Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?

[Anonymous]

I have to wear a mask for work and I bring extra masks and change them out during the day because they can get gross after a few hours, especially with allergies. I've also read that damp/wet masks are ineffective. So if the kids are chewing or drooling on the masks, what's the point? That also can't be good for you to wear a damp mask.

[Anonymous]

My just turn 2 year old has no word, but it is really mixed feeling to see she uses her little hands holding onto mask to cover her mouth & nose when mask falls off from her little face. Of course, she sometimes takes it off when mask is all wet with her drools. And, I have to keep helping her to put it on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My just turn 2 year old has no word, but it is really mixed feeling to see she uses her little hands holding onto mask to cover her mouth & nose when mask falls off from her little face. Of course, she sometimes takes it off when mask is all wet with her drools. And, I have to keep helping her to put it on.

So don't make her wear one. Ever. This is insane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 2 year old's daycare doesn't require them for his age group. I'm a firm believer in adults wearing them, but 2 year olds wearing them all day is not a reasonable expectation.

Sure it is. I’m a daycare teacher and the 2yos at our daycare wear them all the time. Whether they wear them “well” is a subject to debate since most masks are sized for older kids and they tend to drool on them more, but they wear them enough to fulfill pandemic theater requirements pretty well. That’s the most important thing right? To curb adults anxiety!

We are the first generation to put the whims of adults above the best interests of the most vulnerable, our young children. We - and they - will pay dearly for that in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 2 year old's daycare doesn't require them for his age group. I'm a firm believer in adults wearing them, but 2 year olds wearing them all day is not a reasonable expectation.

Sure it is. I’m a daycare teacher and the 2yos at our daycare wear them all the time. Whether they wear them “well” is a subject to debate since most masks are sized for older kids and they tend to drool on them more, but they wear them enough to fulfill pandemic theater requirements pretty well. That’s the most important thing right? To curb adults anxiety!

We are the first generation to put the whims of adults above the best interests of the most vulnerable, our young children. We - and they - will pay dearly for that in the future.

I keep waiting for some common sense to prevail on this, but I don’t think it’s coming. Masks unfortunately are here to stay until the youngest kids get vaccinated. It’s ridiculous but even the more pragmatic experts have jumped on the we-must-mask-everyone bandwagon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 2 year old's daycare doesn't require them for his age group. I'm a firm believer in adults wearing them, but 2 year olds wearing them all day is not a reasonable expectation.

Sure it is. I’m a daycare teacher and the 2yos at our daycare wear them all the time. Whether they wear them “well” is a subject to debate since most masks are sized for older kids and they tend to drool on them more, but they wear them enough to fulfill pandemic theater requirements pretty well. That’s the most important thing right? To curb adults anxiety!

We are the first generation to put the whims of adults above the best interests of the most vulnerable, our young children. We - and they - will pay dearly for that in the future.

I keep waiting for some common sense to prevail on this, but I don’t think it’s coming. Masks unfortunately are here to stay until the youngest kids get vaccinated. It’s ridiculous but even the more pragmatic experts have jumped on the we-must-mask-everyone bandwagon.

+1 I try not to think about it. It's not the daycare's fault, they have to follow the regs. And DD's speech is developing well, but yeah, I wonder about the long term effects. CDC is talking about relaxing mask requirements outdoors. What about young children indoors? Has anybody even studied whether masks make a difference? I can't find a mask that actually stays over my skinny 2 yo DD's nose.

[Anonymous]

Since this thread has come back around, an interesting update:

I am the PP who posted upthread about my 3 yr old wearing a mask "no problem". That was definitely true at the time -- she wore one at the playground, at preschool, and and time we took her indoors anywhere, without an resistance.

But in the last month, I've noticed when pick her up from PK, she almost never still has her mask on. The school encourages but doesn't require masks. They have a pretty broad age range for her group (2-4) so the looser requirement is largely to accommodate the younger kids who are still getting used them. But my kid is in the older cohort.

I asked the teacher if there was any issue with the masks, and she told me DD has just been resisting putting her mask on after meal times. The school is mostly outdoors, so it's not a big issue and they haven't pushed it. But I've also notice she's gotten a bit more mask resistant with us as well. She still puts the mask on when asked but she whips it off within seconds if all the masks-on rules are not met (like she'll take it off at the playground if other people leave and we are alone, without asking me, which she used to do). And she will complain about wearing it or request an alternative activity where she doesn't have to wear it sometimes.

I though it was interesting because if you'd asked me a month ago, I would have said "Oh, kids are so adaptable! They'll be okay." And now I'm mildly panicking about what will happen in the fall when she is in public PK and they will almost certainly be more strict about mask usage. I think her resistance is part of her general threenager phase, as she's become more rebellious in lots of ways. We're going to keep working with her, but I really hope this doesn't become a thing in the fall (like I am going to be pretty unhappy if I have to come get her from school because she won't put her mask back on).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 2 year old's daycare doesn't require them for his age group. I'm a firm believer in adults wearing them, but 2 year olds wearing them all day is not a reasonable expectation.

Sure it is. I’m a daycare teacher and the 2yos at our daycare wear them all the time. Whether they wear them “well” is a subject to debate since most masks are sized for older kids and they tend to drool on them more, but they wear them enough to fulfill pandemic theater requirements pretty well. That’s the most important thing right? To curb adults anxiety!

We are the first generation to put the whims of adults above the best interests of the most vulnerable, our young children. We - and they - will pay dearly for that in the future.

I keep waiting for some common sense to prevail on this, but I don’t think it’s coming. Masks unfortunately are here to stay until the youngest kids get vaccinated. It’s ridiculous but even the more pragmatic experts have jumped on the we-must-mask-everyone bandwagon.

