Recommend your mask for small 2YO and any other tips

[Anonymous]

DD is about to start preK this fall and will have just turned 2 so she will have never really worn a mask up until that point. Looking for any mask recommendations people have for a small toddler (she’s 10%ile and so far her brother’s masks don’t fit her, we need something even smaller). Also we’ve tried to put a mask on her a couple of times and she takes it off right away. We model mask wearing, so she’s certainly seen us wearing masks and knows them but she doesn’t want to wear one. Any tips for what worked with your two year old?

[Anonymous]

My favorite has been the Green Sprouts one, it is the only one that actually covers DD's nose.

[Anonymous]

In terms of where to buy masks, I would actually buy a few different types and see what she likes best. Since you have to try things out for a bit, I'd look for cheap masks and then you can upgrade to nicer fabric or higher quality once you know what she likes. Definitely get some of the accordion style from Old Navy, as they are so easy to get and inexpensive (so if she likes them, you're golden). We've also bought some from Maisonette (the size is really good for very small toddler faces) and I've picked some up from checkout lines at CVS and Whole Foods.

As for transitioning your kid to wearing it, I'd start very small and make it a game. What I would do is start with short time periods (say 5-10 minutes) and say "Ok, lets practice wearing our mask for 5 minutes to see if we can do it!" And then give her some kind of prize for doing it. Don't push too hard at first and keep it light.

Then once she could keep it on for 10-15 minutes consistently, I started taking her indoors places and making your time in that place conditional on her wearing her mask. So I'd say "Ok, we're going to go in the grocery store and buy those granola bars you like! But remember we have to wear our masks inside, so if you take yours off, we have to leave even if we don't have the granola bars yet, ok? So lets try to keep them on!" Again, keep it light, no punishing but just explaining that the consequence of taking off her mask is that you have to leave that location since we have to wear masks inside to be safe (it doesn't matter if you really believe this or if she's been inside places without masks before -- it's really important that she thinks about it this way if she is required to wear it at school). Then you just keep stretching it out. It took about a month before I could comfortably take her pretty much anywhere and trust she'd wear the mask the whole time. Yours is a bit younger so it might take longer, but you should be able to get her relatively comfortable and then her PK will just need to reinforce it in the fall. If they are requiring masks for all 2 year olds, trust me that they are used to doing so as the mask wearing ability varies greatly at that age. But by 2.5 or 3, they are actually more compliant than most adults.

[Anonymous]

We bought masks from Old Navy and shrank them in the dryer. They fit our then 3 year old perfectly after that.

The ones from Carters didn't shrink.

[Anonymous]

My preschooler has been wearing the Old Navy and Gap pleated masks for the past year (the only difference is the Gap ones have a nose wire). We never had a problem getting her to wear them, because peer pressure is such a big thing in preschool - she saw that the teachers were wearing them and all of her little friends were wearing them, so she was extra motivated to keep hers on, too.

I've had friends with older kids who have put masks on their kids while they watched tv shows or played ipad/kindle games and were distracted as a way to get used to them. That might work if your two year old gets screen time.

[Anonymous]

I like the disposable ones. DD came home wearing another child’s mask and proudly announced that she traded hers.

We got her used to wearing a mask inside at home when she was coloring or playing with her sister. Make sure you teach your child how to take it off and put it back on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My favorite has been the Green Sprouts one, it is the only one that actually covers DD's nose.

+1. I got those after seeing a recommendation on this board (maybe this PP??). Definitely the best we've found- there are adjustable ones but I like the "child" size of this version:
https://greensproutsbaby.com/products/child-reusable-face-mask?variant=33699229270147

[Anonymous]

Don’t worry too much - schools know that masks are aseperational at age two and will work to slowly introduce them.

[Anonymous]

PP again- as far as tips for getting a new 2yo to wear a mask, be patient. My DC was always taking it off, then he started a daycare where masks were required and we never had trouble getting him to wear masks after that. He's just getting to the point where he can reliably put it on by himself though. A few months can make a big difference and I think it would have been more realistic for health officials to recommend to start at age 3 rather than 2. JMO.

[Anonymous]

In the beginning before we could find Old Navy kids masks with the ear bobs that would tighten against my tiny kid's head/face enough, I bought whatever masks I could find that were supposedly aimed at toddlers (Paw Patrol, etc.) and I sewed elastic to make them slide over the head like a headband. That helped secure them to her face and easy to put on by herself. It was a decent amount of work but best I could do at the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My favorite has been the Green Sprouts one, it is the only one that actually covers DD's nose.

I love these masks (and have been recommending them to everyone!) but they fit my 95th percentile DD perfectly and may be too big for OP’s child. You can always order one mask and try it out. You may have better luck with disposables, though. Dr Talbots makes ones for 2-5 year olds that are pretty tiny. There are also some KF94 masks from Soom Labs that are very small and would fit a 2 year old nicely.

[Anonymous]

I would start your kid with a very loose fitting mesh or gauze mask to get her used to wearing something on her face. Then maybe a single layer cloth mask and then after a lot of practice, move on to the “real” mask you intend for her to wear. Barring special needs, you will get there - it just takes a lot of practice.