Do your little ones wear masks?

[Heartofstrings]

Just curious. We went to the test centre on Monday. My 3 year old was wearing a mask - as were me and my husband. They asked us to mask the 4 year old too. Naturally, he refused (possible asd, sensory issues).

Covid negative. Awesome. Local diy shop today. Again unmasked 4 year old and masked 3 year old. Should I be trying to force the 4 year old? I feel he should be wearing a mask

I wont put a mask on my 4yo, no.
If he had to wear one in school all day I would honestly remove him.

I’d encourage it for short trips like shops etc. It’s not really any bother for most children. However your son is only 4, he doesn’t want to I think that’s totally fine. If he has any symptoms he shouldn’t be in shops though, even with a negative test. If he has a cold and passes it on you’re potentially making other families have to self isolate, possibly with a lost income

@DenisetheMenace

hollydays7

I'm not in this situation but not in a million years would I be forcing my young children to wear masks“

Interesting. If the next variant targets young children?

What if it does? Wearing a mask doesn't protect the wearer...

And my answer to op is no, not a cat in hells chance

Why wouldn't you want to normalise kids doing something that really doesn't harm them to protect their community?

This is frequently taken as a given in these debates, but how much solid evidence do we have that masks don’t harm children?

Personally I feel that they could be potentially damaging - not when worn briefly to dash in and out of a shop etc, but certainly when worn in multiple settings for long periods, and in particular if the child in question is under 5 or so.

Conversations around this almost always focus on comfort, sensory issues and whether the child will ‘tolerate’ it, but I’m more concerned about the impact on cognitive development if young children’s speech is impeded, others around them are frequently masked and they struggle to make themselves heard and understood. There are so many very common issues around speech development in young children as it is (glue ear, speech delay, adenoidal issues etc); they don’t need anything else hampering their ability to communicate. I certainly wouldn’t be sending my preschooler anywhere near any daycare or educational setting where masks were required for either children or staff.

Nope they don't. They're below the age required to and one has a range of additional needs including fairly markedly impaired communication - I get very angry at school when one of the teachers insists on teaching through one having commented that, "none of you lot are deaf so it's not a problem" when my child has a motor speech disorder and language processing issues so really needs clear communication to focus on - but that doesn't matter apparently.

I judge people who have tiny toddlers in them.

There is no way I would be putting a mask on my child, it’s unnecessary and when you think that this time last year masks were not even compulsory for adults!

I wear my mask as it’s currently expected but I personally do not think they make any difference and I certainly don’t think they should become a long term thing.

My DD(5) always wears one when we go to shops. She is old enough to understand how the virus works and she knows it will only be 5-10 mins.

Children in some countries don’t have any problem wearing masks, as some posters have pointed out, so why are British children so special? Children still carry the virus and pass on.

We only wear medical grades, not one of those DIY cloth ones, which are pointless. Medical grade masks are way more comfortable to breathe in too.

@Heartofstrings just to reassure you, my 5 year old with additional needs has a lot of medical appointments and the hospital are very understanding that she can't wear a mask. I do and my NT child does, I support mask wearing for children in appropriate situations (such as the hospital and indeed non urgent shopping trips) but if your child has additional needs it likely isn't worth the battle!!

Nobody at school noticed that my child had glue ear, I didn’t notice myself for quite a long time. Partial hearing loss can actually be quite tricky as some sounds are affected and others aren’t. I do think teacher training needs a bit more focus on picking up potential problems which affect learning. In any case a trip to the shop or covid test centre really isn’t the equivalent of school or pre-school in terms of communication, there doesn’t have to be a blanket approach

My 10yo DD doesn't wear a mask, she really struggled with wearing one when we were in Europe (she's NT as far as we know, though, so not exempt). I'm hoping we won't still be wearing them when she turns 11...

Christ! Why would you put a mask on a child!

Mine are 8 and 4 and I haven't asked then to wear masks, except when we went for a covid test for me. They didn't mind.

whymewhyme Because unfortunately there are some very selfish adults out there who can't manage a mask OR to wait 3 seconds in a shop until I'm away from a certain self. They think it's OK to lean over a buggy sniffling with a 'Scuse me there' and a smile. If it doesn't bother the child for the time we're there and it gives them less of a chance of catching anything why wouldn't anyone?

Yes my 4yo wears one

[quote WaterBottle123]@LST

Why wouldn't you want to normalise kids doing something that really doesn't harm them to protect their community?

Your attitude makes no sense[/quote]
Because soon we won't need them so what is the point?

Mine do (4,8,9)
They've all got kids themed ones that I had made x

My 3 year absolutely will not wear one & im not forcing the issue. If she decides she wants too, then great. And my one year old doesn’t obvs. They both go to the shops with me, I have no choice. And for those who would like to say ‘just make them’.. have you every met a toddler/pre-schooler? Mine literally just rips it off her face. And she’s quite a compliant, well behaved kid usually. But similarly to hats, hates them. We did get hats to stay on her head a bit last year .. I’m more hopeful this summer 🙈

No they don't need too, I wouldn't worry too much,

My children occasionally wear a mask but that's there choice, when they see me & my husband wearing one they ask for there's and I'm not going to stop them from wearing one but when they've had enough they can take them off.

My children are 6 & 4 and have never worn a mask

We live in Asia, my DC had to start wearing them at 4 and 7 year olds this time last year. They're fine, wear them to school, in public places. We moved back to UK soon and I will still be expecting them to wear them in publi. Places.

I’ve got one for my 4yo and she has worn it when we’ve been in the GP a few times but by the time she’d chewed it, messed around with it etc I think the whole thing was largely pointless. It would be dangerous for my 2yo so haven’t bothered.

Yes.

No way! Hopefully they will be a thing of the past very soon.

No absolutely not.

@tonystarksrighthand

No way! Hopefully they will be a thing of the past very soon.

This is my argument. It is very rare the kids have been anywhere that require adults to wear a mask. The shop a handful of times and West Midlands last summer. I don't want them normalising it.