Anonymous wrote:I can't wrap my head around the concept that the best choice for a child's overall health and wellbeing is to NOT go to an OUTDOORS playground b/c there are some kids without masks (chance of catching covid: statistically infinitely small) and instead not playing or exercising and going indoors to then eat a donut alone.

Welcome to the DMV.

Also wondering where you are OP- I wouldn’t expect to see kids under 5 with a mask on in VA because it’s not required. High mask usage at the MD and DC playgrounds we’ve been to. Going at off hours helps- we are often the first to arrive on a weekend morning.

But I agree you should focus on getting your high risk family members vaccinated ASAP so that you can relax more about going to playgrounds.

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t masks required fir over age 2 in Virginia?

No---age 5.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You get to make your own risk decisions for your own kids. I don't know your situation- perhaps you or another family member is high-risk and unvaccinated, in which case extra caution is sensible.

My son is one of those unmasked kids at the playground. He has ASD and simply won't tolerate masks- and yes, we and his therapists have been working on it daily. We're not keeping him away from parks and playgrounds indefinitely.

Obviously not, if he’s already one of “those unmasked kids at the playground.”

Correct. We don't bring him other places, besides therapy and child care, but we've been bringing him to playgrounds since last summer. In general, it had been surprisingly easy to avoid others until quite recently. People were apparently (?) too scared to go to playgrounds last summer, and parents don't seem to take their kids outside in our neighborhood when its below 50F. But particularly this past week the playgrounds have suddenly had a lot more kids. We try to keep our unmasked child away from masked children at the playground, but I can't really prevent another kid from walking up to him.

Haha yes, for a while it was a small set of the same families at our local playgrounds, and then boom, they’ve gotten really crowded the last couple weeks. Our 5yo is used to wearing a mask and always does, but we struggle with our 2yo and I know some parents are giving me the stink eye for it, even though all 2yo really wants to do most of the time is swing in the toddler swing. Meanwhile their kids are literally wrestling with other kids, but apparently since they’re wearing masks it’s all good?

Anonymous wrote:This is op. I know kid get covid is more slim, but I am more worried about my kid catching covid ( with no symptom) and then transmit to my high risk DH and grandparents that are not got the chance to be vaccinated yet. I will loose up my playground rule once adults are vaccinated.

Ah. This to me is the difference. If he's around grandparents and a high risk parent, I can understand why you're so strict. In this case, I would be doing everything in my power to get your husband and the grandparents vaccinated. If they are all truly high risk (I don't think a 63 year old healthy grandparent would count as high risk) then they should all be eligible for vaccines now, so while I know it isn't always easy to get an appointment, I'd be shocked if you can't get all of them appointments in the next couple weeks.

Once the high risk folks are vaccinated, then you can (and I think, should) let him play.

Also - I assume you're already attempting this, but I wouldn't cross off a whole playground if there's one kid without a mask and the playground is decent sized. Can you just tell your kid he has to stay away from the unmasked kids? At five, that seems like he should be able to handle it, and might open more playgrounds up to you.

I don’t think you’re too strict. Most of the kids at our playground wear masks because we’re trying to keep everyone in the school. In fact the closer we got to hybrid starting the more masks I saw on kids and adults frankly.

The kids that don’t wear masks outside have parents that don’t wear masks outside. We work in person so we’re very used to wearing them, and we had our child start practicing as soon as it was recommended so it’s no big deal for them. They are neurotypical so I understand that that is a difference with some of the other earlier posters. By and large most kids can tolerate them though. Given the opportunity.

Kids are almost always wearing masks at the DC playgrounds we go to. And my kid knows to just stay away from unmasked kids. I've actually heard her tell another kid, "If you put on a mask, we can play," and the other kid did put a mask on. I'm not worried if there are a few unmasked kids in some other part of the playground. There are plenty of masked kids and they have a great time playing together.

