Anonymous
Post 03/22/2021 10:35     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It Is no big deal for kids to wear masks -- our 4 year old has been doing it all year, and is the most covid-cautious, rule-abider in our family.


exactly. it's a reflection of the parents for kids who can't do it.


You can’t know this. Kids are different. My 3 yr old wears a mask pretty comfortably, but I know kids her age with sensory issues for whom it’s really challenging. Their families wind up staying home a lot because they worry they will be shamed or considered Covid deniers. I’ve had strangers on the street make snide comments to me if they see my kid without a mask (because she was taking a sip of water or her mask fell in the mud, things they don’t consider), so I can only imagine how hard it is for families whose kids struggle with masks.
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2021 10:30     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
Anonymous wrote:It Is no big deal for kids to wear masks -- our 4 year old has been doing it all year, and is the most covid-cautious, rule-abider in our family.


exactly. it's a reflection of the parents for kids who can't do it.
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2021 10:08     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I work at a preschool that has been open since August. We required the 3s and up to wear masks when we reopened and the 2s program required masks starting in January. We are planning to have all children 2 and up with required masks next year - knowing it may take a while for the new 2s and any other new students to get he hang of it.

They all wear masks everyday now and are almost all doing just fine. Others need a few small reminders is all.

We are planning to keep all the Covid measures in place next year with the exception of travel which we expect may get looser following the CDC changes.



Yuck. I hope you change your mind. You are hurting the kids. Talking about next fall not this year. This year fine. But in the fall?! We are about to be drowning in vaccine. Not a single person who took JJ or any of the other two authorized vaccines in the trial was hospitalized. If they got sick at all they got the sniffles. What is the end game?!


The kids won’t be vaccinated in the fall! Don’t you care about kids getting sick? So each impairment is on you not the masks, sorry. Don’t like masks, keep them home.


Covid has not caused any severe illnesses or deaths in young children that don’t have underlying conditions. Read a goddamn research paper.


this is not true and many time people don't know if they or their kids have underlying until it is too late. regardless keep the schools open, get vaccinated, and mask up the kids .
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2021 09:36     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
It Is no big deal for kids to wear masks -- our 4 year old has been doing it all year, and is the most covid-cautious, rule-abider in our family.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2021 12:35     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My 2 year old is going to daycare in a few months. He has stranger and separation anxiety, and he has not left home since born. Their daycare requires all kids need to wear mask at 2 and above, but know that their mask policy is loose for 2 year olds. Should I send him with mask or unmasked (with masks in backpack) on day 1 drop off at school door? I am 200 percent know he will cry the second I handed him to daycare teachers at school door. I am thinking of unmasked on day 1, try to make him more uncomfortable and I don't see the point of mask getting wet from tears and boogies from weeping. He can cry for an hour.


I know a kid under two who started day care. She didn’t have to wear a mask, but everyone around her wearing masks and full PPE totally terrified her. She cried all day for two weeks and her parents eventually pulled her out. So I would talk to him a lot about how everyone around him will be wearing masks all day. Maybe take him a few places and show him what his providers will look like. This isn’t normal daycare, it’s like being cared for by storm troopers.


This. We sent our kid to a daycare last fall (our old daycare never reopened) and had to pull her after a month because she just couldn't acclimate under the Covid conditions. All caregivers and kids were in masks, she didn't know anyone there beforehand, we had to do drop-off at the gate to the building (and it was stressful, with a hand washing station and a temperature check and very strict rules about where parents could stand). She was just stressed out and miserable and never really played with the other kids or connected with the teachers.

But now she's in a PK where they still have masking rules, but they are more humane about how the Covid rules are applied. Parents take temps at home and report them via the drop-off app. The kids are outside most of the day and drop off and pick up happen in the yard, so it can be a little more relaxed and less abrupt for the kids. Everyone wears masks but the setting is just more personal and not as rigid and it has really helped my DD feel more comfortable. It's such a relief. I think a lot of childcares and schools can learn from this situation. You can have safety procedures in place without losing your humanity.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2021 12:22     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My 2 year old is going to daycare in a few months. He has stranger and separation anxiety, and he has not left home since born. Their daycare requires all kids need to wear mask at 2 and above, but know that their mask policy is loose for 2 year olds. Should I send him with mask or unmasked (with masks in backpack) on day 1 drop off at school door? I am 200 percent know he will cry the second I handed him to daycare teachers at school door. I am thinking of unmasked on day 1, try to make him more uncomfortable and I don't see the point of mask getting wet from tears and boogies from weeping. He can cry for an hour.


I know a kid under two who started day care. She didn’t have to wear a mask, but everyone around her wearing masks and full PPE totally terrified her. She cried all day for two weeks and her parents eventually pulled her out. So I would talk to him a lot about how everyone around him will be wearing masks all day. Maybe take him a few places and show him what his providers will look like. This isn’t normal daycare, it’s like being cared for by storm troopers.


