Masks for kids

[bingowingsmcgee]

Is it masks all day then for secondary kids? Can't they just offer all the staff the vaccine and then crack on? Pretty horrible for the kids.

confusion over whether masks protect the wearer, or only those with whom the wearer interacts. If everyone wears them then everyone is protected. If everyone wears them then I am protected from everyone. it's called social responsibility.

@ZZTopGuitarSolo

I know I sound like a broken record but I think we need to face facts and be honest with ourselves. Masks do help on the margin but potential benefits from reduction in transmission need to be assessed against potential negative impact (e.g. on children's mental health). The latter may be small but so is the former. We may also be convinced that "children are OK wearing masks all day" but let us ask ourselves once again - are they? I look at some of my friends neurotically sanitising their hands every five minutes and keep asking myself whether we fully appreciate the extent of mental damage brought on by the pandemic.

I agree - in the UK there appears to be very little attention to the extent of the mental damage caused by the pandemic.

So let's see - what's more damaging to a child's mental health?

Wearing a mask, going to school with their friends, taking part in sports, being allowed to see loved ones.

Not wearing a mask and sitting at home alone in lockdown.

Exactly.

@OrangeBlossomsinthesun

confusion over whether masks protect the wearer, or only those with whom the wearer interacts. If everyone wears them then everyone is protected. If everyone wears them then I am protected from everyone. it's called social responsibility.

True

However, on this thread there are a few who think people only wear masks because they are scared.

Also, masks are only effective if they fit. A good fit with a fabric mask is better than a poor fit with a blue medical mask. A good fit also solves the glasses problem.

Parents could even fit in a sewing lesson and get their kids to help make some masks

MrsPernicious

Yes, it's a pre-print outlining deficiencies in some of the earlier studies on masks. It does not prove that masks are effective, it just highlights that they are not as ineffective as shown by earlier research.

ECDC has cast its net much wider and looked at every available piece of information on masks. Their conclusions are that masks are marginally helpful and we should wear them in the indoor settings but we should not overestimate their impact.

UK kids sitting mask-free at home in their bedrooms are... what? Having the time of their lives?

So are Californian kids... regardless of the universal mask mandate.

UK kids were also at school, "being inspired, communicating, creative, having fun, learning..." until we were hit by the new variant. If only masks were as effective as some people think... everything would have been so easy.

Unfortunately, masks are only a marginal mitigant and while they may help teachers and parents feel "safer", they are unlikely to make a fundamental change to the transmission dynamics.

@SaskiaRembrandt

My approach is if they wear masks they need to proper masks, medical grade and used correctly. It's really not that maverick really.

Which is a perfectly valid point. Why didn't you say that instead of telling us about how astonishingly brave it would be for your daughter to become a mask-dodger?

Because when you have an opinion which isn't the consensus you are deemed as "being a snowflake" for not wanting you child to wear a mask. My point was surely im less of a snowflake for letting her wander about without a mask and am prepared for her to (god help her) sit in a room with 30 other children. Thats all.

[quote 14down]@Mcmole I work wearing a mask 14 hours a day, I wear glasses. It's not an issue.. I wear a surgical mask for walking around the hospital and I wear an n95 mask for when I'm in the operating room. Lots of surgeons also wear glasses. It's not traumatic. Or does it stop being traumatic to wear a mask and glasses when you hit 18? Like a magic occasion, hey you're legal to drink alcohol and oh my god! You can wear a mask and your glasses without getting ptsd!! Best catch up on the last 7 years of schooling...
oh wait ..[/quote]
It's not traumatic (and don't think anyone actually said it was) but surely it is unpleasant to be constantly steaming up and could affect how easily they could see the board/their work. I tried wearing one out for a walk to see what it was like and had to abandon it as it was proving too dangerous when crossing roads. Yes I'd tried wipes, nose wires etc. Maybe it's not as bad inside - I have never tried.

Also it's a bit different for kids to have the situation forced on them compared to someone like you who chose a career where stuff like that was necessary.

It's not traumatic (and don't think anyone actually said it was) people have said it is too much to expect and is damaging children's mental health. Those of us with children who have spent months wearing them at school (including with glasses) are saying that it is not difficult or burdensome and that our kids are managing fine, even with glasses.

Layers of protection.... every bit helps in an additive fashion. No one preventative measure is adequate apart from absolutely no interaction with the outside world (not feasible). DC wears mask when we head out. Compulsory in school, shops (very few trips but essential), in order to resume sports. At school DC now wears a mask outside to play rugby and American football. DC has asthma. Somehow we have survived. Just trying to do our bit and reduce transmission. DC gets that with choice comes responsibility. A choice to opt in to things means helping reduce associated risks. Glad when there’s an end to masks, social distancing and all of this - oh yes. But in the meantime, stay as safe as you can. Public health is trying to do their job. Information evolves and changes. Historically, maybe read about the Spanish flu and impact of mask use on transmission. There’s quite a bit of information out there. Right, it might not be this particular COVID strain but there are similar mechanisms of transmission. Places with mask use enforced did recover sooner. In some countries, this tradition persists eg Far East.

I’m sorry but I haven’t read a convincing argument on why not to mask presented here.

