By now, there's no question: In the fight against the coronavirus, wearing a face mask can save lives. But getting your child to wear one for more than five minutes at a time? Well, that can be tricky — especially if they're fidgety. That's just one reason (among many) why parents are dreading school reopenings this month, when kids will suddenly be required to wear masks for hours at a time to stay safe. One dad is sharing a simple hack he discovered for getting kids comfortable with wearing face masks for longer periods — and we gotta admit, it's kind of genius.
The "hack" was shared on Facebook last week by Iowa dad Leland Michael, who also happens to be a high school math teacher.
"For parents worried their kids won't be able to wear masks for long periods of time this Fall, try this rule for your last few weeks of summer," he began.
Ready for it? Here it is: "You're only allowed screen time if you're wearing a mask," Leland wrote.
Yep — that's it.
"Either they will acclimate quickly, or you'll get them off devices for the last weeks of their summer," he continued. "I've got my money on them acclimating and your kid's teacher having a much easier first week of school."
No matter what side of the screen time debate you're on, you've gotta admit this is pretty clever.
Think about it: Kids can get used to the feeling of having the masks on their face while they engage in something they like, which will likely get their mind off of whether it feels funny. It will also get them used to breathing in a mask while doing other things (like sitting still, which hopefully they'll also be able to do well come back-to-school time).
And, even if you were fanatically anti-screen time before the pandemic, chances are that you've changed your tune over these last five months. (It's all about surviving right now, amiright?)
In the comments, parents quickly applauded the dad for his ingenuity.
"Such a smart idea!" wrote one Facebook user.
"Genius!" added another.
"This is a great idea," wrote someone else, who added that kids are so impressionable. "Remember monkey see monkey do? I think if kids see the parents wearing the masks they're going to be encouraged to follow and do the same thing because it's part of a normal behavior in that household."
Other parents updated to say that they've already employed the trick at home, and it's working like a charm.
"We have been doing this and ohhh man is my kid motivated to wear a mask!!" commented one mom.
To date, Leland's post has been shared more than 78,000 times.
But not all of the feedback has been positive. In fact, it's gotten a fair amount of pushback from people who think the hack sounds better in theory than in practice.
"Good for bribing at home, but outcome for many will be very different if you consider reality," wrote one person. "Children in groups typically act up, horse play etc. Takes 1 kid to take theirs off and the others follow. Unless we're talking about a school of angels who never act up."
Since he shared the post on Friday, many people have commented to express concerns over "forcing" children to wear masks.
"Mamma, this is a terrible idea," wrote one person. "Let him breathe."
Many others echoed the same sentiment, though Leland took to the comments section on Sunday to say that he had deleted several negative comments and limited who can comment in the future after some went so far as to accuse him of child abuse. (Yes, really.) Others perpetuated the false notion that masks somehow limit oxygen levels.
"For those of you with concerns about this post, feel free to share and add your criticism to your own page," the Iowa father wrote. "If you're accusing me of child abuse, spreading misinformation about masking being dangerous for healthy children, or otherwise trying to make teachers jobs harder this Fall by posting anti-science myths you read on InfoWars, I have no obligation to allow your comment to be visible on my profile. Thanks to all those working to help their kids be ready for the classroom this Fall and doing their part to slow the spread in their community!"
In the last few months, a lot (and we do mean a lot) of misconceptions have floated around about face masks.
Perhaps the wildest myth — that has since been debunked — revolves on the belief that wearing face masks will make you sick. The theory was that because they are placed over your mouth and nose, they prevent air from going in and going out. In the process, skeptics have said mask wearers receive less oxygen and are less capable of expelling carbon dioxide when they exhale.
But countless studies and articles quickly squashed that notion.
"The carbon dioxide is going to pass right through the face mask, we are going to inhale fresh air through that, so there really is no opportunity for carbon dioxide to build up unnaturally," Dr. Michael Peil, a pulmonologist with OSF HealthCare, told Forbes last month.
He added that CO2 does not remain on the inside of the masks, as some have claimed, so mask wearers are not at risk of reinhaling it in dangerous amounts. "And even if it did," he said, "it would be a very small amount. But the fact is, it just doesn't happen that way."
The importance of being clear on the science cannot be understated.
A recent study concluded that if 95% of the US population were to wear face masks in public from here on out, we could prevent nearly 58% (or 45,500) of COVID-19-related deaths projected to occur from now through Nov. 1. Make no mistake, that is huge.
As of this date, the US has reported more than 4.8 million cases of the virus, and although 2.3 million Americans have reportedly recovered from COVID-19, many have not. In fact, more than 158,000 Americans have lost their lives in the pandemic, which has rapidly spiraled out of control since March.
Though a vaccine by the fall seems increasingly likely, according to experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci, the fact is, one doesn't exist yet. Plus, even when a vaccine is ready, there's no guarantee that all Americans will line up to take it.
In short, whatever we can do now to stop the spread, the better.
So far, all we have at our disposal are the same tried and true rules of conduct experts have been pushing for months: hand washing, social distancing, and yes, wearing face masks.
With schools set to reopen in mere weeks (and in some states, mere days), this dad's advice couldn't be more helpful — and, as it might turn out, more life-saving.