When we took DS, who was ~18mo at the time, back to his in-home daycare last summer, I think it was a bit jarring for him to see the caregivers in masks. But it probably helped that he remembered them and knew the kids. Also the staff are wearing surgical masks but hardly full PPE beyond that. The kids were not required to wear them and still aren't. However, we'll be moving him to a center this summer where he will have to wear one and I'm dreading it. We can get him to wear one for a short time on the playground but I think all day is going to be a challenge. But at least at this point he is used to seeing more people in masks, so maybe it will be ok.


I am someone who does wish they would relax the mask requirements for young children, and for teachers once cases go down. I will just say that my DD adjusted fine to mask wearing when she went to the older room at 22 months. No crying at drop off. Not every child will adjust easily but many do.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2021 09:23     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My 2 year old is going to daycare in a few months. He has stranger and separation anxiety, and he has not left home since born. Their daycare requires all kids need to wear mask at 2 and above, but know that their mask policy is loose for 2 year olds. Should I send him with mask or unmasked (with masks in backpack) on day 1 drop off at school door? I am 200 percent know he will cry the second I handed him to daycare teachers at school door. I am thinking of unmasked on day 1, try to make him more uncomfortable and I don't see the point of mask getting wet from tears and boogies from weeping. He can cry for an hour.


I know a kid under two who started day care. She didn’t have to wear a mask, but everyone around her wearing masks and full PPE totally terrified her. She cried all day for two weeks and her parents eventually pulled her out. So I would talk to him a lot about how everyone around him will be wearing masks all day. Maybe take him a few places and show him what his providers will look like. This isn’t normal daycare, it’s like being cared for by storm troopers.


When we took DS, who was ~18mo at the time, back to his in-home daycare last summer, I think it was a bit jarring for him to see the caregivers in masks. But it probably helped that he remembered them and knew the kids. Also the staff are wearing surgical masks but hardly full PPE beyond that. The kids were not required to wear them and still aren't. However, we'll be moving him to a center this summer where he will have to wear one and I'm dreading it. We can get him to wear one for a short time on the playground but I think all day is going to be a challenge. But at least at this point he is used to seeing more people in masks, so maybe it will be ok.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2021 07:56     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
Anonymous wrote:My 2 year old is going to daycare in a few months. He has stranger and separation anxiety, and he has not left home since born. Their daycare requires all kids need to wear mask at 2 and above, but know that their mask policy is loose for 2 year olds. Should I send him with mask or unmasked (with masks in backpack) on day 1 drop off at school door? I am 200 percent know he will cry the second I handed him to daycare teachers at school door. I am thinking of unmasked on day 1, try to make him more uncomfortable and I don't see the point of mask getting wet from tears and boogies from weeping. He can cry for an hour.


I know a kid under two who started day care. She didn’t have to wear a mask, but everyone around her wearing masks and full PPE totally terrified her. She cried all day for two weeks and her parents eventually pulled her out. So I would talk to him a lot about how everyone around him will be wearing masks all day. Maybe take him a few places and show him what his providers will look like. This isn’t normal daycare, it’s like being cared for by storm troopers.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2021 07:48     Subject: Re:Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
Anonymous wrote:For the most part, the rest of the world does not require young kids in masks. Some countries have the minimum age at 6 while others at 11. No noticeable difference in transmission rates. Only the US seems to want 2 year olds in masks.


It’s not even universal across the US. But I really wish the cdc would update the guidance, because places like MoCo will require it so long as the cdc recommends it.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2021 07:12     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
My 2 year old is going to daycare in a few months. He has stranger and separation anxiety, and he has not left home since born. Their daycare requires all kids need to wear mask at 2 and above, but know that their mask policy is loose for 2 year olds. Should I send him with mask or unmasked (with masks in backpack) on day 1 drop off at school door? I am 200 percent know he will cry the second I handed him to daycare teachers at school door. I am thinking of unmasked on day 1, try to make him more uncomfortable and I don't see the point of mask getting wet from tears and boogies from weeping. He can cry for an hour.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2021 06:56     Subject: Re:Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
For the most part, the rest of the world does not require young kids in masks. Some countries have the minimum age at 6 while others at 11. No noticeable difference in transmission rates. Only the US seems to want 2 year olds in masks.
Anonymous
Post 03/18/2021 22:44     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I work at a preschool that has been open since August. We required the 3s and up to wear masks when we reopened and the 2s program required masks starting in January. We are planning to have all children 2 and up with required masks next year - knowing it may take a while for the new 2s and any other new students to get he hang of it.

They all wear masks everyday now and are almost all doing just fine. Others need a few small reminders is all.

We are planning to keep all the Covid measures in place next year with the exception of travel which we expect may get looser following the CDC changes.



Yuck. I hope you change your mind. You are hurting the kids. Talking about next fall not this year. This year fine. But in the fall?! We are about to be drowning in vaccine. Not a single person who took JJ or any of the other two authorized vaccines in the trial was hospitalized. If they got sick at all they got the sniffles. What is the end game?!


The kids won’t be vaccinated in the fall! Don’t you care about kids getting sick? So each impairment is on you not the masks, sorry. Don’t like masks, keep them home.


