Flying with children - masks

[Ricepops]

Hoping for some advice on this. We are considering travelling to the US at Christmas to see our family. It's a 7 hour flight and we would all be required to wear masks for the 7 hour flight, including my 4 and 7 year olds. Has anyone done this and how did it go? The masks for the kids are my main concern.

Not RTFT but someone on Instagram bought their kids ring pops. Hours of eating right there.

@SickAndTiredAgain

How does anyone get a child who’s just turned 2 to wear a mask for hours on end??

OP, I’d try practicing at home, see how they get on.

You want to know how they do it?

Check out this horrible video: twitter.com/tpostmillennial/status/1439664566992916483?s=21

It’s an incredibly vile practice.

Kids in other countries weren't used to it till they had to do it either. They went from not wearing masks to wearing them all day in all sorts of locations under very stressful conditions

Please let me know which countries other than America require freaking toddlers to wear masks?

Must be that American exceptionalism I keep hearing about 🙄

It’s an incredibly vile practice

Give over, there's nothing vile in that video.

This is sadly why we won’t be able to go and visit friends in the US for the foreseeable future. I have heard horror stories about just turned 2 year olds (practically babies!) who had been kicked off planes with their parent because they won’t keep a mask on.

However I’ve heard someone say that they put a blanket over their child to watch a device or sleep etc so they could remove the mask and staff wouldn’t see / care, so I guess if they’re getting distressed that’s an option. But yeah, I used to go to the US quite a lot and it feels weird to not expect to go again for a long time.

@Chikapu

It’s an incredibly vile practice

Give over, there's nothing vile in that video.

Forcing a toddler to wear a piece of cloth over their mouth while crying in fear is a vile practice. I’m sorry you can’t see that. Imagine someone doing this to you.

Australia. Dubai. All primary school kids in France till 4th October. Singapore. Hong Kong. India.

Just a small list of countries where kids are masked.

Also South Africa.

@LuchiMangsho

Australia. Dubai. All primary school kids in France till 4th October. Singapore. Hong Kong. India.

Just a small list of countries where kids are masked.

Toddlers. We are talking about nursery school kids here. It’s insane.

As I said mine have been masked since April 2020 and seem to be doing perfectly well with little or no hysteria. DS2 was just turned 3 at that point.

It’s fine if you don’t want to. But when people in the UK do the whole ‘if you come to our country you must abide by your rules/culture’ thing then that applies in reverse too. It’s fine if you don’t want to or disagree with it but there is absolutely no obligation to visit or travel.

As a mother of a child who has actually been on a ventilator for months I’ll make the choices I see fit. And you make yours. And I’ll choose to follow the public health guidance of where I live, and again you follow yours. No need to be quite so aggressive.

Just back from Spain flying Jet2. They said they were strict re mask policy on flight and they did enforce it with adults but were much less strict with the kids. Eg kids were not comfortable sleeping in the masks so I said take them off and the staff said nothing. I don’t think it’s as strictly enforced with kids as it was before.

But when people in the UK do the whole ‘if you come to our country you must abide by your rules/culture’ thing then that applies in reverse too. It’s fine if you don’t want to or disagree with it but there is absolutely no obligation to visit or travel

I am a citizen, so yeah, it affected me a great deal when travelling. Technically needed to mask my three-year-old on the plane. I’m so very fortunate that the flight attendant chose not to enforce it.

As a mother of a child who has actually been on a ventilator for months I’ll make the choices I see fit

I’m sorry for your troubles here. But it’s still insane as a policy, the way Americans defend it even when you show them evidence that it’s not necessary. The vast majority of countries do not mask young children. I’ve not heard of anywhere that insists on masking two-year-olds.

I'm not American but currently living there.
DC wearing masks really isn't the issue that Brits ( or some of those in red states) think it is.
It is perfectly possible to get pre schoolers to wear masks without it being a big deal.

My dc are older but hardly notice they are wearing masks now.

If you don't like the regulations in other countries, don't travel there.

@MrsKoala

I’m sure they weren’t and I’m sure some of their parents also were concerned they might find it difficult. Where has anyone said they’ve convinced their kids they can’t wear them? Perhaps some of us know our child a little better than you and know what they may struggle with.

Ds1 (9) will be fine - he has SN but is rigid and loves rules. Ds2 (7) is currently being diagnosed with ADHD and he can barely sit still. Gentle reminders don’t work as he has forgotten what I’ve said as I’m saying it. It’s all we can do to stop him kicking and hanging off the seat in front (we always sit one of us in front of him). He may be okay, it could go either way. We’ve bought a variety of masks, spoken very positively and practiced. Doesn’t stop me internally worrying that he’ll have a meltdown on the plane though.

We are just lucky they don’t want dd (5 this week) to wear one as she has severe sensory issues and won’t wear most clothes, no hats etc and even has short hair because a clip/band in it makes her scream and rip her hair out. I think I’d rather lose the money than force a mask on her for 9 hours!

You can rebook a 5th time. It's a holiday, so it could wait. unfortunately not. It was now or lose the money.

ADHD hasn't been an issue for mask-wearing here. (4 out of 6 people in my family have it.)

Fingers crossed. He is a picker and a poker - pulled the stitches out of his chin twice in the summer (now has a really open scar) because he just can’t stop fiddling, especially with things on his face.

@MrsKoala

Fingers crossed. He is a picker and a poker - pulled the stitches out of his chin twice in the summer (now has a really open scar) because he just can’t stop fiddling, especially with things on his face.

I'm exactly the same - I think that's quite common alongside ADHD. I also have a form of neuralgia triggered by things touching my ears. Trying lots of different masks was the key to finding one that I could wear for many hours - there are lots I cannot wear.

Good luck!

It’s sad that masks have become so normalised for many children around the world.

DS has ADHD and did have to adjust to the sensory changes of a mask but he tried a good few types to get some that really suited.
He is fine with masks having found those.

To give more specific advice to the OP:

I’d fly with a non-American carrier if possible.

The non-US carrier we were on didn’t enforce the American rules, even though maybe they had to (not sure who has jurisdiction, maybe it’s like the under-21s able to drink alcohol on international flights thing?). The domestic leg, of course, officially they had to, but the staff thankfully didn’t hassle us. Not in the airport either!!!! I just had my mask on and they ignored the little ones. Really made my day.

Other tips are to get one of those CamelBaks and have them ‘drink’ it throughout the flight.

And nighttime flight is better, as no one can really see whether or not your DC has a mask on unless they really want to hassle you (unlikely they will actually care about this when adults do the very same!)

Good luck! Maybe just try to train them to wear it for the boarding/pre-take off. Then they can rip it off, as what will the staff do, turn the flight around because a four-year-old didn’t want to wear a mask?

Good luck!