{"id":11236,"date":"2020-07-23T06:08:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T06:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakecoschools.wpengine.com\/thecenter\/?p=11236"},"modified":"2020-07-28T15:26:29","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T15:26:29","slug":"helping-kids-get-used-to-masks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/2020\/07\/23\/helping-kids-get-used-to-masks\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Kids Get Used to Masks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/06\/mask-pic.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/06\/mask-pic.png 225w, https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/06\/mask-pic-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/06\/mask-pic-160x160.png 160w, https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/06\/mask-pic-320x320.png 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>People are wearing masks when they&#8217;re in public because of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kidshealth.org\/en\/parents\/coronavirus.html\">coronavirus (COVID-19)<\/a>. It&#8217;s an important way to help\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kidshealth.org\/en\/parents\/coronavirus-social-distancing-animation.html\">slow the spread<\/a>\u00a0of the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At first, it was mostly doctors, nurses, and others in\nhealth care settings who wore masks. But now, as other people wear them, more\nand more kids are seeing something they&#8217;re not used to seeing. For them, it can\nbe strange or a little scary, especially if they need to put on masks too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most kids can feel comfortable seeing people in masks, as\nlong as adults:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Use simple words to explain why people\nare wearing masks.<\/li><li>Give kids time to look, watch, and get\nused to what&#8217;s new.<\/li><li>Answer kids&#8217; questions.<\/li><li>Give support.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Some toddlers and young children may feel uneasy about\nmasks. They may need extra support and comfort from parents. Parents also can\nhelp kids understand why they might need to wear a mask, and make them more\ncomfortable and even fun to wear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Do Kids React to Masks?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>How kids react to seeing masks partly depends on their age.\nOlder kids might not react much at all. To them, masks might seem like no big\ndeal. Most are able to adjust pretty quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some kids may even be eager to&nbsp;wear a mask. They might embrace their new look as a medical superhero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But for babies, toddlers, and young kids, seeing people in\nmasks might take some getting used to. At first, they may feel cautious. They\nmay need a few minutes to look and watch. That can help them get used to what&#8217;s\nnew. They may need a parent to gently say, &#8220;It&#8217;s OK.&#8221; That can help\nthem relax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some babies, toddlers, and young kids may feel upset or afraid. They might cry, hide their face, or cling to a parent. Soothing words, comfort, and the safety of a parent&#8217;s lap can help&nbsp;calm&nbsp;them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Do Some Young Kids Feel Scared of\nMasks?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Masks hide part of a person&#8217;s face. Young children rely on\nfaces. From the time they are babies, young children look at faces for the\nsignals they need to feel safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When faces are partly hidden by masks, kids can&#8217;t see the\nfriendly smile or familiar look that usually puts them at ease. When kids can&#8217;t\nsee the person&#8217;s whole face, it&#8217;s harder to feel safe. It&#8217;s natural to feel\nscared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But slowly and gently, parents can help kids feel more\ncomfortable. Even very young kids can learn that something that seemed too\nscary at first is not so scary after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Can Parents Help Kids Wear a Mask?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Cloth face\ncoverings (or a face mask, if you have one) on adults and&nbsp;<strong>kids over 2 years old<\/strong>&nbsp;can help slow the\nspread of the virus. Here are some ways to help kids wear masks when you go\nout:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Help kids get used to masks.<\/strong>&nbsp;As much as you can, give kids time to practice wearing\ntheir masks before they might need to wear one outside of your home. Teach them\nhow to put them on and take them off.<\/li><li><strong>Encourage kids to decorate their mask.<\/strong>&nbsp;This might help them feel a sense of ownership and\ncontrol over the situation. A personal touch can help make it more of a normal\npart of their routine, and make it more likely they&#8217;ll want to wear their mask.\nDepending on the type of mask, kids can draw on it with markers or put stickers\non it.<\/li><li><strong>Make them together.<\/strong>&nbsp;If\nyou make face coverings at home, let older kids help you. There are no-sew\nmasks that are easy to make, often with materials you probably already have\n(T-shirts, bandannas, etc.). If you sew masks, maybe kids can select the fabric\nor patterns for the masks they&#8217;ll wear.<\/li><li><strong>Help make it fun.<\/strong>&nbsp;With\nyounger kids, introduce a sense of play. Kids can pretend to be a doctor or\nnurse while wearing their masks. They might want to use a doctor kit and\n&#8220;take care&#8221; of a stuffed animal or doll.<\/li><li><strong>Have a few masks handy while kids play.<\/strong>&nbsp;This lets them use their imagination about how to use\nthem during playtime. It also helps make masks a more normal part of their\neveryday world. You can ask your child to put a mask on a stuffed animal, and\nthen ask follow-up questions about why the stuffed animal is wearing the mask.\nDepending on your child&#8217;s response, you can clear up any confusion and offer\nreassurance.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Click below for a short story in English or Spanish that you and your child can read together to talk about masks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/Wearing-Masks_Story.pdf\">Wearing Masks<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/07\/Wearing-Masks_Story_SP.pdf\">Usando Mascaras<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People are wearing masks when they&#8217;re in public because of\u00a0coronavirus (COVID-19). It&#8217;s an important way to help\u00a0slow the spread\u00a0of the virus. At first, it was mostly doctors, nurses, and others in health care settings who wore masks.&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":11238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lakecountyschools.net\/thecenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}