Older kids not wearing facemasks?

[Cam77]

In a local shop this evening, nice and quiet everyone relaxed and easy social distancing. Suddenly a group of, Id guess, half a dozen 12/13 year olds without masks come in and walk/run here and there, without masks on and everyone is having to try to keep out their way as they have no concept of distancing (or in some cases just don't take it seriously as theyre not in risk group).

What is the logic of older kids, often of a height that puts them on a face level with many adults, not wearing masks inside shops? Many countries even encourage little kids wearing them for the social good.... I know the rule is officially 13 and up but obviously many 13/14 year olds just won't bother.

Feel sorry for the shop staff having to deal with it on daily basis anyway. If youre old enough to go shop surely you can wear a mask for 5-10 minutes to protect older shoppers?

Half the adults I see

If they are 10 then their parents may not be providing them with a mask. Few would think to spend their own money on something they legally are not required to wear.

I really wouldn't care less.

Yeah, perhaps they were only 11/12. Who knows. Still, I ran into my neighbours shopping a couple of weeks back and their kids were wearing masks, and they’re I think about 5 and 8. Perhaps it comes down to the parents attitudes. Personally I think if you’re old enough to shop alone with your mates you’re old enough to wear a mask to protect the vulnerable (disabilities aside). Seems most disagree. Fair enough.

@ClarencesMum

Who cares? Just do you, let them do them.

A new Us4Us low. .

Kids of that age are not having to wear masks in schools though, and faced with inconsistency, they will do whatever the hell they want. They know noone can do anything about it, just as schools have nowhere to go with extreme behaviour.

Parents like @ClarencesMum don't help.

@ClarencesMum

Who cares? Just do you, let them do them.

I hate this sort of comment. I care because their not wearing a mask is affecting me, masks are to protect other people (I appreciate not everyone can for genuine reasons) not ourselves.

@Batshitbeautycosmeticsltd

Maybe they're sick of having their lives compromised to 'protect older shoppers'. Or they don't care. People are sick of all this shit.

FFS talk about stupid.

There are millions of people who have been shielding for months. Not everyone of them is an older shopper. There are people of all ages in that group, including children, young children.

Talk about fucking selfish.

DS and classmates were playing out and going to the local shop from about age 8. I agree that they are old enough to wear one at that age but they may not have access to one. The government could have required them from a younger age but chose not to. The WHO says age 12 I think.

In many English secondaries students aren’t required to wear masks. The government discourages staff and students from wearing them in classrooms too (England.) Some young people might not see the point of wearing one in a shop if they’re packed into a classroom /crowded corridor / school as normal. (I don’t agree it is right to do this btw.) There could be any number of reasons why these children weren’t wearing masks though. You’ll never know unless you ask the individuals involved.

I see it in local shop.

They ignore the machine thing that says how many spaces are left.

The bring in scooters.

The other day one even can and stood so close when I was paying our arms were touching. The queue system with the wait behind line was there well before Covid. It's just behind that line is now 2m distancing.

Sometimes I wonder if it's on purpose for that reason.

I feel for the older people who look terrified

It’s 5 where I live. 11 is ridiculous, especially since it’s only under 11 that count as “children” in terms of virus risk.

@Batshitbeautycosmeticsltd

Maybe they're sick of having their lives compromised to 'protect older shoppers'. Or they don't care. People are sick of all this shit.

Aren't we all sick of this shit?

I for one aren't enjoying the pandemic.

But it's here and as a society we have to deal with it.

The OP is the one who mentioned older shoppers. Call others selfish all you want, call them names, whatever. It's like water on a duck's back to those who are fed up with all this.

There will soon be another post about a second wave, we're in the middle of a pandemic etc. They've been saying this since May.

My 9yo wears 11-12 clothing. She reluctantly wears a mask in indoor public places the few times she goes, but doesn't like it. She fully understands the reasons behind it though.

I see many secondary kids on the way to school and the majority are wearing masks.

But it's here and as a society we have to deal with it.

Oh, yes, the ubiquitous collective, as always. 'We'. You do you, and others will do themselves.

Bring on all the shaming, guilting and name calling posts.

That's how far we've got, that people are terrified of other people. In a shop. Where you'll be for all of a few minutes at most.

YANBU. They should be wearing them - especially now the schools are going back.

@Batshitbeautycosmeticsltd
Your position is ludicrous. People making small, consistent sacrifices is what has enabled schools to reopen. The “sick of this shit” crowd seem to be living in an utter fantasy whereby we can all just bin all those sacrifices and painstakingly developed national policies, and there will be no consequences except we’ll all “get out lives back”. Wrong. The consequences of dropping everything, according to everything we know about this virus, would be a couple of hundred thousand excess deaths in the U.K. before Christmas, with a couple of hundred thousand more in hospital. There is no evidence that the virus has suddenly “become nicer” since it killed circa 60,000 Britons in March and April, a period on which we failed to timely lock down by perhaps just a couple of weeks. The way forward is a careful balancing act between opening up and keeping people, particularly the vulnerable, as safe as possible. The “we’re sick of this shit” crowd aren’t brave or freedom loving. They are just idiotic.

It's ludicrous to actually believe the government took any of these policies painstakingly. They seem to make up shit on the fly whilst drunk. Schools opened to people can go back to work because the furlough scheme, which the government borrowed billions to fund, is winding down. We're a broke nation in hoc to our eyeballs about to crash out of the EU.

And if you're sick of something you act as you do because you don't care, not because you even think you're bring brave.

Life is much better when you don't presume sentiments and emotions and motives that probably aren't there.

What are you going on about?

What is usforus?

What exactly is it I am not helping with?

@JalapenoDave

See it all the time, especially on trains. They think they are exempt for some unknown reason 🤷‍♀️

Where are the parents? They must have been dragged up to have such scant regard for public health. And these people are our future.

God help us.

A lot here who are quick to call others selfish. Kids are aware that it is the older generations who have benefitted from the 'progress' which is bringing the disaster of climate change upon them. Why expect them to make sacrifices when others will not?

Why expect them to make sacrifices when others will not?

They aren't being asked not to go abroad or drive anywhere though are they, or even to stand in the cinema for the national anthem. It's about a basic level of respect.

@ClarencesMum

What are you going on about?

What is usforus?

What exactly is it I am not helping with?

@ClarencesMum I think it's a 'witty' attempt at a parody of the 'usforthem' pressure group who are all about trying to get normalcy back for children at school, who are of course evil psychopaths for thinking of their own child and prioritizing them and their mental health and acknowledging it's been impacted by the lockdown.

Painstakingly developed national policies

🤣🤣🤣

The government has made most of it up as it has gone along and done plenty of u-turns along the way.

Probably they should be wearing them, but we don't know and it can be hard to be sure what age they really are. I really couldn't be arsed to get all het up and frothy over it.

I do wear my mask, by the way. I don't really care what other people do.