In the ongoing debate over children wearing masks, I find myself feeling quite alone. Online, it seems everyone is insisting that requiring kids to wear masks is a form of torture—literally. This isn’t just hyperbole; they genuinely believe it.
Contrarily, the CDC advises that unvaccinated children aged 2 and older should continue to wear masks. Reputable health organizations echo this guidance, and my family doctor recommends that my unvaccinated 11-year-old daughter keep her mask on until she can get vaccinated.
Yet, social media is flooded with voices of parents and self-proclaimed experts who firmly argue that asking children to wear masks is not just unnecessary but also a true form of torture. Why is there such a stark contrast between medical professionals and this loud alternative narrative online?
Is There a Missing Perspective?
I decided to investigate further—could the CDC be misguided? Could my doctor be an outlier? I read articles opposing mask mandates, including one that argued, with apparent seriousness, that wearing a mask actually impairs cognitive abilities and makes people more submissive. It made bizarre comparisons, such as likening the government’s mask mandate to the domestication of cattle. While the article was filled with references, it lacked coherent logic and was riddled with flawed comparisons.
Other pieces claimed that children are suffering psychological harm from not seeing smiles or that masks deprive them of oxygen, making them sicker than if they contracted COVID-19. One op-ed even went so far as to put the terms “virus” and “case” in quotes, implying they weren’t real. Ironically, this piece also noted that even after the governor lifted the mask mandate, many Vermonters continued to wear masks voluntarily to protect the unvaccinated members of their community.
Time and again, these articles, which claim to be rooted in reason, reveal themselves to be full of inconsistencies and faulty logic.
A Reality Check, Please
I traveled to Vermont recently and was astonished to witness a community with a high vaccination rate and almost no COVID-19 cases still choosing to wear masks out of respect for others. I watched children play baseball and soccer, some masked and some not; they were carefree and happy, even forgetting they were wearing masks. Torture? That notion seems ridiculous.
These children understand the reasons for masking. They want to protect themselves and others. If given a choice, would they prefer not to wear masks? Of course! But they also comprehend the importance of this safety measure.
Empowering Kids to Care
I suspect that when a child claims wearing a mask feels like torture, they are echoing what adults have told them. Most kids don’t know what true torture is, and it’s troubling that adults dilute the term by comparing it to a simple request to wear a mask for public safety.
If kids who feel they are being “tortured” by masks truly realized the serious risks of illness, they might change their tune. Children inherently want to help others; they just need to be given the right context.
The Reality of Illness in Children
The serious implications of COVID-19 hit home for me recently when a colleague shared that her unvaccinated 15-year-old daughter contracted the virus and ended up hospitalized with pulmonary embolisms. This mother had sought vaccination for her daughter, but her ex-partner opposed it.
Many people perpetuate the myth that children are immune to serious illness, using it to justify their stance against masks and vaccines. While symptoms in children are often milder, they can still become seriously ill, even developing conditions such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
It’s tragic how many individuals who dismissed COVID-19 as a governmental control tactic have subsequently fallen ill and died. The loss of young lives, such as that of a nurse named Olivia Guidry, is heartbreaking and preventable.
While I don’t believe most parents labeling mask-wearing as torture are intentionally misleading, I think they’ve bought into a narrative that doesn’t prioritize their child’s health.
Our children are not being tortured by wearing masks. When we explain the purpose behind masks, they grasp it. They want to contribute to the community’s safety and adapt to wearing them without complaints.
As for me, I continue to wear a mask in public, even though I’m vaccinated, to protect my unvaccinated daughter. She knows she’ll wear a mask when returning to school and is totally fine with it, understanding it’s a small effort to ensure everyone’s safety.
For more insight, check out this article on home insemination and unemployment. For comprehensive education on this topic, visit Doula Education, and for excellent pregnancy resources, see Johns Hopkins Fertility Center.
Probable Search Queries:
- home insemination kit
- self insemination methods
- how to get pregnant at home
- syringe insemination process
- DIY insemination techniques
In summary, the narrative that children wearing masks is akin to torture is misguided. Children have shown they can adapt and understand the importance of this public health measure. Instead of framing it as a form of suffering, we should empower them with the knowledge of why it matters.