Anonymous wrote:I don’t care and neither do my kids. They wear their masks. If it’s helps .01%, I am happy.

Masking became political and I fricking hate that. Public health is not political.

I agree public health is not political. Why why are we insisting 2 year olds wear masks when the rest of the world recommends against this?

A lot of democrats in this area insist it’s republicans who made it a political issue, and sure, maybe they started it. But I don’t think democrats helped and I think they have continued to push masks (especially for toddlers) as a political issue, not a public health one. Had a single democrat spoken up and said “hmmmm maybe we should following WHO guidelines on masking the under 6 crowd” I could have stood by the mask policies. As it is, it feels ludicrous to mask a 2 year old in daycare given meals, snacks, naps, mask breaks, generally terrible mask wearing, etc…

OP managed to get every over-privileged anti-science person who reads this website under one forum. Impressive!

I don’t care and neither do my kids. They wear their masks. If it’s helps .01%, I am happy.

Masking became political and I fricking hate that. Public health is not political.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wasn’t bothered when this all started. But now we’re vaccinated and boosted, our 4 year olds will be vaccinated soon. One of our sons needs glasses for reading and screens, but it’s real hard with the mask. His glasses fog up and then he stops wearing them. I’m ready for mask optional.

We all wear glasses, you need to get better masks.

Or maybe masks should be optional.

I am seriously bothered, not by the fact that the kids are wearing masks, but of the multitude of photos of politicians - and school board members - in crowded places all NOT wearing masks. Why only the kids in schools? Why is it ok to eat in a crowded restaurant with other grownups or take crowded flights or go to crowded basketball games and concerts unmasked? And then to go into work on Monday and say the kids must be masked.

I hate hypocrisy at any time but this just seems particularly egregious to me.

1) If you have a child who has been wearing a mask for less than 6 months, I'm not sure your comfort level is what we should be measuring. My kid was 2.5 when the pandemic started, has been wearing a mask daily for two years. I happily taught her to wear a mask and was totally fine with it for a long time -- I wanted to keep her safe, I wanted to keep her teachers safe. I feel differently now. You can say you have no issue with it today, but you might also feel differently in a year or two.

2) Whether wearing the mask itself bothers your individual kid is really only part of it. First, of course there are kids who struggle with masks and continued masking is a big burden on them and their families. It is not easy to get an exemption for a child with sensory issues and would probably mean being placed in a different classroom. A lot of kids just have low level annoyance with it (which is why you see them pulling them below their nose or mouth, chewing on them, or taking them off when they aren't supposed to) but will still wear them. Should that low level annoyance matter to us? I mean, for starters, it should matter because it diminishes the efficacy of mask-wearing, because they aren't doing it correctly.

3) As PPs have mentioned, none of this matters at all if it turns out masking kids under age 6 does not effectively control spread of Covid in group care environments. Which it might not! No one really knows. But those of you who are unbothered might also ask yourselves: if you found out that Covid was BEST controlled in this age group through a strict policy against symptoms at school and a policy where kids were tested every week, would you still want your child to wear a mask indefinitely? Or would you say "oh, that does sound better than masking kids this age, let's do that instead." If there is a better way to do this that doesn't have the downsides of masks, why not do that?

I don't think wearing a mask is the worst thing ever for my kid. I do have moments of concern about it. Like many others, my kid will forget she's wearing her mask or decline to take it off even at home. Sometimes she will do this even if it's making it hard for us to hear or understand her. Sometimes she'll say "I'm wearing a mask to keep you and Daddy safe." I have mixed feelings about this. It reminds me of the ways the pandemic is impacting her that have nothing to do with the mask itself -- with the ways she has accepted a certain kind of life and happily taken on sacrifices for others, and I wonder if one day she will ask whether it was appropriate for her to be expected to do these things. I gently explain to her that she isn't responsible for keeping Daddy and I from getting sick, and that it's okay to take off her mask at home (and that it might even be nice to see each other's faces for a little while). She'll shrug and comply and I'll wonder if I'm doing the right things.

It's really not about being "bothered" or not.

Anonymous wrote:Just a reminder that policies should be based on science and not “not being bothered.” There’s no clear reason to mask kids under grade school age. Good for anyone who doesn’t care, but please don’t think that means anyone else should have to

+1. If your kid is fine, has no developmental issues, doesn’t complain, and you want to make them forever, please do so. Let the rest of us make the same choices for our children (toddlers!) who may not have the benefits of being developmentally ready for masks all day.

