Parent poll: majority prefer masks at our center

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact of the matter is that daycare communities will do what feels right to them and the majority of the families/staff at any given center.

If you don't like how your daycare is handling COVID, pull your kid out and find a better fit for your family. That goes for families on both sides of the arguments.

You mean like move somewhere else? Or "just get a nanny'? There are very few options for mask free daycares in DC and MoCo in particular.

You get what you pay for.

There are plenty of in-home daycares in this region that both mask or do not mask. Lots of choice out there, depending on what you want for your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact of the matter is that daycare communities will do what feels right to them and the majority of the families/staff at any given center.

If you don't like how your daycare is handling COVID, pull your kid out and find a better fit for your family. That goes for families on both sides of the arguments.

You mean like move somewhere else? Or "just get a nanny'? There are very few options for mask free daycares in DC and MoCo in particular.

You get what you pay for.

There are plenty of in-home daycares in this region that both mask or do not mask. Lots of choice out there, depending on what you want for your kids.

There may be mask free options but it’s also not as simple as you’re making it sound. You can’t just switch daycares at the drop of a hat. There are waiting lists. It’s all trade offs of course so if no masks if your first priority then you figure it out. But most people assume we’re ending masks at some point so are not going to switch to a daycare that’s out of the way due to mask rules. Or uproot their child - some may transition easily, some may not. So while you are technically correct you can look for a mask free option, it’s not what you make it seem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people who are currently saying "My kid doesn't mind wearing a mask, I don't think it's a big deal and can't hurt" will eventually come around and be sort of shocked they did this to their young kids for so long. Maybe kids who are currently still under 3.5 won't remember or see longterm impacts of masking, especially if it ends in the next 6 months. Maybe. But I think older kids will and people will realize that it wasn't as easy on kids as they think.

I thought my kid had no problem with masking for a long time. She'd put on the mask and then forget about it, never really seemed to complain about it, would even remind us when it was time to mask up. But 2 years on, I think I misread what appeared to be nonchalance. The truth is kids are largely pretty good at complying with rules -- they have to do it all the time, especially in an environment like daycare or school. I've learned a lot in recent months from my kid about what it means that she can't see her friends' full faces at school, or see the teacher faces, or have them see hers. I don't even think she thought of these things as a problem because she's so young she doesn't remember going to daycare/preschool without masks. But it's clear it's had an impact on her and the idea that she might not have to wear a mask, or that her classmates or teachers might not, is thrilling to her. She has started mentioning it tentatively and it's obviously something on her mine. Like before anyone was even talking about it.

For people who think masking is no big deal because your kids don't complain, there may be more going on in their minds on the subject of masks than you realize. There is an impact, and we may not really understand it for a while. Especially for these very young kids.

Very well said.

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact of the matter is that daycare communities will do what feels right to them and the majority of the families/staff at any given center.

If you don't like how your daycare is handling COVID, pull your kid out and find a better fit for your family. That goes for families on both sides of the arguments.

You mean like move somewhere else? Or "just get a nanny'? There are very few options for mask free daycares in DC and MoCo in particular.

You get what you pay for.

There are plenty of in-home daycares in this region that both mask or do not mask. Lots of choice out there, depending on what you want for your kids.

There may be mask free options but it’s also not as simple as you’re making it sound. You can’t just switch daycares at the drop of a hat. There are waiting lists. It’s all trade offs of course so if no masks if your first priority then you figure it out. But most people assume we’re ending masks at some point so are not going to switch to a daycare that’s out of the way due to mask rules. Or uproot their child - some may transition easily, some may not. So while you are technically correct you can look for a mask free option, it’s not what you make it seem

Also, most kids tend to transition out of in-home daycares when they reach preschool age. We were previously at an in-home that did not mask the kids, but they encourage families to move on once the child turns 3-3.5. We moved last summer and it did not make sense to find yet another in-home just because they had more lenient mask rules (subject to change at any time) only to have to switch again to a preschool center later on. Also, at that point it seemed like there was more of a light at the end of the tunnel for some of this.