Re-sending: Debate Over Child-Masking Ignores Key Question

Comments were turned off by accident but are now enabled. I have presented a provocative theory behind the masking of children and would love to hear your thoughts: Is it Munchausen by Proxy?

Note to Readers: I am a licensed elementary school teacher, a researcher, and a child safety advocate. I am not a doctor. The information provided in this newsletter is not intended as medical advice and should not be interpreted as such. Consult your child’s doctor on all matters related to the health and well-being of your child.

Introduction

Our county requires that all students be masked throughout the school day.

On multiple occasions in recent weeks, I have observed high school students getting off the bus in our neighborhood to walk home. The very first thing most of them do upon descending those steep school bus stairs is rip off their masks. Then, they huddle together in groups to talk and laugh.

As I observe this daily ritual, I am forced to conclude that these youths are fulfilling an innate social need to see each other’s faces and hear each other’s voices, unobstructed by paper or cloth.

My heart goes out to them. As an adult, I share that need.

According to a report last week in The Daily Mail, the United States is one of only seven nations in the West that still requires or encourages children to wear masks at school. Although states are allowed to set their own rules, the CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all students above the age of two. According to the data analytics firm, Burbio, 68.2 percent of our nation’s 500 largest school districts still require masks. [1]

Aside from the U.S., The Daily Mail could identify only six other Western nations where masking of students was still either required or encouraged. Those nations are Canada, France, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Spain.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen nations, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Germany, have either dropped their mask mandates for students or never had them to begin with. 

The U.S. debate over masking children has raged for many months. Doctors and scientists have joined parents in raising concerns about the health consequences of this new practice. A partial list of the deleterious effects of prolonged mask-wearing, as identified by researchers in adults and children alike, includes chronic headaches, hypoxia, shortness of breath, fatigue, immunosuppression, stress, anxiety, depression, acne, as well as increased risk of other bacterial, viral and fungal infections. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Many parents also fear the social-emotional consequences of demanding that children cover their faces at school. Masking children encourages them to live in fear of a virus that poses almost no threat to them personally. In addition, children who are masked may have difficulty hearing each other speak. They may struggle to hear their masked teacher give instructions. They are prevented from communicating with each other through facial expressions. Even more so than adults, children seek affirmation through the friendly smiles of those around them. What good is a smile if no one can see it?

Beyond these obvious problems, our society has debated the basic question of whether masking children helps prevent the spread of the virus. Predictably, scientists have issued conflicting reports on the purported benefits of this practice.[7] [8]

Yet, an even more fundamental question seems missing from this debate:  If parents truly believe that requiring children to wear a mask consistently all day can prevent them and others from succumbing to a life-threatening illness, is this a developmentally appropriate demand to make of their children?

Covid-19 vs. Ebola

Let’s pretend, for example, that it was not Covid-19 from which we were trying to protect our families. Instead, what if Ebola was raging through our communities? Ebola normally is spread through contact with blood or bodily fluids, but let’s pretend for a moment that, like Covid-19, it was airborne.

Ebola starts with moderate flu-like symptoms but rapidly progresses to vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and impaired kidney and liver function. It can lead to both internal and external bleeding, including blood in the stool and oozing of blood from the gums. In roughly 50 percent of cases, it is fatal.

Would parents send their children off to school with a mask and count on them to wear it appropriately all day, as the primary means of protecting themselves and others from an airborne Ebola?

Most of us probably could agree that we would not want to entrust any young child with this much responsibility. A masked child might feel sick or uncomfortable, due to obstructed breathing, and pull his mask beneath his nose while no one is looking. He might unmask his mouth when trying to communicate with a classmate who is having trouble hearing him. He might become engrossed in an activity and not even realize that his mask no longer is fully covering his nose and mouth. He might not understand the importance of what is being asked of him and might therefore not prioritize it. Or, he simply might not like wearing a mask.  In that case the child might choose to openly defy adults who are imposing this demand on him.

Some may argue that middle school and high school students should be better prepared than younger children to accept this level of responsibility. Personally, I believe it is cruel and inhumane to demand continuous mask-wearing of youths at any age, but we can agree to disagree on that point, if necessary.

By contrast, all rational, reasonable adults should be able to understand that toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary students cannot be blamed for struggling to wear a mask all day. They are children, after all, and wearing a mask for hours on end is challenging for even the most conscientious of adults.

Still, if the pandemic was an airborne Ebola, not Covid-19, we would recognize that failing to wear a mask appropriately could prove fatal. Therefore, we simply wouldn’t ask it of our children. Instead, we would keep them home until the virus stopped spreading, or until we were satisfied with the treatment options.

So why are we demanding that children mask up for Covid-19? If we understand that young children cannot be counted on to wear their masks appropriately all day, and that any possible benefit from wearing a mask depends on doing so consistently, then why impose this burden to begin with?

Certainly, we cannot expect classroom teachers, each with 20 or more students, to keep their eyes peeled on every student throughout the day and intervene whenever a mask slips out of place. A teacher who is dedicated to this task would have no time for anything else.

