My kid has been wearing different types of face-coverings when in public, and he has gotten used to them. We made our face masks at home, and he got to pick a pattern for his mask and he adjusted to it pretty quickly. The mask did not seem like a big deal and he felt like a superhero of some sort whenever he wore it. That said, my son does not mind wearing his face mask whenever we go out, but that is because he does not have to wear it for long periods.
Schools are reopening, and my son’s principal has called for all children to don face coverings when school starts. Frankly, I laud the headteacher’s intention to keep kids safe, but that means kids have to cover their faces for seven hours straight. I run a grocery store and have to cover my face for over 10 hours. The mask makes me feel sick, and it gets hard to breathe properly. Moreover, when I take the mask off, it takes a while before I can breathe out my nose with ease. This is something I would not like my son to have to go through.
So, what can I do? Wearing a face mask seems tenable at the moment, but how can I make sure that it will keep my kid safe? For all I know, the mask can put my kid in more danger rather than protect him. Understanding the nature of 7-year-olds, who will make sure that kids do not swap masks while in school? This may inadvertently fuel the risk of transmission and infection.
Also, my son gets a sore throat when he wears a mask for too long, and he is wary of the moisture in the mask that comes from breathing. I think most of us will relate to that humidity that is damaging the skin around the nose and mouth. Additionally, having a face mask on for that long can result in too much carbon dioxide in the blood, because the body is deprived of oxygen.
Fortunately, my son’s school will provide hand-washing facilities including hand sanitizers. This is a good enough measure to keep the spread of the virus at bay without having to wear face coverings. The school should only allow face masks when kids are around a child who has reported to school with symptoms. To some extent, I do not feel like sending my son back to school until the virus is completely gone.
Pediatrics have said that the Coronavirus is milder on kids than on adults, but there have been serious cases of the illness in children. Moreover, some parents have lost their kids who became critically ill. Staying home and social distancing still seems like the best way to protect my son, especially because he may not be able to avoid getting physically close to his buddies. I mean, some grown-ups cannot even distance themselves physically, so, how can I expect my kid to do so?
It is highly likely that the teachers will be wearing masks too, and I wonder how that will work. Kids may not understand what the teacher is saying when speaking through the mask, and that can hinder learning from taking place. By and large, the headteacher’s advice is not a bad idea. However, I wish that the school comes up with a safer option that will not involve kids wearing face masks for lengthy periods.
With all the talk that has been going on about coronavirus for months now, everyone has been talking about vulnerability, but no one is talking about kids. Disasters cause trauma in the lives of kids, and kids incorporate the anxiety and panic into their progress and future lives. My son is not somehow naturally resilient to everything that is happening, and I do not want to assume that he can bounce back easily.
Unfortunately, people overlook kids’ needs in their policy creations, particularly when it comes to dealing with crises. Returning to school is an anxiety-inducing exercise, and I do not want my kid to be thinking of all the things that could go wrong. The excitement of seeing friends again also comes with the anxiety over getting the virus. This is a lot for my son to process without the additional load of wearing a face mask all day.