a tone deaf rich person or a hypocrite, or both?

Yes I am aware of the challenge of childcare and guess what - I figured it out! Without expecting childcare providers to put their health at risk or expecting other kids to sit around exposed to my child. maskless all day.

As to your second point, obviously parents that are hysterical on this point are not taking covid precautions at all so I really don't care what they do with their kids. Clearly their families aren't taking precautions so have at it.

What did you figure out exactly? Is your kid masked if they are not sitting next to a provider maskless all day? Bc that’s not figuring out what many on this board are after.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in the field. In DC masking for children over two is still REQUIRED by OSSE and DC DOH. They have not yet updated that guidance and it typically takes them several weeks to change their guidance after the CDC comes out with an update. Masks are optional outdoors.

VA just updated their guidance where they strongly encourage centers allow parents to decide whether or not their children wear masks. This was just out yesterday.

I don't work in MD so I haven't seen the latest guidance myself, but have heard that MOCO has lifted mask requirements. I don't know for sure though.

So in MD and VA, masks are up to the school, but in DC, masks are still required in ECE.

In MoCo there has not been any county mandate for private schools, including preschools and daycares, for a while. However, the current guidance from the state and county is to strongly encourage universal masking for anyone over age 2. The MoCo acting chief health officer doubled down on that guidance at yesterday's Council session (citing "outbreaks" - what do poorly worn cloth masks do to help with that??). He also said once the CDC updates it's specific guidance for child care (they've ALREADY said it will align with community guidance so what's the wait??) AND the state updates its guidance, THEN the county will create it's OWN guidance because MoCo is so f&$cking special. So yes, we will have to wait several weeks before knowing whether MoCo will ask 2-5 year olds and their teachers to mask, and literally nobody else.

So don’t wait for MoCo. Push for your child care center/preschool to change policies on the basis of the CDC guidance.

NP but you have seen the reaction on this thread. Suggesting that wet cloth masks worn intermittently isn’t effective is equated with being anti science. I am terrified to admit to being mask skeptical in the real world.

Understood- but that's the problem. We need more people willing to speak up, otherwise policies won't change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in the field. In DC masking for children over two is still REQUIRED by OSSE and DC DOH. They have not yet updated that guidance and it typically takes them several weeks to change their guidance after the CDC comes out with an update. Masks are optional outdoors.

VA just updated their guidance where they strongly encourage centers allow parents to decide whether or not their children wear masks. This was just out yesterday.

I don't work in MD so I haven't seen the latest guidance myself, but have heard that MOCO has lifted mask requirements. I don't know for sure though.

So in MD and VA, masks are up to the school, but in DC, masks are still required in ECE.

In MoCo there has not been any county mandate for private schools, including preschools and daycares, for a while. However, the current guidance from the state and county is to strongly encourage universal masking for anyone over age 2. The MoCo acting chief health officer doubled down on that guidance at yesterday's Council session (citing "outbreaks" - what do poorly worn cloth masks do to help with that??). He also said once the CDC updates it's specific guidance for child care (they've ALREADY said it will align with community guidance so what's the wait??) AND the state updates its guidance, THEN the county will create it's OWN guidance because MoCo is so f&$cking special. So yes, we will have to wait several weeks before knowing whether MoCo will ask 2-5 year olds and their teachers to mask, and literally nobody else.

So don’t wait for MoCo. Push for your child care center/preschool to change policies on the basis of the CDC guidance.

NP but you have seen the reaction on this thread. Suggesting that wet cloth masks worn intermittently isn’t effective is equated with being anti science. I am terrified to admit to being mask skeptical in the real world.

Understood- but that's the problem. We need more people willing to speak up, otherwise policies won't change.

DP - I also should mention many of us who are most concerned about this issue also have SN kids and we ask a lot of other things of our providers. For us, between ending masking vs being able to continue to receive the other accommodations we are getting but that do inconvenience the provider, honestly we need the accommodations more otherwise we're screwed. So no, I'm not going to be able to play the role of the anti-mask instigator. Our public health authorities should be here to protect our most vulnerable residents and they are refusing to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at an MCCA center and the kids are back to masking OUTSIDE again, so I have no hope of dropping them inside anytime soon. They even sent around an email recently recommending we upgrade the kids to KN95 masks. F that.

That's unbelivable!

Wow. How recently was this? I would be so depressed. We've considered MCCA centers in the past - kinda glad it never worked out now.

Not PP but my kids attended MCCA in the past and there is an onsite preschool program at one of my DC's current elementary school. My understanding is that they've been extremely cautious, however I do wonder if some of this will change if/when MCPS goes mask optional, because a lot of their programs are co-located with public schools.

[Anonymous]

Ours was following some insane rules, but as of March 1, we are mask optional.

The masks are silly anyhow, because they take them off to eat 3 times a day AND for 2 hours during naptime. Obviously ours is a full day preschool. So the masks were only doing so much. I fully support them co-horting the kids as much as possible though, to stay with their class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in the field. In DC masking for children over two is still REQUIRED by OSSE and DC DOH. They have not yet updated that guidance and it typically takes them several weeks to change their guidance after the CDC comes out with an update. Masks are optional outdoors.

