So what happens if kids wear masks at school? Okay, so besides the fact that their breathing is negatively affected and the fact that the body enters a stressed state due to the imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide, wearing a mask during school can potentially affect their emotional development due to the lack and decrease of verbal and nonverbal communication. Children learn by listening and looking at the teacher or books, they learn in combination with facial expressions and tone of voice. With teachers wearing masks children are less likely to fully comprehend what they are learning as they take in verbal and physical cues especially the younger they are. As an adult who is experienced with verbal and non-verbal communication I still have a hard time understanding people wearing masks so how do we expect children to fully understand and to actually put their minds to action in school? Especially children with sensory disorders and other health or mental conditions, how are they expected to feel and learn?
Children are also affected socially as they might not be so comfortable being social without seeing one’s full face. This can expand further into potentially creating awkwardness between student colleagues or impair relationships. Studies actually show that masks ‘block’ emotional signalling between their teachers and other students. Therefore, children must learn new and different cues for processing emotions and that will definitely take time. That is why the studies urge parents to help their children get comfortable with learning new ways to understand body language as facial expressions and cues are no longer available.
As a final piece of research to add to your decision making in regards to your child attending nursery or school, recent studies have also shown that 80% of people continuously wearing face masks experienced headaches and as soon as they removed their masks they started to wear off. So imagine your children continuously wearing their masks for 6-8 hours during school when they are only allowed to remove it while they eat and take part in physical education. Again, I will repeat the same advice and guidelines I outlined in last week’s article so parents can actively teach their children how to reduce the health risks involved. I still urge you all to reduce your outings, in turn reducing the use of masks and to firmly adopt the following guidelines if you have to go out and wear your mask, especially children sitting in classrooms for hours:
1. Take five long breaths before putting on your mask, after putting it on and when you remove it. For one long breath, breathe in for 4 seconds through the nose and breathe out for 6 seconds through the mouth. Then take a 2 second break in between breaths.
2. Take slower and longer breaths while wearing the mask. Take note of your breathing speed and try to relax.
3. If you are wearing the mask for an extended amount of time, make sure to take breaks around every 30-60 minutes to take it off and to take in five long breaths.
4. For hygiene purposes: dispose of your disposable masks once used and make sure to frequently wash your reusable masks as masks can cause and increase infections.
5. If you are sick and have been effected by Covid-19 then make sure to stay home and not have to wear your mask as it may potentially worsen your health.
No matter what you decide or how you feel, you are free to make your own decisions but always do your research first and thing of the long-term. Good luck and happy breathing!
* The author is a wellness advocate and influencer @keys2balance.