As a licensed teacher myself, I have taught every grade of elementary school. I can attest that most children begin to gain some independence by the age of eight. Still, it is typical for all children under 12 to continue to require some level of assistance with self-care. I currently do not teach students in person, but I cannot imagine trying to keep 20 or more elementary students of any age appropriately masked throughout the school day.

Munchausen?

What, then, could explain why so many parents have enthusiastically embraced this harsh and unrealistic demand? To be sure, other parents have vehemently objected. However, too often those who oppose the masking of children have been overruled by those who favor this practice.

I can think of only three possible explanations for this phenomenon:

1)      Parents who favor masking their children are not truly afraid of Covid-19, for themselves or their children. They support mask mandates to show solidarity with school administrators, staff or other parents who they think might genuinely be afraid of the virus.

2)      Parents who favor masking their children are not truly afraid of Covid-19, for themselves or their children. They support mask mandates in deference to the CDC. The CDC, in turn, has promoted mask-wearing as part of its overall strategy of maximizing fear around the virus. Fear leads to acceptance of experimental vaccines. The CDC’s promise of eventual liberation from the mask is seen as the agency’s final carrot to offer the “vaccine hesitant” before getting out the stick. In hindsight, it seems clear that persuading everyone to take a Covid-19 vaccine was the CDC’s overarching goal from the moment the government announced the creation of Warped Speed.

3)      Parents who favor masking their children are truly afraid of Covid-19 for themselves, but not for the children. They are projecting their own perceived risk – whether real, due to obesity or other factors, or imagined – onto their children, then masking the children out of an irrational belief that masking the children protects the adults. Since the demand in this case stems from projection, it matters less to the parents whether their children are up to the task or what the negative consequences for them might be. In this way, it could be seen as a form of Munchausen by Proxy, whereby parents, who may or may not be at elevated risk of complications from Covid-19, project their real or imagined risks onto their children, then impose a solution that is not just developmentally inappropriate but cruel.

It must be noted here that Munchausen by Proxy is classified as a mental disorder. It is also considered child abuse.

Beyond the health and social-emotional consequences of extended mask-wearing for children, does imposing unrealistic demands on children carry its own risks?

The answer, according to child psychologists, is yes. Children who have too much responsibility imposed on them at a young age may develop low self-esteem, anxiety and/or depression from struggling to live up to unrealistic demands. They might also develop anger and resentment toward adults who are making these demands. Resentment is especially likely to simmer in children who are continually berated for failing to meet expectations.[9] These negative emotions potentially could linger long after the pandemic has faded. If they follow children into adulthood, such feelings could lead to substance abuse, trust issues, problems with intimacy, or a desire to avoid all family and work responsibilities.

Conclusion

Parents who are truly afraid of Covid-19 for their children must know that it is not realistic to rely upon a mask to protect their children at school all day. If parents are not truly afraid but nonetheless support child-masking at school, then they are placing this developmentally inappropriate and cruel burden on their children for some other reason.

Either way, this inhumane practice must stop. Parents who live in fear, for whatever reason, that their children will acquire or spread Covid-19, should keep their children home until they are satisfied that the danger has passed.

As a licensed teacher with a master’s degree in developmental and child psychology, I have been horrified to watch established child health and safety organizations, including The American Academy of Pediatrics,[10] turn a blind eye to the health and social consequences of masking children. I have been equally perplexed by their refusal to acknowledge that young children are incapable of meeting this unrealistic demand and may suffer long-term emotional damage from the pressure to do so.

I am left to conclude that so many who claimed to be advocates for children were, in truth, only advocates for themselves. Their desire to liked by what they consider the “in” crowd, which supports masking, and/or to keep the government grants flowing clearly outweighs their concern for the health and well-being of our nation’s youth.

Do you agree? Scroll down past the references to share your thoughts.

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[1] US only among seven countries in the Western world recommending kids wear masks in schools | Daily Mail Online

[2] Stanford Study Results: Facemasks are Ineffective in Blocking Transmission of COVID and Actually Can Cause Health Deterioration and Premature Death | WSAU News/Talk 550 AM · 99.9 FM | Wausau, Stevens Point

[3][3] COVID-19 related masks increase severity of both acne (maskne) and rosacea (mask rosacea): Multi-center, real-life, telemedical, and observational prospective study - PubMed (nih.gov)

[4] JAMA Pediatrics study concludes children should not be forced to wear face masks – HotAir

[5] Masking Children Is Unnecessary—and Harmful | City Journal (city-journal.org)

[6] Could wearing a mask for long periods be detrimental to health? - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

[7] Mandatory Masking of School Children is a Bad Idea – USC Schaeffer

[8] CDC Releases School COVID Transmission Study But Buries One of the Most Damning Parts (westernjournal.com)

[9] Does Your Child Have Too Many Responsibilities? (myfamilydigest.com)

[10] Pediatricians Association Recommends Universal Masking in Schools - The New York Times (nytimes.com)