OTTAWA -- With school only weeks away, many returning students will be required to wear a mask in the classroom, which could be a challenge for some, so parents are getting their kids ready.
Zoe Smith loves the park. The six-year-old giggles gleefully as her mother Jenna MacRae pushes her high on the swing.
Zoe also loves school. She's ready and looking forward to grade one this September.
"I have to be kind, listen to the teachers, and wear my mask all day," says Zoe. "I like making new friends, doing homework because I like doing homework."
Zoe's excitement to return to school is good for her mom too. That enthusiasm has made teaching the youngster the importance of wearing a mask during class time.
Masks are required for students from grades four to 12 but, below that, they're only recommended. Not good enough, says MacRae. She's been preparing her daughter for the upcoming school days.
"Not so much at home but anytime we go outside we make sure she wears it," says MacRae. "There's no difference to me between a six-year-old and a nine-year-old wearing a mask. They're the same age range."
MacRae is also keeping it simple. Her daughter doesn't have to understand the big picture of a global pandemic. Zoe knows she has to keep herself safe and her mom used the common flu as an example, explaining that no one likes to get a tummy ache or have a sore head.
She has also made the experience of wearing a mask fun by taking Zoe to the fabric store to pick out some fabrics and patterns that she likes. Her aunt is sewing them into masks.
"I got a puppy printed one and I also got a Marineland whale one and I also got a cheetah print," Zoe says.
Some fresh back to school styles to match outfits.
Social media has also exploded, with parents posting their prep plans for kids. A four-year-old heading into junior kindergarten had her father post a tutorial on how to put on a mask, others showed children playing sports, one parent even bargained screen-time for mask time.
Dr. Anna Wolak, a family physician and member of Masks4Canada says with less than a month to go before school, leading by example is a necessary step to help kids feel comfortable.
"Kids mimic what they see, they mimic what their parents do, they mimic what they hear, so if they see you, the parent, being comfortable with it and treating it like the shoes that you need to wear to school then it normalizes things for them and lessens the anxiety."
Practice makes perfect. Dr. Wolak says to help acclimate children, start with a well-fitted mask, wearing it ten minutes a day and working up to longer periods. She says many parents have voiced their concerns and have asked if masks can be used if their children have asthma.
“It is something that needs to be discussed with your own physician,” says Dr. Wolak. “There are some people with really severe lung conditions, really severe asthma, where even just a little bit of change in oxygenation will make a difference. I will argue that those people shouldn’t actually be leaving their house at the moment anyway, but for most healthy children even those with conditions like asthma they can wear a mask.”
Dr. Wolak notes that The Canadian Thoracic Society, The American Academy of Paediatrics, and Asthma Canada all say that asthma will not be worsened by wearing a mask.
Zoe has chronic asthma and, so far, her mask has not been a problem. She says she has no problem breathing in it.
While school may look a little different for many students this fall, for Zoe she’s just happy to be re-united with her classmates, and MacRae says it’s something she needs.
“She’s a very social child so not having that dynamic is a huge loss and you can tell her personality is not the same so it will be good to get her back.”