VA just updated their guidance where they strongly encourage centers allow parents to decide whether or not their children wear masks. This was just out yesterday.

I don't work in MD so I haven't seen the latest guidance myself, but have heard that MOCO has lifted mask requirements. I don't know for sure though.

So in MD and VA, masks are up to the school, but in DC, masks are still required in ECE.

In MoCo there has not been any county mandate for private schools, including preschools and daycares, for a while. However, the current guidance from the state and county is to strongly encourage universal masking for anyone over age 2. The MoCo acting chief health officer doubled down on that guidance at yesterday's Council session (citing "outbreaks" - what do poorly worn cloth masks do to help with that??). He also said once the CDC updates it's specific guidance for child care (they've ALREADY said it will align with community guidance so what's the wait??) AND the state updates its guidance, THEN the county will create it's OWN guidance because MoCo is so f&$cking special. So yes, we will have to wait several weeks before knowing whether MoCo will ask 2-5 year olds and their teachers to mask, and literally nobody else.

So don’t wait for MoCo. Push for your child care center/preschool to change policies on the basis of the CDC guidance.

NP but you have seen the reaction on this thread. Suggesting that wet cloth masks worn intermittently isn’t effective is equated with being anti science. I am terrified to admit to being mask skeptical in the real world.

Understood- but that's the problem. We need more people willing to speak up, otherwise policies won't change.

DP - I also should mention many of us who are most concerned about this issue also have SN kids and we ask a lot of other things of our providers. For us, between ending masking vs being able to continue to receive the other accommodations we are getting but that do inconvenience the provider, honestly we need the accommodations more otherwise we're screwed. So no, I'm not going to be able to play the role of the anti-mask instigator. Our public health authorities should be here to protect our most vulnerable residents and they are refusing to do it.

PP here, and I completely understand. I'm in exactly the same position, and it's been a delicate balancing act regarding how much to push the provider themselves.

You're right that public health officials and child care regulators have not been looking out for kids. And I think part of that is because they're also not hearing from parents with concerns. I get why it is hard to have some of these discussions with providers directly, but you can be reaching out to councilmembers, MSDE staff and MDH/DHHS staff. I've been doing this, and in many cases I'm being told they're not hearing from parents with concerns about the negative impacts of masks- they're only hearing concerns when people start talking about dropping masks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in the field. In DC masking for children over two is still REQUIRED by OSSE and DC DOH. They have not yet updated that guidance and it typically takes them several weeks to change their guidance after the CDC comes out with an update. Masks are optional outdoors.

VA just updated their guidance where they strongly encourage centers allow parents to decide whether or not their children wear masks. This was just out yesterday.

I don't work in MD so I haven't seen the latest guidance myself, but have heard that MOCO has lifted mask requirements. I don't know for sure though.

So in MD and VA, masks are up to the school, but in DC, masks are still required in ECE.

In MoCo there has not been any county mandate for private schools, including preschools and daycares, for a while. However, the current guidance from the state and county is to strongly encourage universal masking for anyone over age 2. The MoCo acting chief health officer doubled down on that guidance at yesterday's Council session (citing "outbreaks" - what do poorly worn cloth masks do to help with that??). He also said once the CDC updates it's specific guidance for child care (they've ALREADY said it will align with community guidance so what's the wait??) AND the state updates its guidance, THEN the county will create it's OWN guidance because MoCo is so f&$cking special. So yes, we will have to wait several weeks before knowing whether MoCo will ask 2-5 year olds and their teachers to mask, and literally nobody else.

So don’t wait for MoCo. Push for your child care center/preschool to change policies on the basis of the CDC guidance.

NP but you have seen the reaction on this thread. Suggesting that wet cloth masks worn intermittently isn’t effective is equated with being anti science. I am terrified to admit to being mask skeptical in the real world.

Understood- but that's the problem. We need more people willing to speak up, otherwise policies won't change.

DP - I also should mention many of us who are most concerned about this issue also have SN kids and we ask a lot of other things of our providers. For us, between ending masking vs being able to continue to receive the other accommodations we are getting but that do inconvenience the provider, honestly we need the accommodations more otherwise we're screwed. So no, I'm not going to be able to play the role of the anti-mask instigator. Our public health authorities should be here to protect our most vulnerable residents and they are refusing to do it.

PP here, and I completely understand. I'm in exactly the same position, and it's been a delicate balancing act regarding how much to push the provider themselves.

You're right that public health officials and child care regulators have not been looking out for kids. And I think part of that is because they're also not hearing from parents with concerns. I get why it is hard to have some of these discussions with providers directly, but you can be reaching out to councilmembers, MSDE staff and MDH/DHHS staff. I've been doing this, and in many cases I'm being told they're not hearing from parents with concerns about the negative impacts of masks- they're only hearing concerns when people start talking about dropping masks.

At one point someone shared a list of county staff to reach out to (which I have but need to again). Who have you been contacting at MSDE?

[Anonymous]

If you are concerned that forced outdoor masking is harming your kids- contract MDSE and let them know- see below contacts. If don’t reach out/ nothing will change. CDC guidance says masks not needed! So MDSE is making its own rules/ recommendations.


