Anyone not bothered that preschoolers are wearing masks?

[Anonymous]

3 yr old in four hour a day preschool: doesn’t bother him to wear a mask and doesn’t bother me. His school has strict covid protocols and has not had one case of covid and hasn’t had one closure. Whatever they are doing is working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not bothered at all. DD is in preschool from 8am-2pm everday. There have been 2 covid cases in her class throught the entire pandemic and neither spread to any other student.

Mine is at a home day care with a range of ages (1-4). The kids are not required to mask. We have had 2 cases throughout the pandemic and no spread in day care because people are responsible and keep their sick kids home. I am so glad our day care follows the WHO recommendations. As a teacher of young elementary kids, I can tell you that more than half of my class doesn't mask properly or wears a worthless cloth mask. I am not against masks. I wear one all day. I am for common sense, scientifically backed decisions for kids.

That’s great that those parents don’t send sick kids in

Many do unfortunately if they’re front line workers, have already used their sick leave etc.

In general I think if adults are vaccinated and/or masked children are safe.

[Anonymous]

My preschooler has no issues with it and is advanced developmentally but I STILL hate them. I want her to see the faces and expressions of her teachers and classmates, and vice versa. Luckily she’s only in preschool 3 hours a day, but when that stretches to 7 hours for K in the fall, I do NOT want her masked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe so few people are bothered by this. I am definitely bothered by preschoolers having to wear masks. The question of whether it helps stop covid or not aside, I want my kids out of masks and back to normal. Masking shouldn’t be the default position. Agree that the middle of the omicron surge isn’t the best time to change this policy but once this wave ends we need to start talking about getting rid of masks.

It's a relief to read comments like this if only to make me feel less alone. It's not all or nothing, folks! You can be pro mask in general and STILL think we should let very young kids go without masks under certain circumstances (such as when cases are low and a school has several other layers of precautions in place to prevent spread).

I actually do think the question of whether it stops Covid is relevant, in the case of preschools. Because I don't see how it could possibly stop Covid in my kid's preschool. They take masks off for snack, lunch, naps -- they are in a room together without masks for about 2 hours every day. If there is Covid in that classroom, wearing masks during story time is not going to prevent it from spreading, sorry. But it might prevent some kids from developing facial reading skills, or learning to communicate clearly.

I love that people are willing to mask 2 year olds indefinitely without any scientific proof that doing so prevents spread of Covid in daycares and preschools, but if you suggest that there might be negative developmental or social impacts of masking children this age, you are screamed at to produce a peer-reviewed study before saying another word. So exhausting. What if we used common sense?

+1.

I think there are probably more parents than we realize who are bothered by the indefinite masking, but it's just always eclipsed by something else- for a while, just having daycare open, at all! Followed by reduced hours and the constant fear that daycare could not remain financially solvent with the capacity restrictions and lower enrollment. At least at mine, that has improved in recent months, but 2-week quarantines for every exposure continued. Now the reduced quarantine/isolation guidelines build in masking as a requirement for the shorter time periods. It is exhausting and I just don't see an endgame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is three and started a five hour a day preschool wearing his mask. He’s advanced verbally, has zero problem wearing his mask, speaks up clearly, and loves his masked teachers.

I have no clue if the mask offers protection or not but it’s simply not a big deal.

I don’t get parents threatening to bring guns to school if their kid is masked!

I mean I am bothered by my 3 year old wearing masks but am not going to bring a gun to school to combat it. There is obviously a middle ground here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is three and started a five hour a day preschool wearing his mask. He’s advanced verbally, has zero problem wearing his mask, speaks up clearly, and loves his masked teachers.

I have no clue if the mask offers protection or not but it’s simply not a big deal.

I don’t get parents threatening to bring guns to school if their kid is masked!

I mean I am bothered by my 3 year old wearing masks but am not going to bring a gun to school to combat it. There is obviously a middle ground here.

A vast middle ground. I hate constantly being lumped in with violent extremists just because I don't agree that we should be taking every possible Covid precaution at all times (especially if it turns out it doesn't actually protect anyone).

I sometimes feel like there are people in the left (ftr I am on the left) who just wind up proving Fox News and Trump right. If you are unwilling to discuss costs and benefits of a Covid precaution, or discuss whether we should have different rules for very young kids than we have for adults, then when the right comes along talking about fascism and "freedom", it winds up sounding more compelling.

