Ages 2+ wear masks in and out of the building, but none of the kids are masked during the day while actually in childcare. It's been the same for over a year now.
In theory I guess I wish they had the 3-4 year olds masking a little more, if only because I remember when my DD went from pre-k (masking only in/out of the building) to masking full day in K, it was a big jump. They've told me that their licensing doesn't give them much flexibility though.
DS is 2, so he wears his masks in/out but not all day. His tolerance even just for limited wear depends on his mood. I can't imagine him wearing a mask all day effectively, without pulling at it, touching it, taking it off randomly, plus they nap and eat with masks off... so with all of that in mind I am fine with the 2 yo's not masking all day (IDK how much it would actually help) and I'm trying not to borrow trouble thinking about the preschool/pre-k kids because I don't currently have one one of those.
I cannot, cannot, cannot wait until my littles are eligible to be vaxxed, and I can worry less.
ETA: For the moment (and since about May), vaccinated staff are not masking. Unvaxx'ed staff still are obviously. Vaccinated parents don't have to mask anymore either at drop off/pick up. I think parents/staff should probably start masking again regardless of vax status. I do most of the time at daycare because I'm with DS who needs the behavior modeled in order to do it.
Post by Velar Fricative on Aug 3, 2021 8:53:03 GMT -5
DD2 was in Pre-K3 last year and is at summer camp at the same school now. Masks were required in and out, but she was not great about wearing them throughout the day (and based on pictures, most other kids weren't either). Luckily only one confirmed case in her class all year with no spread in the class, miraculously.
She starts at DD1's elementary school in September and I assume they will be bigger sticklers of masking, which makes me a bit nervous. She's fine with it in short spurts (like in stores, etc.) but all day is going to be tough.
2+ wear masks at all time, aside from eating. They even wear them outside, during water play, which is probably my only gripe. They have been getting a lot of push back from parents, but are staying firm. It's a non-profit, religious affiliated program with maybe 6 centers. Sine vaccines became wide spread late Spring, there has not been one incident. Prior to that, there were a handful of closures in our center but no classroom spread.
I don't know if this counts for you, but DD (3) will start preschool at our public elementary school in a couple weeks, and after the CDC school guidance, the district announced that all children 3-11 must wear masks indoors.
I appreciate the policy. H is concerned whether she will be able to do it but I think she'll get used to it quickly.
It was masks 2+ With the exception of eating, sleeping and playing outside. When the state mandate went away they also dropped their requirement, with the exception of in daycare vehicles.
We are not requiring the kids to mask at daycare at this time due to low cases in our community. No other children are wearing them and DD1 has social anxiety about being different. Plus, DD2 still naps 3 hours a day. So it seems pointless to only have her masked half the day? She’s also currently home sick (not covid) so maybe we are making the wrong choice there.
Post by steamboat185 on Aug 3, 2021 9:48:12 GMT -5
Our daycare has required masks for 3 and up, but they relaxed that at the end of June. I think DD was one of the only kids who actually wore her covering her nose and mouth. Most pictures had the kids wearing them around their chins.
If we weren’t leaving for kindergarten I’d have DD start wearing a mask again.
DS2 goes to a national chain daycare. Masks are required for ages 5+ and strongly encouraged for 3-5. He was in the 2-year old room last year, and from the pictures I saw, a lot of the kids in his room were masking during the day.
Post by arehopsveggies on Aug 3, 2021 10:53:50 GMT -5
Masks required for 3 +
I wish there was a little wiggle room for the 3’s. My son has frequently fainted in a mask due to a medical issue, but we can’t keep him home another year. So we are just loading him up with daily steroids and hoping he manages
The state just changed their rules to masking isn’t required outdoors, and preschool is almost entirely outdoors since covid, so I’m hoping they relax a little on that.
Post by keweenawlove on Aug 3, 2021 11:13:49 GMT -5
5+ are required to mask. 2-5 are recommended and the staff try to keep them on when they're not eating. But from the pictures during the day, the kids get a lot of breaks.
Many childcare centers in my area require masks for kids age 2 and up, but the center we use for full-time preschool does not. Teachers, admins, and parents at dropoff wear masks, kids don't. I feel like it's gone pretty well - there have been two (unrelated) COVID cases affecting our classroom in 11 months. One was a teacher and one was a child, and neither resulted in any in-school transmission.
