What has your "real life" experience been regarding kids

[senseandsensibility]

wearing masks to school? I realize that cable news, even CNN and MSNBC, have a vested interest in presenting the issue as a controversial and out of control struggle. And heaven knows, they love NOTHING better than to give an outlet to outraged citizens, provided they are right wingers who are outraged. The outraged right wingers don't have to be a sizable percentage of the public, but it is somehow thought that ONLY their outrage matters.

Yet just a couple of weeks ago, I happened to be driving through my town on the first day of school. I saw teen-agers who were walking home with their friends, so happy to be back in school that they were almost giddy. Many still wore their masks and looked happy to do so, while a smaller number had them hanging down under their chins, ready to put back up. Those were mostly walking alone. Today I saw elementary students all wearing their masks to walk home. They looked so happy.

I love kids,, and I love REALITY.

[arlyellowdog]

1. My 4 year old grandson picks out his mask each morning

He wears it to preschool, like all his classmates. No problem. A cool side effect is that none of them have even had a cold. I also have an adult disabled son. Everyone in his day program is vaccinated so they do not have to wear masks. It’s just being realistic and careful.

[senseandsensibility]

4. That's so cool, and so at odds with what

is portrayed in the media. Many adults have no children in their lives and believe that there is no way preschoolers will wear masks.
Kids are much more reasonable and resilient than many adults believe.

[elleng]

2. My 2 grandsons, 2d graders, different schools + states,

are happy to be back in school; haven't heard a complaint about having to wear masks.

[senseandsensibility]

6. Reality is wonderful, isn't it?

I almost teared up today, seeing the little ones happily walking home with masks. It really lifted my spirits!

[elleng]

7. DITTO!

[Rhiannon12866]

3. Masks are required in all schools in my district, in the school and on school buses

The one change made this year is that masks are no longer required for outdoor activities. And I've seen even the youngest kids getting off the buses still wearing their masks, and this was true last year, too.

I went to a family funeral last month and everyone in the church wore masks, including the priest and the boy sitting right in front of me who couldn't have been older than 5. It was a long mass and he was fine, I figured he was already used to wearing a mask indoors in a public setting.

[senseandsensibility]

8. Exactly.

A minority of right wingers are angered by masks, so they think all kids are too. Ridiculous.

[hlthe2b]

5. Local news has looked more closely into how the kids feel and it seems very clear...

it is the adults that are the problem. The kids never missed a beat adopting them. Some even like them!

Maybe not in other locales, but...

[senseandsensibility]

10. I live in a very blue area,

but I've seen no evidence of pushback here. Everything seems to be going great, but I guess that doesn't make good TV.

[elleng]

12. it is the adults that are the problem.

[Rhiannon12866]

13. I was waiting in a checkout recently along with a little girl and her Mom

I complimented the little girl on her mask, she seemed very proud of it, it had pics of Disney princesses.

[Treefrog]

9. I live near a school.

Unfortunately in one of the three districts in NC that made mask wearing “optional.”

Most are wearing masks. Especially the Hispanic kids for whatever reason. But I’m glad to see it.

[senseandsensibility]

11. I believe that I read that here in CA

the Hispanic population is more vaccinated than the white population. Good for them, and it doesn't surprise me in the least!

[Treefrog]

14. Yes, I've read that too.

I live in a very diverse area, and I can see how the Hispanic parents are with their children. Every night, they walk by my house…family unit all out on a walk. Dad, mom pushing stroller, little ones running alongside. I really like that.

My family used to do that too.

[Rhiannon12866]

15. Rachel Maddow reported on this the other night, there is no longer a difference in vaccination rates

Among ethnic groups. In fact, the Hispanic population is now slightly ahead in vaccination rates. The only large difference is between Democrats and Republicans. Republicans are significantly less vaccinated.

As Racial Disparities In Vaccination Rates Even Out, Partisan Gap Remains Glaring - Rachel Maddow
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017684141

[Red Mountain]

16. My kid's school in northern Durham county

Takes it seriously.

