It’s not ideal for people to have to wear masks, but I would have thought as a nurse you’d appreciate that the general public are being asked to wear masks to protect others, rather than to avoid getting the infection yourself.
Of course I know this - everyone knows this whether they’re a nurse or not. Although I’m pretty sure recent guidance is saying masks have been shown to offer protection to the wearer too, not just everyone else.
I don’t want to have to tell my 6 year old that the reason he has to wear the mask is because he might already have the germs and it’s to stop him giving them to someone else. He will be very upset/fearful if he thinks he has Covid because he knows the severity of it. I can just imagine him being too scared to come near me or his little brother for fear of giving it to us if he has it, or fear that he’s going to die or something. He will probably then want to wear his mask around the house so he can’t pass his Covid germs on to me or his dad for fear of us dying from them or something.
He will probably then start asking why if he has to wear one, why doesn’t his younger brother? Asking why it doesn’t matter if his brother gives someone the virus yet it’s a problem if he does?
These are very young children and like another poster said, the rules and logic behind the masks can potentially be very confusing to them - they don’t have the same ability to reason and understand that us adults do.
Plus, with such young children wearing masks it is obviously going to start my son asking questions in September as to why he doesn’t have to wear them at school....as in, why doesn’t it matter if he gives his virus to his friends? If I then try and explain that children don’t get as poorly if they get the virus he will then be asking why, if it’s only grown up people that get poorly, why doesn’t it matter if he gives his virus germs to his teachers and dinner ladies?
I imagine preparation for schools returning is part of the reason why government are saying masks are not necessary for under 11s, but with so many parents still making their young children wear them, then of course it’s going to raise a lot of questions and issues come September when children start asking why masks aren’t needed in school but are everywhere else.
We all know that young children ask question after question after question in order to try and understand things, and of course all the “why, why, why” questions that we as their parents are posed.
Like I said earlier, my friend is so anxious and makes her 5 year old wear a mask everywhere......I genuinely can’t see how she will be able to send her child back to school without her wearing a mask because she’s so fearful of the virus being out there and making her daughter ill. I imagine, after 6 weeks of not leaving the house without a mask on, her child may also feel worried about suddenly being around everyone at school and no masks being worn.