Jesus. Kids this young are barely getting sick from covid. Yeah we do care about our kids getting sick but they could also get the flu, pneumonia, a stomach virus, etc. Covid has not caused any severe illnesses or deaths in young children that don’t have underlying conditions. Read a goddamn research paper.
Anonymous
Post 03/18/2021 20:15     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Most but not all kids will cope just fine with masking. Kids are surprisingly adaptable, especially young ones.


I think some people on this thread are confusing what kids can do with what kids should be doing. Yes, my 3 year-old has adapted to wearing a mask every day, but that doesn't mean it's good for his social development to not be able to see the expressions of his classmates every day (or his teachers). My son would adapt perfectly to eating goldfish and watching TV all day - that doesn't mean it's good for him. Masks are not normal for small children, and all evidence I've seen says transmission rates between small children are very low. Why is DC making small children wear masks while adults can eat out at restaurants without masks on? It doesn't make any sense to me. And btw, I'm not 'anti-masks' -- I can simultaneously be in favor of masks for adults and against masks for small children.


I am generally very pro mask but have come around to this standpoint as well. What did it for me was my kid starting at a new school a couple months ago (she is 3). Of course it is never easy at this age but I don't think I realize how challenging the masks were making it for her socially until we had a virtual "date" with one of her teachers to discuss her progress. It's not just that my kid lit up to be able to see her teacher's entire face and her facial expressions. It's that I could see the teacher lighting up too, getting to see my kid in a more relaxed setting. She kept noting how much more she was talking and how expressive she was, and how hard it is at school with the kids because it's just harder to get to know them when you are so limited in your interactions. By the time we got off the call, we were all close to tears.

I suddenly realize how frustrating it must be for all involved in these settings where kids have limited communications skills and are still just learning how to interact with other people. And I can see the teachers getting more frustrated with the masks as they all get vaccinated and it's no longer a threat to them. Of course we are not yet vaccinated and our children aren't protected so we're going to keep masking for the foreseeable future. But I agree that at some point we have to ask ourselves if the benefits outweigh the costs. And to do that, we have to acknowledge that there ARE costs.


Tell it to the health officials- they don’t care about child development. It’s all Covid for them.
Anonymous
Post 03/18/2021 20:13     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I work at a preschool that has been open since August. We required the 3s and up to wear masks when we reopened and the 2s program required masks starting in January. We are planning to have all children 2 and up with required masks next year - knowing it may take a while for the new 2s and any other new students to get he hang of it.

They all wear masks everyday now and are almost all doing just fine. Others need a few small reminders is all.

We are planning to keep all the Covid measures in place next year with the exception of travel which we expect may get looser following the CDC changes.



Yuck. I hope you change your mind. You are hurting the kids. Talking about next fall not this year. This year fine. But in the fall?! We are about to be drowning in vaccine. Not a single person who took JJ or any of the other two authorized vaccines in the trial was hospitalized. If they got sick at all they got the sniffles. What is the end game?!


The kids won’t be vaccinated in the fall! Don’t you care about kids getting sick? So each impairment is on you not the masks, sorry. Don’t like masks, keep them home.
Anonymous
Post 03/18/2021 19:45     Subject: Will masks be required for 2-5 year olds in the fall?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Most but not all kids will cope just fine with masking. Kids are surprisingly adaptable, especially young ones.


I think some people on this thread are confusing what kids can do with what kids should be doing. Yes, my 3 year-old has adapted to wearing a mask every day, but that doesn't mean it's good for his social development to not be able to see the expressions of his classmates every day (or his teachers). My son would adapt perfectly to eating goldfish and watching TV all day - that doesn't mean it's good for him. Masks are not normal for small children, and all evidence I've seen says transmission rates between small children are very low. Why is DC making small children wear masks while adults can eat out at restaurants without masks on? It doesn't make any sense to me. And btw, I'm not 'anti-masks' -- I can simultaneously be in favor of masks for adults and against masks for small children.


I am generally very pro mask but have come around to this standpoint as well. What did it for me was my kid starting at a new school a couple months ago (she is 3). Of course it is never easy at this age but I don't think I realize how challenging the masks were making it for her socially until we had a virtual "date" with one of her teachers to discuss her progress. It's not just that my kid lit up to be able to see her teacher's entire face and her facial expressions. It's that I could see the teacher lighting up too, getting to see my kid in a more relaxed setting. She kept noting how much more she was talking and how expressive she was, and how hard it is at school with the kids because it's just harder to get to know them when you are so limited in your interactions. By the time we got off the call, we were all close to tears.

I suddenly realize how frustrating it must be for all involved in these settings where kids have limited communications skills and are still just learning how to interact with other people. And I can see the teachers getting more frustrated with the masks as they all get vaccinated and it's no longer a threat to them. Of course we are not yet vaccinated and our children aren't protected so we're going to keep masking for the foreseeable future. But I agree that at some point we have to ask ourselves if the benefits outweigh the costs. And to do that, we have to acknowledge that there ARE costs.