We're in SoCal. I'm a big supporter of universal masking in K-12, but glad that my younger ones aren't masked all day.
Baby is in an in-home daycare, no masks for anyone. There are two kids under 2, one 2-year-old, and one 3-year-old who go there. Provider and her husband, and all parents of the kids who go there, are vaccinated.
DS3 is in the 3/4 year old class at YMCA preschool. Masks have been required for adults throughout the pandemic. For the kids, masks were only required at drop-off for the first year we were there during COVID, including during SoCal's giant winter surge, and there was no spread at preschool. Then California changed the rules last month and now 2+ are supposed to wear masks, but also the preschool "can't force a child to wear a mask." Seems like they wear them a bit more indoors now, but still not all the time. I was annoyed at the state for putting me in the position of saying "listen to your teachers about everything else, but you don't have to listen to them about wearing your mask."
Post by mcppalmbeach on Aug 3, 2021 12:49:26 GMT -5
Thanks for posting this...
Most daycares / preschools in our area (fl) do not require masks, including the pre-K my 4yo will be attending. He’ll be there 3 hours daily starting next week. Last year I opted not to send him, but I know teaching staff was masked. I haven’t heard If that will change this year but considering our crap governor is trying to punish schools for mask mandates, I don’t have high hopes for masking in this small school setting.
If anyone wants to tell me wtf to do that would be great lol. He actually is a really good mask wearer, but he can be hard to understand muffled through the mask and I don’t want him to feel weird it struggle making friends being quite possibly the only child masked.
Our center has kids ages 2+ masked all day except when playing outside, eating, sleeping, or when the child puts up a big enough fit about it.
Staff are still masking, and as far as I know, parents are supposed to be masked at drop off and pickup (even though the kids are brought outside the center to us), but lately I’ve seen parents unmasked.
It’s probably overkill since our area has a high vax rate, but it’s so easy to do so I don’t mind it at all.
Our daycare just went back to masks last week. The teachers had been masked 3/2020-3/2021 until they were vaccinated. They have been unmasked since vaccinations, but are now back to masking full time. I have been sending my kids with masks the whole time. The kids were wearing masks when they were in close proximity to each other, but were allowed to take them off when they were spread out in the rooms. The rules loosened a bit when the teachers were vaccinated, but the kids are now back to wearing them again. There have only been 4-5 cases in the center since this all began, so I feel they have done a reasonable job at controlling the spread.
I have not yet heard the school district's plan yet, but I'm anticipating they will be masking (at least for elementary kids.)
Kids 10+ masked and all staff. Once the CDC said vaccinated didn’t need to wear masks most teachers and staff stopped wearing them. I’m hoping they will start again with the new CDC recommendations.
mcppalmbeach I personally feel more comfortable with all adults being masked, and I'm also comfortable with preschool aged kids not being masked. This is my personal opinion - with admittedly no amazing data - but it seems like daycare/preschool outbreaks have been exceedingly rare throughout the pandemic, across areas with a wide variety of different case rates and masking policies. Critics of that statement would maybe say "OK, but delta is different and now we'll have more daycare/preschool outbreaks" - which could be the case, but if that were a major issue, I think we'd be hearing about it from the UK and other places that dealt with delta first. We know that little kids can spread COVID, but it definitely seems like they're much less "efficient" at spreading COVID than older kids and adults.
Anyway, all of this is to say - I would still send my kid to preschool in your situation/location. That might change if my kid had a unique issue or lived/spent a lot of time with someone particularly at risk.
DD’s daycare requires masks for everyone 2+ at all times except during naps and while eating. They have kept the same precautions since they returned after the initial lockdown and said that no changes will be considered until all kids in the center have the opportunity to be vaccinated. I am extremely happy with how they are handling things.
Staff and parents are required to mask. For children its recommended but not required. Her school is only 3 and 4 year olds. Looking at pictures posted it's about half and half on kids that wear one or not in her class (17 kids).
My daughter doesn't mind so I send her with one. Really more so she doesn't absent mindedly put her hands in her mouth which she tends to do all the time and drives me crazy.
My state also never dropped their indoor mask mandate, and masking compliance is super high here outside of tourist areas.
Masks for ages 2+. I do not like it because wearing a mask really really lessens the amount my daughter talks and verbal communications is such an emerging skill at this age. Its hard because she is a bit hard to understand sometimes anyway because she is two, and then the mask muffles her a bit. I think she got frustrated and just talks less when masked.