Sorry .... not survived but thrived

For some reason there are parents in the UK who think that everything boils down to mental health and or unfairness or loss when it comes to masks. Yet other countries manage. My kids hate it and it took a lot of small trips to gradually build up their acceptance. Will it work for all no of course not because there are children with a multitude of sensory reasons which mean that they might struggle. For the majority it's new and life can be crap sometimes. Help them build up their resilience if you can. Its annoying, it's not great but for most seeing their friends override the damage a mask will do.

Oh for god sake. Just because another country has accepted masks in schools and the children seem to be doing just fine doesn't mean that we should just go ahead and do the same.
I'm still waiting on some evidence to prove that mask use in schools is the least bit necessary.

I agree with you op it's bloody awful

In my original comment I did say I wasn’t against pupils wearing masks, my comment about policing them does still stand though. Yes there are a large amount of pupils who will wear them correctly, change them and generally follow the guidelines and parents who will provide all masks etc. But there are also pupils who will do anything but follow guidelines, turn up without them, use them as catapults and drop them all over the place and then there’s the pupils who turn up every day in dirty clothes and haven’t been fed since their last school meal, these pupils parents won’t be worrying about masks. If we go with masks for pupils in school it needs to be implemented correctly unlike lots of other guidelines the government have messed up in the last 12 months. Otherwise it will just be another endless job for teachers to have to take on.

@DarcyJack

Why is it harder for children to wear a mask than anyone else? For the most part if we are being honest it's easier for children as there are less hearing losses in the young. Older people in environments where masks are worn are much more disadvantaged as more likely to rely on lip reading. Most kids will still be able to hear their friends.

It is much harder for younger children to wear them safely. Touching and fiddling with the mask increases your risk of infecting yourself. The WHO do not say children under 12 should wear a mask even in school and they actively advise against wearing one when exercising. Just because some other countries do it, it doesn’t mean it’s evidence based or the correct thing to do. many, many primary schools in this country have also had no covid cases. In terms of transmission secondary schools are more of a risk, there is a lot more mixing and the kids are old enough to understand how to wear a mask properly. So personally I think what we are doing is sensible. Our secondary had masks last term. It’s ok to keep Them in school but it does present some problems; teacher making themselves heard, kids randomly talking but teacher doesn’t know who it is, exacerbates acne, and no they still don’t find it comfortable. It’s not ideal

The WHO advice for mask in children
Children should not wear a mask when playing sports or doing physical activities, such as running, jumping or playing on the playground,

Quite a few teachers here (Spain) have little microphones they clip to their masks.
It's not ideal to wear masks obviously but they reduce transmission in closed spaces, which is what school classrooms are. They work well enough here.

@ThatsGoodCakeLove

Oh for god sake. Just because another country has accepted masks in schools and the children seem to be doing just fine doesn't mean that we should just go ahead and do the same. I'm still waiting on some evidence to prove that mask use in schools is the least bit necessary.

When has the government ever followed any of the practices of any other country?

Excellent news!
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/24/schools-told-not-punish-pupils-refuse-wear-masks/?WT.mc_id=tmgliveapp_androidshare_AwwNhS4dPyQX

Why would a child not want to wear a mask to protect their teachers? Even our six year old next door neighbour understands the benefits.

@Parker231

Why would a child not want to wear a mask to protect their teachers? Even our six year old next door neighbour understands the benefits.

Maybe because children are able to read and research and know that a cloth mask isnt going to "protect" anyone. My daughter has already asked her form tutor why school arent providing medical grade masks if theyre needed. Kids are pretty smart. Watch any tv interview with someone wearing a mask..all they do it touch it. Not going to protect the teacher or themselves. We've agreed to her being tested and have kept to all guidelines. We are doing our bit. A bit of cloth wont do anything significant.

www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/06/417906/still-confused-about-masks-heres-science-behind-how-face-masks-prevent

There is a huge amount of information about the benefits of wearing a cloth mask. Medical grade masks are for medical hospital staff.
Why would someone touch their mask. My cousins in school in France and Belgium wear them for school (primary) and their parents have shown them how to wear them. No mask = no schooling.

My dd is absolutely fine with a mask and couldn't understand why they weren't in play earlier because she doesn't want covid.

@Parker231

www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/06/417906/still-confused-about-masks-heres-science-behind-how-face-masks-prevent

There is a huge amount of information about the benefits of wearing a cloth mask. Medical grade masks are for medical hospital staff.
Why would someone touch their mask. My cousins in school in France and Belgium wear them for school (primary) and their parents have shown them how to wear them. No mask = no schooling.

No idea. But they do, every few seconds, pulling them up, adjusting them, when you talk they come down etc. It's human nature to touch our face, having a mask on it doesn't stop that. That was the whole argument against them, when Jennie Harries stood at the briefing and told us that people touching masks, changing them, not sanitising them or hands after use and not changing them enough. Those reasons haven't changed. I'm not anti mask. I'm "if you're wearing a mask it needs to be a proper mask".

It's only till Easter and just guidance, not compulsory..

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/25/covid-tests-masks-not-compulsory-english-schools-nick-gibb

I feel sorry for the teachers going back in front of classes next month.