Parenthood: Week 465 - How Masks Have Been Going

Ollie has done really well with mask-wearing. Early he had some complaints about the typical masks hurting his ears. I had to do some shopping and eventually found him masks that go around the back of his head. Once we got those for him, he never really had an issue wearing a mask. 

Sometimes we would pick him up from school and still wear his mask in the car, and we would have to remind him to take off his mask. Like with other things for Ollie, like gloves, we have to remind him to wear a mask.  

We’ve never really had to fight him to keep a mask on. He’s really been great with it. Ollie wears a mask in his dance class, and he has worn it outside on playgrounds and planes, with no problem at all.  

I do have some concerns. He has told me that he prefers to wear a mask in social situations, which I feel may express his shyness. For Ollie, I don’t think there’s a lot of thought about why he needs to wear a mask. For him, it’s more about norms and doing as others in his class.  

Ethan has had an interesting experience with masks. When he started wearing masks, he was drooling a lot, and the masks gave him tactile feedback, which got him to stop drooling. Unlike Ollie, Ethan commonly expresses that he doesn’t want to wear a mask. However, he doesn’t seem to resist in school or dance class by wearing a mask. Sometimes Ethan wants to suck his thumb in the grocery store instead of wearing his mask, and honestly, most of the time, I let it go.  

Ethan’s mask resistance isn’t just about masks. He is resistant to holding my hand in the parking lot, washing his hands after he uses the bathroom, going to the bathroom when he needs to go to the bathroom, eating when he is hungry, sleeping when he is tired, changing into his pajamas, taking a bath, cleaning up his toys, and generally follow directions.  

Lucas sigh. Ok, So Ollie is eight, which meant that he started mask-wearing when he was six. Ethan is four, so he began when he was three years old. Lucas began to the right when he turned two years old this past December. 2022 is different than 2020, and while we have supported Lucas’ school has requested to wear masks, I haven’t pushed him to wear a mask in public. Out in stores, he’s not near anyone else than his family.  

Lucas doesn’t actively fight to wear a mask, but his body does. As a result, his masks get wet with drool very quickly, and he has developed skin irritation around his mouth due to his mask-wearing.  

Now that we are moving into a world where masks are optional, I am looking forward to my children not wearing masks. However, reflecting on my children’s experiences with masks makes me wonder about the impact of wearing covers on their future. I also wonder how my children will process other people wearing a mask.  

Ollie will remember wearing a mask, Ethan will have limited memories of wearing a show, and Lucas probably will have none. However, this experience, as it has reflected who they are, will impact all of their lives, and I hope that somehow I can help with the negative effects of their mask-wearing experience in their present and future.