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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think a 6 year old is too young to be forced to where a mask?

496 replies

Meadow1203 · 29/10/2020 11:58

This is now the law [in France] edited by MNHQ for clarity. I think this could be very frightening for a small child.

OP posts:
HazeyJaneII · 29/10/2020 16:45

@flaviaritt

HazeyJaneII

So they shouldn’t be mandatory, then?

I think ideally we would have a government who introduced them in a timely fashion, set an example and inspured trust, and a society wjo would want to wear them, if they are able, in the interests of wider society and to protect each other. However we don't have the above so, they should be as they are - mandatory with reasonable exemptions.

(Including children and people who can't breathe in them - eg you and your dd)

flaviaritt · 29/10/2020 16:47

However we don't have the above so, they should be as they are - mandatory with reasonable exemptions.

Which is where I am about it. BTW I wear mine because I don’t think I am exempt. It is harder to breathe but I am breathing functionally. My daughter is too young to understand the purpose behind this, or to deal with this level of discomfort.

Shantotto · 29/10/2020 16:47

I make absolutely zero fuss over masks I think they’re great but they still distress my son. I’ve never made a fuss about clowns or the dark and he’s still scared of them. 🤷‍♀️

halloweenagain · 29/10/2020 16:48

This is our new normal, for the moment in the middle of a pandemic.
I wonder if your sadness about masks is linked to your dislike of them?
I'll be happy when we don't need them but I am sadder about my dc missing out on music, sports, trips away etc than I am about masks.
Again almost most children who have to wear masks here manage without difficulty.

halloweenagain · 29/10/2020 16:52

We have been wearing them since March and it is just everyday normal now.
Lots of messaging from authorities, online, bus stops etc.
Messaging on every shop door.
It is the social norm so it manages itself now.

flaviaritt · 29/10/2020 17:02

People have gone very quiet. I can only assume they don’t actually want me to force a mask onto my 4 year old.

Thehop · 29/10/2020 17:03

My 4 year old had to wear one on rides at a theme park in summer and was fine

Porcupineinwaiting · 29/10/2020 17:06

@flaviaritt maybe they're a bit puzzled as how the question posed in the OP actually hinges around your dd? Especially if they're French.

unmarkedbythat · 29/10/2020 17:08

@flaviaritt

People have gone very quiet. I can only assume they don’t actually want me to force a mask onto my 4 year old.
I don't give a toss whether you force her or not. There is no legal requirement here for her to wear one. Should the law here change, your question would be relevant. As things stand, it is pointless goading.

People are not answering your question because they are not interested in whether or not your daughter wears a mask, not because it's the great argument winning zinger you seem to believe it is.

flaviaritt · 29/10/2020 17:09

unmarkedbythat

I think if the people who have been saying I should force her to wear a mask for the protection of others don’t want to come out and actually say they still think that, that’s up to them. 🤷🏻‍♀️

flaviaritt · 29/10/2020 17:11

Porcupineinwaiting

It doesn’t. The discussion evolved. But several people were quite adamant I should be forcing her.

maddiemookins16mum · 29/10/2020 17:11

Seeing as most 6 years love nothing more than dressing up and wearing pretend masks etc, you turn it into a game. It’s only a problem if you make it.

VeryQuaintIrene · 29/10/2020 17:14

Sounds like you're projecting a bit here. Make a game of it, get cute child masks and maybe get a grip as well.

TeeniefaeTroon · 29/10/2020 17:19

My son doesn't mind wearing them, I print masks so he loves being able to pick which picture he'd like put on them. We've a stash of Fortnite and Harry Potter ones for him.

HazeyJaneII · 29/10/2020 17:23

But several people were quite adamant I should be forcing her.

No one was! No one anywhere in this thread or possibly the universe is adamant about forcing your 3 year old daughter....who lives in a country where under 11s don't have to....to wear a mask!!

The only reason it evolved was because, like another mask thread the other day, you managed to completely make it all about you and your dd.

I'm starting to suspect you're Colin Robinson.

SchrodingersImmigrant · 29/10/2020 17:26

@flaviaritt

People have gone very quiet. I can only assume they don’t actually want me to force a mask onto my 4 year old.
People got tired of claims of hysterically crying child before the child even tried the mask on🤷‍♀️

Stop whining, people. It's not like you are asked to cut your leg off. Unless you can't, just get over it, like the rest of us does temporarily.
And stop inventing imaginary distressed kids.

Behave like adults ffs.

halloweenagain · 29/10/2020 17:26

flaviaritt You aren't in the situation where your dd has to wear one.
Neither of you are somewhere there this is the norm, everyone around you is doing this, her schoolmates and friends are doing this. There are signs, pictures and adverts telling you all to do this everywhere. The school is explaining how to do this and why.
If you get to this point you may well find that it is not the issue you think it will be. If it is you will manage it the best way you can.
It is not something you can be sure of one way or the other now and wasting a lot of time imagining things that might never come to pass is surely a waste of your and everyone else's time.

flaviaritt · 29/10/2020 17:27

HazeyJaneII

They were. My parenting was called into question, it was suggested that my daughter has no boundaries, that my refusal to mask her is hysteria. You might need to re-read it.

No idea who Colin Robinson is.

flaviaritt · 29/10/2020 17:28

halloweenagain

All that is irrelevant. What I am saying is very simple (and I think fair enough). I do not agree with the mandatory masking of young kids, including mine. That’s all.

ToffeePennie · 29/10/2020 17:28

My 6 year old asks to wear his. And because his big brother wears one, my 2 year old wears one too

Schoolchoicesucks · 29/10/2020 17:32

My 7 year old point blank refuses to even try wearing one. He has sensory issues. He has seen dh and I and his older brother wearing them without complaint so it's not coming from us.

We haven't had to go anywhere where I have needed to try and force him to wear one. Judging by how my older son fiddles with his despite being aware that he shouldn't, I don't believe that causing my younger son distress by trying to force the issue would make anyone any safer.

I am glad they are not yet compulsory here for his age.

byebyeboyee · 29/10/2020 17:33

Where about are you? In Spain it's 6 but I've seen much younger kids wearing them. I'm trying to get my 3 year old to wear one but she's a bit of a young 3.

ForeverBubblegum · 29/10/2020 17:34

My 4 year old (still 3 when mask wearing came in) has no problem wearing one. He has no reason to find it scary because I've never made a big deal about it or given it any negative connotation. He excepted now wearing masks in shops, with no more difficulty then now wearing uniform to preschool, or wearing hat/gloves in winter.

HazeyJaneII · 29/10/2020 17:35

@Schoolchoicesucks
Your son would not have to wear one.
@flaviaritt
No - I have looked. No one has advocated forcing any child to wear a mask. No one.

byebyeboyee · 29/10/2020 17:36

I've seen more younger kids in Spain wearing them and when I went to check out his new school they were all wearing masks at 3.

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