Why not buy some child sized kn94 (rather than cloth masks if that is what you have) so that you feel more protected in the case other unmasked kids are around. I agree with others it is probably ok to be outdoors unmasked if keeping a reasonable distance.

I can't wrap my head around the concept that the best choice for a child's overall health and wellbeing is to NOT go to an OUTDOORS playground b/c there are some kids without masks (chance of catching covid: statistically infinitely small) and instead not playing or exercising and going indoors to then eat a donut alone.

too strict, borderline paranoid psychotic. the Science on outdoor transmission in no way supports your position here.

Anonymous wrote:I drive around my only 5 year old to find a nearby small outdoor playground that is either empty or have few kids that are masked. If either one requirement is satisfied, we just drive around and end up in dunkin donut to get a donut instead. On a few occasion, my son cried because I had to make him leave the playground immediately because some other kids showed up without masks at the playground. I understand why he cried, and he understand the reasons behind I had to make him leave (because of other unmasked kids). He is little that he still can’t help it out to cry, and I always take him other places to cheer him up a bit. He prefers a playground with masked kids OVER a playground with nobody. And other masked kids stay around to play even other unmasked kids shown up.

Do I handle it alright or am I too strict?

Way too strict! and wth - "no playground! we must have donuts!"

You should do whatever you feel is right and what you are comfortable with. Lot of people don’t even know how they got exposed to Covid. So you do you. A couple of things I’d mention. Talk to your kid before going to the playground, tell him beforehand that if it’s too crowded then we are going to leave and find something else fun to do that’s safe for us. That’s what I do with my 5 year old and it kinda helps in setting the expectations. Secondly, replacing active play time at the playground with a donut is a slippery slope. We keep a ball or a frisbee, or a bike/ scooter in the trunk if we drove, so if the playground gets too crowded we still get to have some playtime away from people.

Omg your poor kid

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is op. I know kid get covid is more slim, but I am more worried about my kid catching covid ( with no symptom) and then transmit to my high risk DH and grandparents that are not got the chance to be vaccinated yet. I will loose up my playground rule once adults are vaccinated.

I'm sort of surprised you're still visiting with grandparents if you're that nervous about COVID. Are unmasked children on playgrounds really your biggest source of exposure to COVID?

I'm the pp with the ASD child. I understand the concern about transmissions. My kids have a couple particularly high-risk grandparents, and my spouse is immunosuppressed. But my spouse is also a healthcare worker who was going in throughout the pandemic. And our kids were going to daycare and therapy. So playgrounds ultimately only accounted for a small part of our exposure. And accordingly, they wouldn't have been seeing their grandparents at all.

This is exactly when we don’t play close to unmasked kids. Your child goes to daycare, has a dad who’s going in to a medical job in person, and your child also doesn’t wear a mask (Does he wear one in daycare? How do they allow him not to?), and you’re letting him go to playgrounds unmasked.

And that's a reasonable position to take if you have high-risk individuals in your home and are trying to live in a bubble. A lot of people can't live in a bubble, though.

Our ASD child doesn't wear a mask at daycare, although it is a a special therapy center for autistic children. Our other children is at a center. He does wear a mask. Sort of. It's hard to get a terribly good idea how consistently he wears it. I know they have to readjust it on him regularly, which you'd expect for a three year old. I don't think you understand the mask rules at daycare, though. There's a hard requirement for masks on staff. And a fairly hard requirement for kids over 5. The 2-5 age group has varying levels of wiggle room, depending on the policies of the center, the local jurisdiction, and the state.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is op. I know kid get covid is more slim, but I am more worried about my kid catching covid ( with no symptom) and then transmit to my high risk DH and grandparents that are not got the chance to be vaccinated yet. I will loose up my playground rule once adults are vaccinated.

There's no reason why the grandparents aren't vaccinated yet. There are plenty of appointments for ages 65+. Are you able to help them find appointments?

Perhaps the grandparents are not 65+
OP's child is only 5.