Since Oct. 1 students at Rocky View Schools and Calgary Catholic School District have been required to wear masks in schools and local parents and experts say there is value and drawbacks to small children wearing masks.
Katie Smith, a Cochrane resident and mother of three children, said wearing masks throughout the day is very inhibitive for children because they can't breathe in fresh air, but believes it is with the best intention to protect kids.
Dustin McLeay, a father from Cochrane, said if children are in cohorts they shouldn’t have to wear masks, but said once children are interacting with people outside their classroom, they should be wearing one.
On the other hand, Mirella Vella, a concerned Cochrane mom is frustrated by the Oct. 1 mask mandate. Vella explained Rocky View Schools mask mandate contradicts the provincial rules.
It is stated on the Government of Alberta website that all students Grade 4 and up are to be wearing a mask as opposed to the Rocky View Schools 2021/22 Return to School Operational Plan (updated Oct. 8) which states all students Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 are to wear a mask.
"They're making medical recommendations over and above their scope," said Vella, adding it is not within the right of the school to enforce such a mandate and that the parent(s) should have the ultimate say when it comes to children in Grade 4 and under.
"They could say it's your child, your choice,” Vella said. “These school boards are doing things that really could impact these children's medical conditions and not offering us parents any choice."
RVS did not reply when reached for comments regarding its mask policy.
Aspen Gowers is a registered psychologist and registered play therapist in Cochrane. She said that the number one way kids learn is through observation.
She goes on to elaborate on neuroception of safety and explained the amygdala is like an alarm bell system in our brains, and when this goes off we get dysregulated, upset, anxious, angry or depressed. To create neuroception of safety, Gowers said we need congruence in our environment.
"What congruence is, is if I can see you, and you make sense to me from what I feel from you, I'm good," she explains. This is how our brain assesses if we are safe in this world and with this person and in our environment. Our brain is constantly looking for patterns and threats, that's what it is trained to do. If we're only reading eyes, it's hard to pick up everything of knowing - do you make sense to me, are you congruent, it's harder to read that.”
Gowers said masking causes children and adults to have to tune into other non verbal communication such as body language and eyes. When individuals miss that piece of information they used to have before, it prevents them from making sense of their world, and if they are safe or can trust people.
"I think we're having to develop some more skills," she said. "But it does impact those abilities for sure."
Gowers added that the "Still Face Experiment" by University of Massuchusetts Boston professor Edward Tronick shows how at a very young age babies can interact with their emotions based on their environment. In the experiment, a mother first engages with her baby and the baby is responsive and happy, but when the mother does not engage with her baby and gives a "still face" the baby quickly reacts with negative emotions. She said even though the mother isn't wearing a mask in the video, it is similar.
"It's not that I'm on one side or the other, I think it's important to have education on all pieces," said Gowers.
There has been a huge range of children who Gowers sees that are either adapting well to the pressures of the pandemic or are really struggling.
She said more research needs to be conducted on masks and pandemic stress and the long term effects it's creating among children and adults.
Gowers said that since COVID hit, she has had a hard time keeping up with patient demand.
"They talk in our field about this mental health crisis, and it's definitely very real," said Gowers. "Everybody is having their own responses to it, very different responses all over the spectrum, all different views, but everybody is significantly impacted. Things keep changing, we don't know 'is this OK now, is this not OK now, what can we do, what can't we do' so having a lot of unknown creates anxiety and people don't know how to navigate that with all these new rules."
Since the new Oct. 1 mask mandate, Gowers has had an increase in requests for medical exemptions.
Dr. Jim Kellner is a pediatrician with a subspecialty in pediatric infectious diseases. He is also a member of the federal COVID-19 Immunity Task Force and a professor and researcher at the Cumming School of Medicine, at the University of Calgary. Kellner explains that masks are one component of the public health measures being used to reduce indoor transmission.
"On their own, they're not perfect and they won't completely prevent transmission," said Kellner. "If you're outdoors in a park and you can be spread out, there's no real role for masks, but indoors where it's crowded and where there isn't perfect ventilation, masks will add a level of protection."
Kellner explains that touching your mask throughout the day is not such a big deal, but if someone were to sneeze or cough in their mask, they should be getting washed or replaced. He added that although bacteria is present in masks, it is outweighed by the benefit of wearing them.
"With all the efforts that we have with vaccinations especially with efforts to reduce transmission versus the virus which has been continuing to change, we're not going to eradicate this virus, and it's going to be around in the background or foreground for years," said Kellner. "If we can not be too quick to abandon all the public health measures, and if we can get to a place where we're seeing low levels like we have seen at other points and have prudence, then we will be able to reduce the number of settings for children having to mask."
