Nursery requires babies to wear masks

[Peridotty]

Just to clarify we live in the USA in a state where masks have been mandatory for over 2s since March and takes covid very seriously.

I was viewing a nursery and found the one of our dreams (ok slight exaggeration but it’s got what we’re looking for). However! This owner wants all kids to wear masks. They start taking babies from 12 months up and our baby would start when she is 13 months old.

The national guidelines are that masks on babies and toddlers under 2 is a suffocation and choking hazard and should not be worn but this is only a guideline and the owner can do what she wants. The owner says that the parents of the babies are all happy with it and the staff members help the babies wear masks. She says that the babies will wear them when they see other babies wearing them too. I don’t think they wear them when they’re sleeping or eating. Only when supervised by three staff. The ratio is 8 kids to 3 staff.

What would you do? Keep looking for another nursery?

Utterly shocking.

Has the world gone mad??

Is it really true??

YANBU. Look for another daycare or hire a nanny or babysitter.

Honestly, if they are that dense I wouldn’t want to send my child to their nursery.

All the other nurseries encourage over 2s to wear a mask

I can't believe this either.

I love that they can remove them for eating, as if they'll carefully take them off and put them to one side.
Within ten minutes they'll have chewed them, dribbled down them, vomited in them, those who can control their own arms will have just taken them off themselves

I think we can be too lax re masks in the UK but I’m not keen on under 5s with masks and I absolutely would not put a baby in one. I’m shocked it’s compulsory for 2 plus. I’ve got a nearly 2yo and I would not be happy with her wearing one all day. Our nursery staff do all wear masks which isn’t ideal for the children and language but I’m happy for them to do so if reduces transmission and hoping it’ll just be a few months while cases are still high.

Have they met an under two?

My baby won't even wear a hat let alone a mask! I think you need to look for somewhere else.

No way! This is dangerous. In the UK, there are some parents saying it’s unreasonable to expect their 11 year olds to wear masks at school. They are being unreasonable IMO, but so is this horrendous prospective nursery of yours!

Surely this is a wind up?

No way on earth would I go there. You should report this policy as Very dangerous.

@hemhem

How will the children learn to speak if they can't see adults forming words with their mouths? Sounds utterly crazy to me

That would be my worry too.

@Wildswim
@Positivevibesonlyplease

It’s not a windup. As other posters have also said, kids have to wear a mask over 2 in daycares/nurseries in the USA. I can show you many pictures and links to these daycares if you still don’t believe me.

Insanity. I don't know any 13 month old who would keep one on anyway.
Keep looking, if there is one batshit rule there will be others.

Omg no.
I don't think any child of any age should have to cover their face. It's absolute madness and I really think its despicable.
Masks have little effect on viral transmission rates anyway, everyone seems to be in favour of them as a kind of 'well something's better than nothing'. I've seen very little solid evidence to suggest that the benefits outweigh the risks.
I honestly think it is a form of child abuse.
Though mumsnet doesn't agree, and regards me as a nutcase for my views on facemasks.

Soon it will be normal for children to see only half faces and half expressions. Its such a shame.

Find a different nursery

No way would I dream of using this nursery. Even if it were just the adults in masks, who knows what sort of long term impact that could have on a baby.

I have a friend in California, and I think they’ve got the balance wrong when it comes to children. The toddlers 2 and above have to wear face masks when outside their own home or car. Also, their 6 year old’s school has been remote-only since last March. No socialisation at all!

No way. Find another nursery.

How are they going to manage the drool and snot which ordinarily they'd be wiping from the babies' faces? The poor babies will have it squashed against their skin all day, and if a baby has a cold it won't be able to breathe properly. The masks will likely be soaked and useless by the end of the day. Please find another nursery, OP.

@Peridotty

Yes I guess the other parents are okay with it too. Perhaps it makes them feel like it’s safer if their baby wears a mask?

They're bonkers.

And I'm very pro-mask wearing for adults.

No way would my child be going there

It's a market and obviously there are customers for this. Take your custom elsewhere?

I'd be concerned that this was an unsafe environment for the babies in masks, however. Is there a regulatory body you can inform about this

Even myself being most cautious of cautious favouring safety first and risk last approach to self, family and community - find this a bit difficult to fully appreciate. Very young infants are surely not expected to wear face coverings unless of course they are tested positive and unavoidably within close proximity to others outside of their immediate PPEed parents. In any case possibly infant Covid face shields are a remote possibly and definitely not a surgical face mask for obvious reasons.

I am surprised the USA has seemingly gone from one extreme of pandemic denial to seemingly over zealous Covid proactively. A slight digression, but all we in the UK tend to receive by way of news reporting, is currently the usual domestic political terrorist preferring guns and violence opposite to any community safety expectation despite rampant Covid.

Good luck and yes I would try to find another in person nursery option with a cautious but more balanced pragmatic approach to infant Covid risk mitigation measures. In addition if your particular locality is so heavily Covid infected (hence mitigation measures adopted) why are these in person facilities still operational? Is accurate and frequent testing available to separate the ill from healthy?

And finally you may have seen this online already but this type of precautionary approach culture is possibly why Covid impact is so varied globally:

m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/newborns-babies-face-shields-visors-protect-covid-19-coronavirus-photos-thailand_n_5e909517c5b6260471e0e486?ri18n=true

How in the world does the USA expect a baby or toddler to keep a mask on? Are you in Georgia by chance? Dp bro in law comes from Georgia and from what he says it does seem like a very strange place.

Massachusetts? I thought they were “advised” for under-5s, not required? Has the nursery shown you their reasons for demanding this? What evidence are they basing it on?

I think by the time your child is 13 months old things will be different anyway.