[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this was that serious to you, you'd find an alternate childcare arrangement. Nanny, nanny share, family help, in-home daycare provider with looser restrictions. Stop complaining and solve the problem.

This comment is nonsensical. First of all, surely anyone with two brain cells to rub together realizes that not everyone has a ton of childcare options. Like if your options for childcare really are "nanny, nanny share, family help, in-home provider with looser restrictions, daycare," congratulations! You are incredibly privileged and well-resourced and life must be a lot easier for you than it is for the rest of us. Most of us have really limited childcare options. It's more like "daycare near my house or daycare near my work." Or "daycare I like and that we can barely afford, or daycare I feel not great about but that is in budget." That kind of thing.

But second, if you are fine with kids going to in-home daycares with looser restrictions, you are obviously not personally invested in masking young children as a Covid mitigation measure. A lot of people justify these masking requirements by arguing that kids are disease vectors and they have to mask to keep everyone else safe, since kids themselves don't seem to be particularly vulnerable to Covid. If you don't think this, you should support removing mask mandates for daycares and preschools, since it's apparently not a useful mitigation measure and it places a major burden on very young kids and their families.

So which is it? Are you just a tone deaf rich person or a hypocrite, or both?

Yes I am aware of the challenge of childcare and guess what - I figured it out! Without expecting childcare providers to put their health at risk or expecting other kids to sit around exposed to my child. maskless all day.

As to your second point, obviously parents that are hysterical on this point are not taking covid precautions at all so I really don't care what they do with their kids. Clearly their families aren't taking precautions so have at it.

You "figured it out" or you paid for the problem to go away? Does your child attend a daycare with a strict masking policy or not. Until you answer this question, everything else you says is suspect.

If your child doesn't mask all day, stfu as you don't get to tell others to deal with something you don't deal with.

Also, if your child doesn't mask all day, do you not care about the health and well being of the childcare workers being exposed to your child? Quelle horreur!

DP but I took a gigantic pay cut to move because of masking toddlers. Choices sometimes cost, yes. My children are worth it.

To PP’s point, there *are* options, just not the *ideal* options for you. We’re two years into the pandemic, DC and MOCO have shown their colors and at this point you’re the idiot if you think it’s going to change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this was that serious to you, you'd find an alternate childcare arrangement. Nanny, nanny share, family help, in-home daycare provider with looser restrictions. Stop complaining and solve the problem.

This comment is nonsensical. First of all, surely anyone with two brain cells to rub together realizes that not everyone has a ton of childcare options. Like if your options for childcare really are "nanny, nanny share, family help, in-home provider with looser restrictions, daycare," congratulations! You are incredibly privileged and well-resourced and life must be a lot easier for you than it is for the rest of us. Most of us have really limited childcare options. It's more like "daycare near my house or daycare near my work." Or "daycare I like and that we can barely afford, or daycare I feel not great about but that is in budget." That kind of thing.

But second, if you are fine with kids going to in-home daycares with looser restrictions, you are obviously not personally invested in masking young children as a Covid mitigation measure. A lot of people justify these masking requirements by arguing that kids are disease vectors and they have to mask to keep everyone else safe, since kids themselves don't seem to be particularly vulnerable to Covid. If you don't think this, you should support removing mask mandates for daycares and preschools, since it's apparently not a useful mitigation measure and it places a major burden on very young kids and their families.

So which is it? Are you just a tone deaf rich person or a hypocrite, or both?

Yes I am aware of the challenge of childcare and guess what - I figured it out! Without expecting childcare providers to put their health at risk or expecting other kids to sit around exposed to my child. maskless all day.

As to your second point, obviously parents that are hysterical on this point are not taking covid precautions at all so I really don't care what they do with their kids. Clearly their families aren't taking precautions so have at it.

You "figured it out" or you paid for the problem to go away? Does your child attend a daycare with a strict masking policy or not. Until you answer this question, everything else you says is suspect.

If your child doesn't mask all day, stfu as you don't get to tell others to deal with something you don't deal with.

Also, if your child doesn't mask all day, do you not care about the health and well being of the childcare workers being exposed to your child? Quelle horreur!

DP but I took a gigantic pay cut to move because of masking toddlers. Choices sometimes cost, yes. My children are worth it.

To PP’s point, there *are* options, just not the *ideal* options for you. We’re two years into the pandemic, DC and MOCO have shown their colors and at this point you’re the idiot if you think it’s going to change.

Unless there are multiple posters here, I'm not really following your story- are you the same one that said you figured it out "Without expecting childcare providers to put their health at risk or expecting other kids to sit around exposed to my child. maskless all day." But you moved to get away from masks? Are teachers in your new area less at risk or something?

And no, not everyone has the luxury to change jobs and move for what should have been a temporary measure. I'd rather stay and work to change it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are concerned that forced outdoor masking is harming your kids- contract MDSE and let them know- see below contacts. If don’t reach out/ nothing will change. CDC guidance says masks not needed! So MDSE is making its own rules/ recommendations.


[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

thank you!