? ‘UNMASK OUR KIDS’ ...
Parents are thinking more about themselves and less about keeping children safe from COVID-19
Unmask Our Kids. This misguided mantra of loving but confused parents across the country is spreading in the form of petitions, campaigns, social media posts, and signs, lots and lots of signs.
Some parents see the mask-up mandate as a form of government-sanctioned child abuse. They think their kids can’t breathe and their psychological development is being hindered because they can’t see the smiles of their friends or teachers.
Of course, none of this is true. Just ask the kids. That’s what I did. I spent the last few months tutoring students and teaching summer school classes at both the middle and high school level. Honestly, I had a harder time keeping my mask in place than the kids. They weren’t bothered at all.
Numerous times, I asked students how they were feeling about masks. “Aren’t you sick of wearing these things?”
Or “Do these masks drive you crazy?” Responses varied from shaking their heads “no” to “It doesn’t bother me.” Or “I don’t even think about it.”
On the last day of summer school, I brought in cupcakes. About 15 minutes after I passed them out, I realized no one was eating them. They didn’t want to take their masks off. They just felt safer with them on.
I asked the class, “How do you feel about having to wear masks again next year.” One girl shrugged. “Doesn’t matter,” she said, “as long as we get to go to school.”
Truthfully, kids seemed more secure with the masks on and not just because they felt protected against COVID-19. Masks are like an added layer of protection against scrutiny, judgment, and the self-doubt that comes with being a kid. Buck teeth? Hidden. Cold sore just before prom? Out of sight. Nose zit? No one will ever know.
Masks let kids relax a little bit as they learn to grapple with peer pressure and find their place in the world. They don’t have to worry so much about their appearance.
Everyone looks the same from the mask down.
And let’s face it: schools are a veritable petri dish on a good day when we aren’t in the middle of a pandemic. Masks will cut down on all the viruses, colds and flus that usually get kids sick and keep them home from school and away from the learning.
So where’s all this added anxiety and stress parents claim kids are feeling from wearing masks?
Maybe, just maybe it’s the parents who are feeling this. Maybe they’re watching their kids get on the school bus with covered faces and it reminds them their kids aren’t having the “normal” childhood they had maskfree. Maybe they’re feeling that, somehow, they’ve let their kids down. Being a parent is emotional. Believe me, I’ve had my share of irrational thoughts about my parenting skills.
But, logically, it makes no sense to care about your kids more than anything in the world while also pushing to send them into a microscopic war zone without protective gear.
A mask is a small, simple thing, but it’s also physically powerful as a barrier to all kinds of germs and psychologically restorative for bringing peace of mind.
So, instead of campaigning to rob their kids of this peace and protection, maybe parents should spend the rest of the summer taking their kids on a hike or hanging out at the beach or talking about the latest installment of “The Last Kids on Earth.”
In other words, relax. Your kids are just fine.