My preschooler is still masking at school

[Anonymous]

This is the Smithsonian preschool, isn't it?

[Anonymous]

Not proven harmful just means your kid is literally the experiment by which we will find out if there are long term consequences. When you look at it that way I think it’s worth addressing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Including outdoors. But not for meals or napping.

It honestly only bothers me like... 10%. It's annoying because it is so out of sync with everything else and makes no sense - but it is not actually harming my particular child. The official policy is optional. When it finally switched to that in the last 6 months, there were a few days where classmates showed up without. It quickly reverted. The administration says no one is masking outside, but I see it every single day. It bothers me only on a scientific / "this makes no sense" level, not a "my child is harmed" level.

I swear we are the last classroom in the country doing this. I am inclined to just wait it out, but frustrated at the teachers pressure on this.

It is absolutely harming your particular child. How a mother can be so blind to this is a mystery to me. My kid would be out of there ASAP.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand the issue. It's optional. Send your kid without a mask. Aren't we all past caring what other people are doing on this issue? I certainly am. Don't care.

Take your kid's mask off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It actually is harmful to kids this young.

Evidence?

Where is the evidence that drinking a glass of alcohol once a week during pregnancy is harmful? There isn't any, we just know that alcohol is toxic so many people discourage it.

We know that masks impact social interactions negatively https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.582191/full

We know that young children are in critical stages of development and that social skills are among if not the most important aspects of development at this age.

It's common sense that this might impact young children negatively, especially those who already struggle with their social development.

Ive talk to a couple preschool directors that have said it’s impacted their kids negatively to have masks on them.

Yeah my DD's teachers would tell us that DD would not talk with her mask on- I don't know if she struggled to be understood (likely, as she was muffled) and just stopped bothering, or what. Then at lunch with the masks off they said she'd be a chatterbox. If our daycare hadn't gone mask option when they did we would have looked into switching. One of the teachers also thought there were issues with kids not being able to see facial expressions as leading to more conflicts. This teacher still technically wears a mask herself but IME is always pulling it down to talk to and make faces at the kids. DD always talks about this one kid being "mean" but I really wonder if he is doing mean things or just misunderstood with the large KN95 covering up most of his face.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Child abuse

Oh please.

Says the child abuser 👿

I am against toddler masking, but calling it child abuse is downright offensive and irresponsible.

Agree. It is rooted in good intentions. It's a very misguided choice, though

You had a “We <3 Fauci” lawn sign in 2020, didn’t you.

Hard no, I think much of the pandemic response was completely botched and found the messaging condescending, ineffective and often harmful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the issue. It's optional. Send your kid without a mask. Aren't we all past caring what other people are doing on this issue? I certainly am. Don't care.

Take your kid's mask off.

+1. Rip off the bandaid OP. It wouldn't surprise me if others follow.

[Anonymous]

Everyone is only doing is because no one wants to be the first. You need to be a trendsetter OP. I think masks on little kids, who rarely wear them correctly, is really sad.

[Anonymous]

OP, I recall asking a similar question on here around a year ago when our daycare went mask optional and everyone kept wearing them anyway. I thought we lived in a bubble neighborhood (masks are still fairly common at our daycare, which I thought was outside the norm at this point) but it seems there is yet another bubble where it is still universal.

[Anonymous]

Just stop sending them with a mask. SIMPLE.

Others will follow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Child abuse

Oh please.

Says the child abuser 👿

I am against toddler masking, but calling it child abuse is downright offensive and irresponsible.

Well last year my just turned two year old was forced to wear a mask. Since you know, he was now two and developmentally capable to wearing one properly etc. He was drooling a lot at the time and the mask was soaked through with drool. He had a soaking wet piece of fabric over his face all day (except naps and eating). That seems like child abuse to me. I raised holy hell with the school and said he wasn't going back if he had to wear one (this was past the time of the county mandates, it was just the school's policy). He was given a "disability exemption" so that he didn't have to wear one. Insane.