Reply to Anyone Feel Guilty for Isolating Their Kids due to COVID???

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here, I'm not a troll and I don't mean to start drama (though maybe that's impossible when talking about COVID precautions).

I feel better about the decisions we made over the past year, but still really torn about what to do going forward. We will be doing camp this summer, it'll be starting in 2 months. But as for other things - playgrounds, playdates, outdoor classes, etc, all of that is with unmasked kids (and obviously not distanced). Some posters on here are saying that masks for kids are pointless/ridiculous, but others say they are doing masks. It's crazy to me that after a year of this, there still isn't a clear answer.

And I don't get how everyone is so confident in whatever choice they are making. If I put a mask on my kid and keep her away from the others, I'm freaking out that I'm isolating her. If I let her take the mask off like everyone else and play with someone on the playground, I freak out she's going to get COVID. All the contradictory comments are making my head explode. [/quote]

OP, I work with environmental engineers who model aerosol spread (as in airborne viruses). Masked outdoors is very low risk. This is what we do, and we’re not especially fussy about distance. It’s difficult to maintain that while playing. But with masks and outdoors, you should be fine. Enough big particles are trapped in the mask and the smaller ones disperse due to infinite air volume.

Indoors, even masked, is a different story. It can be safe if your ACH (air exchange per hour) is very high but most schools don’t have the ability to do this with their HVAC. I would not do this with current community spread, unless you really have to... and then only with windows open and as much ventilation as you can create (such as a boxed fan blowing out). Knowing the science around this has helped us to make decisions we are comfortable with for our family.

Check on neighborhood lists to see if there are other families with kids your daughter’s age and a similar risk profile. We have been lucky to find several families who we socialized with throughout the year (outdoor/masked), and the difference between 0 friends and even 1 or 2 is infinite. We are now opening up to socialize (again, outdoor and masked) with more families so long as the adults are vaccinated. It’s been a long year and mental health is also a consideration. Don’t worry about what’s done — just focus on what is ahead and do your best. Vaccines for kids will be here within 6-7 months and hopefully that will relieve the stress and anxiety around all these decisions. Good luck![/quote]

DP.  I would be interested in what you have to say about close play outdoors unmasked.  There are sooooo many PPs on this site going on at length about how anyone who masks outside is an idiot.  It has always seemed to me that it could be a good idea if you will be in close proximity for a period of time, including the playground, as opposed to just being near people only in passing.  Thoughts?[/quote]

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