Wearing a mask in solidarity?

[smilequeen]

I think it depends on your kids. My 10 year old has never minded the mask and he totally understands that vaccinated people don't need them anymore and that he isn't old enough yet. He really truly doesn't need us to wear a mask for his benefit. He gets it, better than some adults.

I will put on a mask if I don't feel like I can keep my distance from people because I don't trust people. I do trust the vaccine, so I don't wear one as long as wherever I am allows me to keep my distance(which has always been my introverted preference anyway...not difficult).

[petesgirl]

I wear my mask most places that my kids do, not always, but most of the time.

[bisous]

Thank you for your replies.

One of DHs arguments is that our littles aren’t balking at mask wearing so the solidarity is not needed. BUT in contrast to my teens who feel strongly about supporting efforts to slow spread of COVID, my littles wear masks without complaints…because that’s just what people do now. I’m wondering if the huge numbers of their peers who wear masks for children’s chapel but not the bigger meeting will make them feel different? I suppose we could cross that bridge when we get there. I feel like we just need patience and grace for a few more months!!

[specialp]

I think it depends on your kids. My 10 year old has never minded the mask and he totally understands that vaccinated people don't need them anymore and that he isn't old enough yet. He really truly doesn't need us to wear a mask for his benefit. He gets it, better than some adults.

Same. We asked them how they felt about it and said we would wear a mask anytime they wanted us to.

I feel like we just need patience and grace for a few more months!!

This is so true, especially when you are just now stepping out as a family. Everyone needs a bit of patience. In our case, we have had IP school all year (masks required) and various extra curricular activities where masks have been every combination of super strict to fluid depending on the month/activity/situation/location. They’ve had 11 months of exposure and experiences with evolving mandates and vaccinations and making decisions on what activity is or isn’t comfortable for us as a family and as individuals and we've involved them in those discussions. There have been plenty of times when one kid has been the only kid wearing a mask in an outside and not crowded situation where I didn’t think it was necessary, but that was his comfort level. So going into this change of doing the same things, more or less, but with parents who are vaccinated, just hasn’t been a big deal. That has to very different if you've not been doing those things are just now starting but there is no mask mandate.

[dogmom]

Thank you for your replies.

One of DHs arguments is that our littles aren’t balking at mask wearing so the solidarity is not needed. BUT in contrast to my teens who feel strongly about supporting efforts to slow spread of COVID, my littles wear masks without complaints…because that’s just what people do now. I’m wondering if the huge numbers of their peers who wear masks for children’s chapel but not the bigger meeting will make them feel different? I suppose we could cross that bridge when we get there. I feel like we just need patience and grace for a few more months!!

I get where you are coming from, but I think you are overthinking it a bit. It’s easy to forget just how much freaking stuff doesn’t make any, or only partial sense, to younger children and they just do because they are told to. So it probably doesn’t stand out to them in the same way it does for you or your DH, especially since it’s something they do in the children’s area. Having said that I completely endorse you and your DH wearing them in support of not just your kids but others in hour church who need to. Especially if people are giving you grief. I mean, is it so hard to be polite and realize people are going to come out of this time at their own pace and you don’t need to mask shame? Mine family is fully vaxed, we just converted to no masks, but there are plenty of places I wear them, work being one for the foreseeable future.

As your aside do you think your church leadership would be open to giving a quick reminder about patience and grace? It might help diffuse it from a right/wrong who did you vote for thing to a kindness.

[echoesofspring]

As your aside do you think your church leadership would be open to giving a quick reminder about patience and grace? It might help diffuse it from a right/wrong who did you vote for thing to a kindness.

What a lovely idea. Bisous, FWIW I expressed something similar to DH and he looked at me like i had two heads, he really could not understand the notion of wearing them to normalize wearing them for the kids. There haven't been a lot of situations recently where we've been out as a family someplace they needed masks but when the kids do need to wear them, i'll put one on. In solidarity and also just to stave off any whining/power struggle

[bisous]

Ugh. This has become such a thing between DH and I! I guess I should just count myself lucky that this is our first COVID disagreement!

[bisous]

As your aside do you think your church leadership would be open to giving a quick reminder about patience and grace? It might help diffuse it from a right/wrong who did you vote for thing to a kindness.

Dogmom thank you for your whole post. Thankfully my church reads a letter about love and inclusion at the beginning of every meeting. A minority of members are falling short of this. Sometimes in my mind it feels like “everyone” but I’m sure it’s not. I do wonder if more can be done from the leadership but I’m also aware that many people are hurting in all kinds of ways right now!

[georgiegirl]

I’ll be wearing a mask everywhere in public for the foreseeable future whether my kids are with me or not. My husband is doing the same thing. At stores here everyone still seems to be wearing them, and I don’t think you are that far from me. It is such a simple thing to do and if helps keep anyone around me safe, I’m all for it.

FWIW, students and staff, vaccinated or not, will be required to wear masks when school resumes in August.

Yes to this! I wear mine anytime I am indoors in public place (like a store.)

I stopped wearing my mask to (indoor) swim practice, but I’m vaccinated and 6+ feet away from anyone else, and it’s hot as blazes inside. The kids still wear their masks when going to/from swim practice.


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[KpbS]

I'm in the same situation as you. The first couple of Sundays I wore my mask with DC who is unvaccinated. Then we were out of town and out of the routine. I forgot last Sunday and asked DC to place her mask on mid-service. She was not happy, but I reminded her I wanted her to be healthy for camp.