Just a reminder that policies should be based on science and not “not being bothered.” There’s no clear reason to mask kids under grade school age. Good for anyone who doesn’t care, but please don’t think that means anyone else should have to

Anonymous wrote:I wasn’t bothered when this all started. But now we’re vaccinated and boosted, our 4 year olds will be vaccinated soon. One of our sons needs glasses for reading and screens, but it’s real hard with the mask. His glasses fog up and then he stops wearing them. I’m ready for mask optional.

We all wear glasses, you need to get better masks.

No one in our house is bothered in the least. In fact the 16 month old wants to wear a mask when she sees her 3 and 5 yr old siblings wear theirs!

We’d be perfectly fine if the masking of kids lasted another two or three years. Truly, much ado about nothing, as PP (and Shakespeare) said.

Anonymous wrote:I wasn’t bothered when this all started. But now we’re vaccinated and boosted, our 4 year olds will be vaccinated soon. One of our sons needs glasses for reading and screens, but it’s real hard with the mask. His glasses fog up and then he stops wearing them. I’m ready for mask optional.

DS is 6 and has worn glasses since he was three and masked everyday for the last two years. The disposable masks with the wire nose piece and the new KN95s are great for those who wear glasses. No fogging or discomfort at all.

I wasn’t bothered when this all started. But now we’re vaccinated and boosted, our 4 year olds will be vaccinated soon. One of our sons needs glasses for reading and screens, but it’s real hard with the mask. His glasses fog up and then he stops wearing them. I’m ready for mask optional.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is three and started a five hour a day preschool wearing his mask. He’s advanced verbally, has zero problem wearing his mask, speaks up clearly, and loves his masked teachers.

I have no clue if the mask offers protection or not but it’s simply not a big deal.

I don’t get parents threatening to bring guns to school if their kid is masked!

Your kid, who is advanced verbally is doing fine. That’s why you are not bothered. Just like all the parents whose kids were doing well in virtual school didn’t mind virtual school. Some of us have kids who are bothered by masks (we know because they tell us) and have trouble being understood wearing a mask (which we know, because their teacher tells us). So our experience is different, could you please do us the courtesy of believing us?

I was a full supporter of masks before vaccines were fully available, and yes during the height of an incredible surge. But they are uncomfortable and bother some kids and I don’t want them to have to wear them forever. Are you fine for your kids to wear masks another two years? I think we just all have our limits and many people think the benefit of masks is getting smaller every day while the cost remains the same…

DP. I agree, fully. My kid is fine, but we are out of sync with the world on this, and we should understand why that is. We probably are wrong here.

Still, all the talk about removing masks during an Omicron surge really just seems off. I think once the wave dies down the CDC and public health are going to take a different tack on COVID all together, and will really look at these policies. We'll see, but I'm optimisitic. I definitely think mask requirements will go away when a vaccine is available to the 2-5 crowd.

My kids aren’t bothered and I am not bothered. 8, 6, and 3. All in regular school (4, and 5.5 hours) and no daycare or aftercare. No one behind or miserable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is three and started a five hour a day preschool wearing his mask. He’s advanced verbally, has zero problem wearing his mask, speaks up clearly, and loves his masked teachers.

I have no clue if the mask offers protection or not but it’s simply not a big deal.

I don’t get parents threatening to bring guns to school if their kid is masked!

Your kid, who is advanced verbally is doing fine. That’s why you are not bothered. Just like all the parents whose kids were doing well in virtual school didn’t mind virtual school. Some of us have kids who are bothered by masks (we know because they tell us) and have trouble being understood wearing a mask (which we know, because their teacher tells us). So our experience is different, could you please do us the courtesy of believing us?

I was a full supporter of masks before vaccines were fully available, and yes during the height of an incredible surge. But they are uncomfortable and bother some kids and I don’t want them to have to wear them forever. Are you fine for your kids to wear masks another two years? I think we just all have our limits and many people think the benefit of masks is getting smaller every day while the cost remains the same…

DP here. Yes, I’m fine with my preschooler wearing masks for another two years. I’m sorry that your child is struggling but, like any school, we have to go with the majority here. We’re still seeing a marked improvement in covid numbers at our preschool (none) so something seems to be working.

I am not talking about eight to ten hours in group care, however. Just regular preschool (3 to 5 hours) and over the age of three. I think parents with babies in infant care have valid concerns about masked daycare workers.