We have to stay reasonable. We need Covid precautions that make sense, are grounded in science, and are feasible for people to follow. Masking is one of those things that's kind of on the bubble. It's really easy, initially. But the longer it goes on the more questions it raises. I think we've hit a critical point with it because now we are asking parents to procure medical grade masks for their kids (and once again asking them to locate these masks and buy them on their own with no help). It's pushing a lot of parents who previously had no issue with masking to start asking questions like: if only a Kn95 is sufficient for controlling spread, why has my child been wearing a cloth mask in school for 2 straight years? Or: if masks are so fundamentally important for controlling spread, why aren't they being provided by schools instead of me spending hours online trying to learn the different medical grades and find in-stock masks somewhere only to get them and discover I got a defective batch or they are too big or small for my kid or they fit but they don't like them as much as the cloth mask and I have to train them on mask-wearing all over again?

If you aren't ready to answer those questions, in good faith and without resorting to "just deal with it, it's not that hard, my kid loves their mask" they you are BAD AT PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY and maybe shouldn't be weighing in.

Please stop making Tucker Carlson, a human shaped pus-filled boil, sound reasonable!

[Anonymous]

Everyone keeps trotting out that trope "But the WHO don't think kids should wear masks!

Here from their website:

Are there situations where children aged 5 years and under may wear or be required to wear a mask?

In general, children aged 5 years and under should not be required to wear masks. This advice is based on the safety and overall interest of the child and the capacity to appropriately use a mask with minimal assistance. There may be local requirements for children aged 5 years and under to wear masks, or specific needs in some settings, such as being physically close to someone who is ill. In these circumstances, if the child wears a mask, a parent or other guardian should be within direct line of sight to supervise the safe use of the mask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is three and started a five hour a day preschool wearing his mask. He’s advanced verbally, has zero problem wearing his mask, speaks up clearly, and loves his masked teachers.

I have no clue if the mask offers protection or not but it’s simply not a big deal.

I don’t get parents threatening to bring guns to school if their kid is masked!

I mean I am bothered by my 3 year old wearing masks but am not going to bring a gun to school to combat it. There is obviously a middle ground here.

A vast middle ground. I hate constantly being lumped in with violent extremists just because I don't agree that we should be taking every possible Covid precaution at all times (especially if it turns out it doesn't actually protect anyone).

I sometimes feel like there are people in the left (ftr I am on the left) who just wind up proving Fox News and Trump right. If you are unwilling to discuss costs and benefits of a Covid precaution, or discuss whether we should have different rules for very young kids than we have for adults, then when the right comes along talking about fascism and "freedom", it winds up sounding more compelling.

We have to stay reasonable. We need Covid precautions that make sense, are grounded in science, and are feasible for people to follow. Masking is one of those things that's kind of on the bubble. It's really easy, initially. But the longer it goes on the more questions it raises. I think we've hit a critical point with it because now we are asking parents to procure medical grade masks for their kids (and once again asking them to locate these masks and buy them on their own with no help). It's pushing a lot of parents who previously had no issue with masking to start asking questions like: if only a Kn95 is sufficient for controlling spread, why has my child been wearing a cloth mask in school for 2 straight years? Or: if masks are so fundamentally important for controlling spread, why aren't they being provided by schools instead of me spending hours online trying to learn the different medical grades and find in-stock masks somewhere only to get them and discover I got a defective batch or they are too big or small for my kid or they fit but they don't like them as much as the cloth mask and I have to train them on mask-wearing all over again?

If you aren't ready to answer those questions, in good faith and without resorting to "just deal with it, it's not that hard, my kid loves their mask" they you are BAD AT PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY and maybe shouldn't be weighing in.

Please stop making Tucker Carlson, a human shaped pus-filled boil, sound reasonable!

Oh my god, yes. I love you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is three and started a five hour a day preschool wearing his mask. He’s advanced verbally, has zero problem wearing his mask, speaks up clearly, and loves his masked teachers.

I have no clue if the mask offers protection or not but it’s simply not a big deal.

I don’t get parents threatening to bring guns to school if their kid is masked!

Hello, it sounds like your kid has just started masking max 25 hrs a week. Mine mask at least 40 and have for the last two years. GTFO. I would like to see if removing the masks helps my son finally learn to read, helps my daughter’s social anxiety and OCD behavior. Maybe it’s unrelated but I can’t even try. So yeah GTFO. I want this to end. Enough cotton paw patrol mask theatre. You can do what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is three and started a five hour a day preschool wearing his mask. He’s advanced verbally, has zero problem wearing his mask, speaks up clearly, and loves his masked teachers.

