Not op, but how do you know? Really! Can you cite any research on this? |
I agree with all of this. |
| The only person being called a troll here is the one claiming that "daycares" are not cuddling infants. It's possible there is one that isn't (I actually doubt that, if that's true they are flouting public health guidance on proper child care). |
+2. Me too. |
Define “cuddling”? |
I dunno, you'd have to ask that PP about her supposed daycare. |
DP with a 16mo in daycare and no indication of language delay. DD has been at daycare since she was 4 months old. Infant and early toddlers (<18mo) are picked up by caregivers on arrival, sit in caregivers' laps for storytime and reading books, held for bottles and any soothing required before naps, hugged and held for comfort when needed, etc. They aren't kept at arm's reach or more all day long. Caregivers are masked. all are vaccinated, although of course that's only been the case for the last 3 months or so. |
How can they all be held for story time and reading? Yes to holding for bottles and prenup soothing or after a upset but I don’t call that cuddling. And your DD shouldn’t have language delay since she wasn’t with masked caregivers in infancy. My DD is talking up a storm through her mask at 20 months but she was able to see faces as an infant. Look, I truly Hope masks have no ill-effects, but if they do it was still the right decision to mask. |
PP here. Yes, she was with masked caregivers in infancy. Started daycare at 4mo. 16mo now. Her entire life has been in a pandemic. |
+1. I like daycare. I also see the value of SAH parents and nannies with young kids. All have pros and cons. Not sure why that sentiment is controversial? |
Of course they can’t. Honestly, it’s not the worst thing but less than ideal. Most other countries (I think rightfully) realized that most toddlers won’t keep them, they will take them off to eat and sleep, toddlers are not efficient transmitters, cloth masks are the most ineffective, and kids are together the entire day so masks probably won’t help anyway. Rob Hughes of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has called out the policy of masking young children. Most countries (aside from Japan and parts of Canada) don’t mask kids until at least age 6, if not 12. https://osf.io/65tdh/ “The importance of early childhood for the rest of a person’s life is now well understood; what happens in those early moments really matters, and changing the beginning has the potential to change the whole story -including learning, earning and happiness(2). In addition, the centrality of responsive caregiving and interaction -such as that between peers and with caregivers in the home and childcare settings -is increasingly well appreciated, affecting language and social-emotional development and IQ(3).This interaction and engagement is much more than an optional ‘nice to have’ that can be deferred for a few years whilst the pandemic is controlled;the window of ensuring optimal early childhood development is short(4). During this period moment by moment engagement, caregiver responsiveness, and learning of social cues (including by reading the faces of caregivers and others) are crucial for early socio-emotional development, for learning the ‘give and take’ of peer interaction and crucially for developing a ‘theory of mind’(5). It would be considered grossly unethical to attempt to assess the impact of covering the faces of young children and their caregivers on early childhood development. The potential for harm here is clear, especially when you consider the long hours that many children spend in childcare settings.” |
So the WHO and ECDC got it wrong? |
https://assets.gov.ie/137936/b3678de4-d008-4dee-a19a-5a1f8c8bc210.pdf 38 countries and their policies on this page. USA and Canada mask kids at age 2. Malta at age 3. Every other country decided it wasn’t worth the tradeoff to mask toddlers and preschoolers. Many decided not to mask kids until secondary school. ECDC says the evidence for controlling spread with masks (especially non-medical masks) is low. Sure, you can make a good argument that adults should wear masks indoors in public settings during a pandemic because it may help. But I think an equally valid argument is that kids shouldn’t have to mask because it doesn’t help much and there may be a risk to their development. |
| all it takes one unvaxxed and infected teacher, so no hugs please. Anyway, teachers are leaving the field in droves as they are grossly underpaid, all the pandemic help went to the owners. There was an article on this in wapo recently. |
It’s an aerosolized virus and they are in close quarters 40 hours per week. Do you really think not hugging a baby makes sense in terms of risk-benefit? |