Children May Be Afraid of Masks. Here’s How to Help.
> Read the New York Times article here
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As masks become a new normal in our society, children may have a difficult time seeing them everywhere. Aside from seeing others wearing masks, children may have fears and concerns when they start to wear a mask themselves. Part of feeling uncomfortable is that the masks hide people’s facial expressions and children cannot recognize a smile or a frown or detect if a person looks nice or mean. This is just one more way their world has changed. When children are able to return to school all adults will be wearing masks. With the developments of infections in children, many authorities are suggesting that children over the age of 2 begin to wear them. No one under the age of 2 should wear a mask due to suffocation risks. |
What You Can Do as Parents & Caregivers
- Talk about masks not being scary. They may eventually come to realize people are not hiding behind them like at Halloween or Purim.
- Assure them we are trying to keep them safe and healthy.
- Explain to them that all the doctors, nurses, teachers and workers in all walks of life are wearing masks to protect others around them.
- To make the mask process a bit less daunting, you may have your child decorate his/her own mask, put a mask on their favorite stuffy or doll and draw pictures.
- Your child can now be a superhero too when wearing a mask as they protect others.
- Encourage your child to try and keep their hands off their faces by helping them keep their hands busy and pull hair back from their faces.
- It is all IMPORTANT to explain how proud you are of your child(ren) over and over.
- Let your child(ren) watch you wearing a mask and talk about the parts of the face they can still see and what is hidden.
Stay safe and healthy-looking forward to the day we can be together at the JCC.
Jane Pasternak
Director of Jewish and Family Life
