How to make face masks more comfy for kidsPosted by Bek Bynum on January 17th, 2021 
As the state of Minnesota continues to approach re-opening after the COVID-19 stay-at-home order, lots of public spaces ask or require every person to wear towel face masks. Laura Sufka, child life expert at Kid's Minnesota, shares exactly how you can speak with your kids concerning using face masks, and provides suggestions to help make masks more comfortable.
How can I talk to my kids concerning putting on face masks?
Putting on a face mask is a new idea for numerous children, so it is very important to help them understand why we wear masks when we are not sick. Although it is necessary for children to recognize why face masks are so vital, parents and also caretakers ought to likewise confirm their youngsters's problems or worries about using a mask. This permits children to process their feelings as well as feel extra in control of the situation.
First, clarify to youngsters that medical professionals as well as nurses recommend that we all use masks so we can secure ourselves and also others. Masks secure our own noses as well as mouths from bacteria, however wearing a mask can likewise shield others because it keeps our bacteria closer to our bodies.
Offering your youngster an age-appropriate explanation of what COVID-19 is can help them comprehend why face masks are essential. Some pointers from our kid life group can be located here: How to speak with kids concerning COVID-19.
Face mask hacks
Offer kids choices
Let kids make the masks personal! If you are making the masks at home, allow kids pick the color or pattern themselves. Children can additionally enhance their face conceals with stickers or textile pens. Allowing them to get innovative with the mask will certainly help them seem like they have a lot more control and also will help them feel extra comfy with it.
Usage switches
To make masks a lot more comfortable and also to prevent them from harming kids' ears, try making use of buttons. Connect switches to a hat or a fabric headband so you can loophole the flexible around the switches instead of your youngster's ears.
If your youngster uses glasses, you can utilize 2 tiny elastic bands to include buttons to your kid's glasses. You can then loophole the flexible around the buttons rather than around their ears.
Method
For children, attempt making use of a doll or packed pet to exercise putting on a mask. You can also play peek-a-boo to reveal your youngster that you coincide individual with or without a mask. You may likewise wish to practice reviewing other individuals's emotions by considering their brows to make it much easier to connect with masks on.
With school-age and older youngsters, providing possibilities to reveal their feelings and/or worries concerning using a mask can offer an opportunity for them to gain control over this brand-new experience. For
Continue reading , masks may not be a huge modification, but also for others they might require time to process.
Tips for children that are deaf or hard of hearing
If your child has a cochlear implant or hearing aids, you might intend to choose a mask with straps in the back as opposed to an ear loop mask. Ear loophole masks can trigger added noise as it massages against the ears that might be annoying to those who utilize listening devices or cochlear implants.
If your kid commonly relies upon lip reading, you might wish to seek a mask that has a clear piece throughout the mouth. Universal face coverings have actually been especially hard for kids that make use of lip reading to communicate with others in our neighborhood, so hold your horses if it takes them longer to understand or communicate.
Offer kids time to get comfy
"In the midst of a situation, it is the job of a kid to play," Sufka discussed. Putting on a mask is a huge change! Allow youngsters time to play while putting on the mask so they can obtain made use of to it.
Like it? Share it! |