Went to a duke football game last weekend and not so much. Fans pulled them up to get through the gate or to get served at the concessions stand but otherwise 90% no masks. Bear in mind this is Duke football so social distancing in the stands isn't a problem.

Students outside and in the stands (packed together) almost no masks.

Duke says masks are mandatory but ZERO enforcement.

[haele]

17. Put butterflies, animal faces, or bright colors, and the kids love them.

Only issue is snack or eating time, kids don't do boundaries and personal space too well, and last week, the 5 year old brought home RVS from a classmate friend with it who decided to push in between her and and another friend during snack time instead of maintaining the required space.

Everyone was sick with a sinus infection and slight fever for 3 to 5 days this week. I was the last one to catch it two days ago because I spend most of my time in the back office teleworking.

COVID test = negative. Girls went back to school today.

Haele

[senseandsensibility]

22. Glad the Covid test was negative!

[Deb]

18. My 7yr old granddaughter said, "I can't smell stinky people now."

[senseandsensibility]

21. As someone who is probably too sensitive to smells,

I'm with your granddaughter on that one!

[Cracklin Charlie]

19. My granddaughter chose to double mask on the bus.

She’s 6.

There are 4 kids on her bus. Kids are smart.

[bluewater]

20. That the cooking times are always 30 minutes more than they say.

[GPV]

23. No problems in my school that I'm aware of. It's just something we have to do.

[ornotna]

24. My kids are all adults now

And thankfully all fully vaxxed.

[Bev54]

25. I have 5 grandchildren in school from 13 yrs to 8 yrs

All of them wear masks (required) and none of them complain. The 13 year old is the only one old enough and is fully vaccinated. 3 of them play hockey and have to wear masks in the arena and until they are suited up in the locker room. Each one of them understand the reason and the risks, it is not difficult at all. Too bad more adults haven't learned from the children.

[Amishman]

26. asked my niece and nephew about this last week, everyone wears masks, many wear them improperly

mask under the nose, or just hanging down is very common. Teachers won't say anything as long as the mask is on their head in some way.

[wildheart]

27. I have real life experience

I go to work an hour later every day to get my 7 year old grandson on the bus every morning. They live just a few miles from me. Jacob is a good kid, always winning awards for being kind, safe, etc. He was disappointed about the mask wearing this year, but he obeys the rules. He picks out his clean (ineffective) cloth mask with dinosaurs and such, and obeys the rules. At the bus stop, the cloth masks go up, to get on the bus. Non of the masks are fit properly, and kids scratch and breathe outside of them. My 3 yr old grandson will not keep a mask on at daycare. Masks are useless for children of that age.

[CrackityJones75]

28. Kids do not seem to be bothered by it in my experience.

That is unless their parents have issues with it.

[Igel]

29. I'm in class with 170 high schoolers per day

Sometimes 190.

And pass by hundreds more in the hall every day.

Most aren't wearing masks. Certain subpops are more likely to wear masks. But I have classes of 25, 30 where there are maybe 2-3 kids masked.

I've had a few kids go out with self-diagnosed COVID since the start of the school year, but that's usually because they caught it from their parents. Not in school. When I've had 2-3 kids out with COVID at once, they weren't in the same classes. I've only had two kids out with confirmed positive/reported COVID cases.

It's Texas. No mask mandate's allowed in my school district. But some kids wear them, and early on I alternated masked/unmasked every other day and said I didn't want to hear anybody say a single negative word about another student's choice. It hasn't been a problem.

My school's reported COVID infection rate is less than community incidence. Last year that was cases reported by the infected to the school; now the county feeds reported test data with names to the school every afternoon, so the data are less biased. I've had more students taking off a week or two because their parents were infected (always kids whose grades were 75 or less *before* self-quarantining) than out with positive tests.

[wildheart]

30. So do we agree that ill fitting cloth masks

do nothing to stop this spread?? The cotton masks with cute decorations look nice, but school age children are still exposed to the aerosol spread of the virus. The masks are not fitted properly and it is just pretty much a fashion statement.