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Original poster

Do you make your child under 11 wear a mask?

114 replies

PickACoolUserName · 13/08/2020 09:06

Or under 5 if you live in Scotland.

We haven't taken the kids anywhere where masks would be required so I haven't really given it much consideration but I've noticed when out grocery shopping that quite a few young children seem to be wearing them.

My understanding is that it's not compulsory for children under 11 (5 in Scotland) so I was curious about how many people are getting their young children to wear them. Also what are your reasons for your choice, and how does your child feel about them?

DS who is 8 has sensory issues and I'm dreading the day when / if he has to wear one. I think DD who is 4 would be fine though.

OP posts:

Waxonwaxoff0 · 13/08/2020 09:24

No, I don't make my 7 year old wear one. He doesn't want to.

Rowanberries · 13/08/2020 09:25

Rindertinder- that is brilliant! I'm going to start pretending to be a ninja when I've got my mask on, never mind getting the kids to do it!

RaggieDolls · 13/08/2020 09:25

Same here. I don't 'make' my children wear one. They choose to and like me they aren't bothered by wearing one for a few minutes in a shop.

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SistemaAddict · 13/08/2020 09:26

Ds is 5 and will wear one if we venture anywhere where there are people. Dds are 13 and 11 and like me have sensory issues and asthma but we will get used to them. I used to wear one in theatre as a student nurse. Hot, sweaty, itchy but needs must. I'll feel a lot happier if masks are required at school. If other countries can do it then so can we.

OneMillionSteps · 13/08/2020 09:29

Yes, in shops, museums etc. DS is 10 - he tries to get out of it but I tell him he looks older than 10 so best to show willing.

InvincibleInvisibility · 13/08/2020 09:29

Generally yes. We live in France where most DC wear them inside and often outside.

I give them masks when inside only. And when we flew they wore them in the airport and on the plane. The only exception is when it is boiling hot (35+) and I can see them suffering (6 year old was scarlet on a bus so I let him pull it down).

BighouseLittlemouse · 13/08/2020 09:31

DS is 8, sensory issues and ADHD. Has tried but hasn’t managed to wear one for more than a few minutes.

DS 5 is happy to try and will wear in a shop. However we had a 4 1/2 train journey and he certainly didn’t manage it for that ( he did try but I wasn’t going to force him too). Tbh with my youngest I’ve tried many different masks and all gape quite a bit or are too tight/fall off from his ears so suspect they are of limited utility. A significant minority of the adults on the train took theirs off when sitting down.

DS 8 is genuinely distressed by them so I wouldn’t ever try to force him.

AuntieStella · 13/08/2020 09:31

No.

But I am telling them to keep a full 2m away from people they don't know are OK closer distances unmasked.

Chevron123 · 13/08/2020 09:32

Mine choose to. It seems to have become a fashion statement among pre-teens and teens around here - I let them choose styles online and they're happy. I can imagine them being worn to school voluntarily in September

UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme · 13/08/2020 09:32

We live in a country where they're compulsory from 6 and children make far less fuss about masks than adults on MN. They're only an issue if their parents tell them they are. Many children happily wear a Spiderman or whatever mask all day...

The amount of fuss and drama about masks on MN and British social media blows my mind - everyone wears them here including children without being so melodramatic about it. I work with a client group who are eligible for exemption from masks and 95% of them also voluntarily wear masks because it's the right thing to do to protect others and themselves, and because they aren't attention seeking egotists.

The occasional person not wearing a mask is assumed to have exemption because nobody is selfish enough to refuse to wear a mask if they can surely... Yet on MN and British social media it seems 50% of the UK population think they shouldn't have to because it's not as comfortable as not wearing one, or they cba spending time getting used to it at home before wearing it out, or they just don't want to.

TheFaerieQueene · 13/08/2020 09:32

I have seen lots of children wearing masks. They seemed unfazed by them, though I obviously only see a snap shot of their experience. Hats off to them I say!

VashtaNerada · 13/08/2020 09:33

My 8yo is happy to, never once complained.

MileyWiley · 13/08/2020 09:33

Nope. Not a chance.

AriesTheRam · 13/08/2020 09:34

I've got one for ds 6 but he rarely wears it.I got it really for incase the rules change and it becomes mandatory for children.

InglouriousBasterd · 13/08/2020 09:34

Yes - she’s 10 and tall for her age so I didn’t want her getting unnecessary grief.

JasperRising · 13/08/2020 09:37

Make them? No. But we have a couple of kids masks and if they want to wear them they can. Some days they ask to, others they don't. We have no idea whether masks will be required in the future or become more of a voluntary norm so I'd rather it didn't become a big 'thing'.

Trashtara · 13/08/2020 09:37

I've only been out once with DS (4) and he wanted to wear a mask so I let him. It was too big though. I don't make him though and I won't, I prefer to just not take him. We don't really go anywhere where it is needed, if we are out and we need to go somewhere that requires masks, either DH or I wait outside with the kids. DD 18 months won't be wearing a mask for obvious reasons.

ProfessorRadcliffeEmerson · 13/08/2020 09:38

No.

ginsparkles · 13/08/2020 09:38

I don't make her, I give her the option. Sometimes she chooses to, others she doesn't.

profpoopsnagle · 13/08/2020 09:39

No because she is 10 and it's not mandatory. She's tall for her age too but nobody has challenged her so far, if they did I'd explain that she's 10. However we are encouraging her to adhere to all other measures, most important being space and handwashing.

AHippoNamedBooBooButt · 13/08/2020 09:40

Mine are 11(but asd), 8 and 4. We've just told them have to, not given the option, and yes at first they didn't like it (but then, neither did i) but now it's just the norm and they don't think twice about it. There have been times we've had to remind them that it's OK to remove it once we've left a shop etc.

highlandshortbread · 13/08/2020 09:40

@PickACoolUserName if he has sensory issues maybe buy a few types of masks / face coverings and ask him to touch, smell and test each one out to see which he prefers.

I have sensory issues and it took me a while to find one i like - then I bought 5 of them. You can also choose a cool print.

DS has Harry Potter masks. He chose them himself.

FixTheBone · 13/08/2020 09:41

We don't make our under 11s, but we ask them and generally they do so they can be like their older siblings.

Rockbird · 13/08/2020 09:41

DD2 is 8 and she starts off wearing one because DD1 and I are but the novelty wears off though! If for any reason she absolutely had to wear one she would and wouldn't complain. Unlike DD1 who is 12 and complains bitterly

Happymum12345 · 13/08/2020 09:42

My 9 year old dd likes to wear one in shops. I wouldn’t make her but would encourage her.

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