We recently arrived at a mask wearing breakthrough with my daughter.
Our little girl had a fabulous sparkly mask that she would don happily on the rare occasion that we ventured anywhere that they would be required, then abruptly changed her mind. She stomped her little foot and said, “no! I won’t wear a mask!” Even after my calm explanation that masks are important if we ever want to go to a store or do ANYTHING EVER AGAIN. She still said no, she will simply stay home forever.
I tried many brilliant ideas that I will share with you in case you have more luck with them than I did. She finally came up with her own solution, and it worked! At least for now. This ever changing situation may continue to be a struggle on the home front, but for now we have a mask solution that my daughter is happy (enough) with.
Moral of the story- give your kids a sense of empowerment. Let them find their own solutions, and you will likely have more success with it.
Free Books to Use to Talk About Coronavirus
One important tool in helping your kids cooperate is giving them a taste of what and why we are wearing masks in public now. It has been confusing enough for us grown ups as is, with contradicting viewpoints about the effectiveness of masks. The research currently stands that masks do not really protect you from contracting the disease, but from spreading it to others. If someone else has Coronavirus and is wearing a mask, that helps protect you. If you might have it, you are less likely to spread the virus. We need to work together and all wear masks in public places, just in case. We hope that others do the same so that they do not endanger us.
I have seen a bunch of great free kids books about Coronavirus, that have helped get the conversation going:
- This sweet book from Mind Heart. I read this to my girls months ago and they still refer to it when we talk about the virus. I printed it for them to color as we talked about it.
- The Princess in Black has become a new classic in our home. This clever writing team has created a free downloadable story, with simple suggestions on how we can help defeat the virus!
- Coronavirus: A Book for Children is more detailed and much longer than the other two. Reading this would be helpful for the extra inquisitive child.
Let Your Kids Think of Their Own Solutions
This straightforward conversation helped my daughter understand the importance of this terrible new accessory. I then gave her several options, including:
- This fabulous sparkly mask
- Look at this great variety from Old Navy
- Maybe she could make her own design with fabric paint?
- Colorful face gaiter
- Matching headband and face mask, with this great unicorn pattern. I thought she’d love it because the straps go behind her ears and around the button, so they relieve ear pressure
- How about one that she could match her doll?!
- I love this one for the boys– so cute! I might get this for my boy after he turns 2. Just make sure there is a piece of cloth on the face covering, not just crocheted yarn.
Unfortunately, my daughter hated them all. So I turned the problem over to her. What do you think you could do to protect other people?
She thought about it and came up with her answer:
A scarf! The scarf doesn’t push her ears down, nor does it get tangled up in her hair. She is starting off using my scarves, so she feels quite sophisticated picking one out of my closet.
I let her choose her own at the store, and she’s super excited.
How do your kids respond to mask wearing? Or do you, like me, try to avoid mask wearing situations? Have you found an awesome kid’s mask? Let us know in the comments!