+1 I try not to think about it. It's not the daycare's fault, they have to follow the regs. And DD's speech is developing well, but yeah, I wonder about the long term effects. CDC is talking about relaxing mask requirements outdoors. What about young children indoors? Has anybody even studied whether masks make a difference? I can't find a mask that actually stays over my skinny 2 yo DD's nose.

I hear you- I encourage anyone concerned about this to write the CDC and ask them to reconsider or at least study it. They totally blew me off in their reply but maybe if more people speak up it will make a difference.

In my quest for the perfect toddler mask, someone had recommended these green sprout ones in a different thread and they have been the best option for my toddler (also 2) so far. We get the "child" size. I also tried one of the adjustable ones but didn't like them as much- I think the face part is bigger and they seem to pull on her ears more.

https://greensproutsbaby.com/products/child-reusable-face-mask?variant=33699229270147

[Anonymous]

I’m pretty sure I have commented on this thread before. I am a daycare worker and masks 2 is pure safety theater. Try as they might, they do not wear their mask in a safe and effective in fashion. Their masks often fall below their noses, it gets wet with spit and drool, they chew on it, they are constantly touching it and repositioning it. The gross part is when they have spit on their masks, touch it and then touch the toys. There is no point in them wearing masks all day long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work at a preschool that has been open since August. We required the 3s and up to wear masks when we reopened and the 2s program required masks starting in January. We are planning to have all children 2 and up with required masks next year - knowing it may take a while for the new 2s and any other new students to get he hang of it.

They all wear masks everyday now and are almost all doing just fine. Others need a few small reminders is all.

We are planning to keep all the Covid measures in place next year with the exception of travel which we expect may get looser following the CDC changes.

Yuck. I hope you change your mind. You are hurting the kids. Talking about next fall not this year. This year fine. But in the fall?! We are about to be drowning in vaccine. Not a single person who took JJ or any of the other two authorized vaccines in the trial was hospitalized. If they got sick at all they got the sniffles. What is the end game?!

The kids won’t be vaccinated in the fall! Don’t you care about kids getting sick? So each impairment is on you not the masks, sorry. Don’t like masks, keep them home.

No. I don’t care when our cases are 5 or less per 100,000 which they will be and everyone over 12 is vaccinated. But of course you are welcome to strap a mask to your toddler. You have covid mania. Other things matter now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work at a preschool that has been open since August. We required the 3s and up to wear masks when we reopened and the 2s program required masks starting in January. We are planning to have all children 2 and up with required masks next year - knowing it may take a while for the new 2s and any other new students to get he hang of it.

They all wear masks everyday now and are almost all doing just fine. Others need a few small reminders is all.

We are planning to keep all the Covid measures in place next year with the exception of travel which we expect may get looser following the CDC changes.

Yuck. I hope you change your mind. You are hurting the kids. Talking about next fall not this year. This year fine. But in the fall?! We are about to be drowning in vaccine. Not a single person who took JJ or any of the other two authorized vaccines in the trial was hospitalized. If they got sick at all they got the sniffles. What is the end game?!

The kids won’t be vaccinated in the fall! Don’t you care about kids getting sick? So each impairment is on you not the masks, sorry. Don’t like masks, keep them home.

No. I don’t care when our cases are 5 or less per 100,000 which they will be and everyone over 12 is vaccinated. But of course you are welcome to strap a mask to your toddler. You have covid mania. Other things matter now.

Well, if your daycare/preschool requires it, your choice is to adhere to the rule or keep your kid home. Not saying I agree with it, but there are a ton of parents who just suck it up, because few can afford a protest withdrawal and lose childcare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m pretty sure I have commented on this thread before. I am a daycare worker and masks 2 is pure safety theater. Try as they might, they do not wear their mask in a safe and effective in fashion. Their masks often fall below their noses, it gets wet with spit and drool, they chew on it, they are constantly touching it and repositioning it. The gross part is when they have spit on their masks, touch it and then touch the toys. There is no point in them wearing masks all day long.

Have you brought this up with your director and have they broached the topic with licensing/local health dept? I feel like the people who make the decisions are pretty out of touch with the day-to-day reality of masking toddlers.

[Anonymous]

Our preschool doesn't require it on kids under age 5. It's part of why I kept my kid out of the school in the winter, but also I can understand how masks just aren't that effective with kids that age.

When I am out with him, he will wear it. But it's for much shorter chunks of time. Also, are kids really taking a nap with their masks on? That's why it doesn't make sense under a certain age when napping is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our preschool doesn't require it on kids under age 5. It's part of why I kept my kid out of the school in the winter, but also I can understand how masks just aren't that effective with kids that age.

When I am out with him, he will wear it. But it's for much shorter chunks of time. Also, are kids really taking a nap with their masks on? That's why it doesn't make sense under a certain age when napping is happening.

Masks should not be on when napping - that's a safety risk and no daycare should be doing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m pretty sure I have commented on this thread before. I am a daycare worker and masks 2 is pure safety theater. Try as they might, they do not wear their mask in a safe and effective in fashion. Their masks often fall below their noses, it gets wet with spit and drool, they chew on it, they are constantly touching it and repositioning it. The gross part is when they have spit on their masks, touch it and then touch the toys. There is no point in them wearing masks all day long.

Have you brought this up with your director and have they broached the topic with licensing/local health dept? I feel like the people who make the decisions are pretty out of touch with the day-to-day reality of masking toddlers.

Licensing does not care about our opinion and her expertise. All directives are top down. Nothing goes from the bottom up even though we are there working with the kids every day. I work in Maryland and the office of child care could care less about our documented experiences.