What if my child is scared of wearing a face covering?
It's understandable that children may be afraid of cloth face coverings at first.
Here are a few ideas to help make them seem less scary:
😷 Look in the mirror with the face coverings on and talk about it.
😷 Put a cloth face covering on a favorite stuffed animal.
😷 Decorate them so they're more personalized and fun.
😷 Show your child pictures of other children wearing them.
😷 Draw one on their favorite book character.
😷 Practice wearing the face covering at home to help your child get used to it.
For children under 3, it's best to answer their questions simply in language they understand.
If they ask about why people are wearing cloth face coverings, explain that sometimes people wear them when they are sick, and when they are all better, they stop wearing them.
For children over 3, try focusing on germs. Explain that germs are special to your own body. Some germs and good and some are bad. The bad ones can make you sick. Since we can't always tell which are good or bad, the cloth face coverings help make sure you keep those germs away from your own body.
One of the biggest challenges with having children wear cloth face coverings relates to them “feeling different" or stereotyping them as being sick. As more people wear these cloth face coverings, children will get used to them and not feel singled out or strange about wearing them.
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