I have no clue if the mask offers protection or not but it’s simply not a big deal.

I don’t get parents threatening to bring guns to school if their kid is masked!

Hello, it sounds like your kid has just started masking max 25 hrs a week. Mine mask at least 40 and have for the last two years. GTFO. I would like to see if removing the masks helps my son finally learn to read, helps my daughter’s social anxiety and OCD behavior. Maybe it’s unrelated but I can’t even try. So yeah GTFO. I want this to end. Enough cotton paw patrol mask theatre. You can do what you want.

I think that’s why people are saying preschool and not daycare. Yes, daycares have preschools but most posters are talking about traditional 3 to 5 hour a day nursery schools. Daycare is a different ball game because the kids are there all day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone keeps trotting out that trope "But the WHO don't think kids should wear masks!

Here from their website:

Are there situations where children aged 5 years and under may wear or be required to wear a mask?

In general, children aged 5 years and under should not be required to wear masks. This advice is based on the safety and overall interest of the child and the capacity to appropriately use a mask with minimal assistance. There may be local requirements for children aged 5 years and under to wear masks, or specific needs in some settings, such as being physically close to someone who is ill. In these circumstances, if the child wears a mask, a parent or other guardian should be within direct line of sight to supervise the safe use of the mask.

I can’t really see how this supports your assertion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is three and started a five hour a day preschool wearing his mask. He’s advanced verbally, has zero problem wearing his mask, speaks up clearly, and loves his masked teachers.

I have no clue if the mask offers protection or not but it’s simply not a big deal.

I don’t get parents threatening to bring guns to school if their kid is masked!

Hello, it sounds like your kid has just started masking max 25 hrs a week. Mine mask at least 40 and have for the last two years. GTFO. I would like to see if removing the masks helps my son finally learn to read, helps my daughter’s social anxiety and OCD behavior. Maybe it’s unrelated but I can’t even try. So yeah GTFO. I want this to end. Enough cotton paw patrol mask theatre. You can do what you want.

I think that’s why people are saying preschool and not daycare. Yes, daycares have preschools but most posters are talking about traditional 3 to 5 hour a day nursery schools. Daycare is a different ball game because the kids are there all day.

We use our preschool as child care, and so do many other families. With extended day the preschool is open from 7:30 until 6. We luckily don’t need close to that much care but plenty of kids are at preschool for 8-10 hours.

[Anonymous]

I only care because my kid is 2 and we are really struggling with masking. She just seems way too young for it-- she doesn't get why she's doing it, she feels uncomfortable (as we all did when we first started wearing them), and she's just mad in general about it. She's also in the defiant toddler stage (getting her to wear her shoes sometimes is a struggle), so everything is worse.

I think 2 is developmentally too young for most kids, especially given that many other states and countries have a much higher age for masking. Some 2 year olds are probably fine with it. But it's a nightmare with ours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love my preschoolers wearing masks. It teaches civic responsibility and to follow the direction of authorities. My 18 month old is wearing a training mask right now so she too can take part. I view it as our own personal “victory garden.” Not masking is never an option. They wear them everywhere!

Kids are 18 months, 3 and 5.

Omfg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is three and started a five hour a day preschool wearing his mask. He’s advanced verbally, has zero problem wearing his mask, speaks up clearly, and loves his masked teachers.

I have no clue if the mask offers protection or not but it’s simply not a big deal.

I don’t get parents threatening to bring guns to school if their kid is masked!

I mean I am bothered by my 3 year old wearing masks but am not going to bring a gun to school to combat it. There is obviously a middle ground here.

Same-- to me, masking for kids under 3 or 4 (or maybe even 5, but I don't know many 5 year olds) is just plain theatre. I'm someone who is insanely COVID cautious/anxious. But I also feel like I'm a realist about the developmental abilities of young kids. I have young kids, and I live the daily struggle of trying to mask them. I believe very strongly in vaccine mandates and, in situations with appropriately aged kids, in mask mandates. But the trade off for 2 year olds masking all day, plus the fact that they're likely not masking properly (AND are often taking naps all together, unmasked, anyway!) makes no sense to me.

I don't see why this means we are like the people shouting about bringing guns to school. It's not so crazy to believe what is appropriate for a 10 year old may not be appropriate for a 2 year old.

I also feel this way because I have friends raising small children all around the world, and the difference in how young families are treated is absolutely astounding. There are many countries where mask mandates start at age 5 or older. As far I know, those countries have not suffered huge pediatric outbreaks of COVID.