With the end of summer and the start of a new school year, many public districts and parochial schools are now back in session. What has also returned is the mask mandates that have been imposed on students of all ages. Mandating small children as young as three years of age to wear masks for the duration of a school day is tantamount to child abuse. The vast majority of children have never been at any grave risk from dying of Covid-19 and typically, children who have contracted the virus display mild symptoms if any and recover in a few days
As with so many bureaucratic decisions these past eighteen months, mandating the wearing of masks is not based on authentic scientific data. It has been well established that the particles of the Covid-19 virus (even when they are attached to small droplets of saliva from talking, laughing or coughing) are so small that a unless a person is wearing a medical grade N-95 particle mask, a cloth or paper mask is not able to prevent the virus particle from penetrating the surface. The masks also harbor a variety of germs. A group of parents from Gainesville, FL sent some masks that their children had been wearing all day at school to the University of Florida for analysis. The results showed that the masks contained bacteria – some even containing those that cause bacterial pneumonia. Bacteria for acne, strep throat and periodontal disease as well as fungi were also detected. Does this sound healthy for a child to be breathing though from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm each day?
Aside from the obvious health detriments, there is inherent psychological damage from wearing a mask all day. Masked children are in constant fear of contracting the virus and likely perceive others around them in school as harbingers of disease. They are told to stay physically away from their classmates, not to touch any common spaces and to avoid close contact with others. The mask has become a symbol of this baseless fear. There is no way to know the long-term effects of masking children months on end and the isolation and paranoia the masks encourage.
On a practical note, the acquisition of language, especially for young children, is being radically diminished. Wearing a mask limits and reduces certain frequencies and consonant sounds from being clearly articulated and understood by the listener. Children build language and extend their vocabulary by hearing and repeating both words and sounds. With a barrier over the mouth of the speaker, the listener does not fully comprehend the appropriate pronunciation of words and phrases as everything becomes a muffled jumble of sounds.
A myriad of facial expressions and emotions are also absent from view when wearing a mask. There are forty-three different muscles in your face that are capable of making innumerable facial expressions. Emotions like anger, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, surprise, and contempt are just some of those lost when trying to interact and communicate with a person wearing a mask. Gradually if children continued to be masked, they will lose the ability to read the non-verbal signals that are necessary for human communication.
The mean IQ score of children has also gone down since the pandemic began and the policies enacted have pointed to this decline. Brown University conducted a study which included 672 children ages three months to three years. Forbes magazine reported on this study stating, “In the decade preceding the pandemic, the mean IQ score on standardized tests for children aged between three months and three years of age hovered around 100, but for children enrolled in this study born during the pandemic that number dropped to 78.” It doesn’t take a PhD to tell you that isolating children through forced lockdowns and remote learning, limiting their exposure to expressive language and facial expressions will delay or permanently hamper natural developmental milestones.
Fight against the mask mandates as they are harming our children who have been weaponized by so called public health officials in this sick political game of power and control. Demand your school boards revoke the mask mandates and if they refuse, pull your child out of school and homeschool them. You do not have sacrifice your child on the altar of “public safety” as he/she deserves a normal childhood and is counting on you the adult to ensure their long-term wellbeing.
Excellent as usual