{"id":121692,"date":"2021-02-18T11:00:32","date_gmt":"2021-02-18T11:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=121692"},"modified":"2021-04-20T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T11:00:00","slug":"kids-face-coverings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/kids-face-coverings.htm","title":{"rendered":"Kids and Face Coverings – Does it Hurt Their Mental Health?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By: Nenad Stojkovic<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Want your child to wear a mask, but worried<\/strong> you\u2019d be doing the right thing when it comes to their wellbeing<\/a>? Or has your child not been themselves lately? And you suspect it relates to mask wearing?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do face coverings for kids affect their mental health?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Recent research from Germany<\/a> around face coverings for kids caused uproar when its conclusions were turned into an infographic, shared all over social media<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

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It claimed that 66% of children wearing masks were irritable. 44% were less interested in going to school<\/a>, with half unable to concentrate. 49% were less happy<\/a> than usual, and over a third were experiencing learning difficulties<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The research was even used in <\/strong>a court case in France<\/a>, <\/strong>with a group of parents and a lawyer demanding the government suspend \u00a0<\/strong>compulsory mask wearing until aged 12.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Are masks making my kid unhappy? <\/span><\/h3>\n

But it turns out the German research has serious deficits. It is only based on a<\/strong> registry, where parents or family doctors log in and report information. While the numbers were impressive, with over 20,000 entries made in a week, it does not represent any direct study of children themselves. <\/span><\/p>\n

And the glaring issue is not knowing the mental state of the parents,<\/strong> who might be projecting their own frustration at the Covid-19 situation<\/a>\u00a0(more on the power of that below). Or, say, using kids and face coverings as an easy excuse to hide recent problems with their parenting<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

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But what this survey does clearly show is that many parents and children are unhappy and distrustful about mask wearing. There is a clear need for better research and discussion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

From mask wearing to mental breakdown?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Back in September 2020, an article<\/a> in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) concluded that mask wearing across age groups had more positives than negatives<\/strong> and should be focused on as a sociocultural phenomenon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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photo by Izzy Park<\/p><\/div>\n

It didn’t go down well with others in the medical community<\/strong>. A German immunologist wrote a scathing response<\/a> with a headline, \u201c Facemasks at school: a slippery slope from virus protection to mental breakdown?\u201d She argued that:<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cFacemasks prevent the mirroring of facial expressions, a process that facilitates empathetic connections and trust between pupils and teachers. This potentially leads to a significant increase in socio-psychological stress\u2026 [that can] escalate into mental behavioural problems.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But new research shares a different story<\/span><\/h4>\n

But newer research\u00a0<\/b>is not all negative.<\/p>\n

For example, a <\/strong>team at University of Edinburgh put out research<\/a> in late December 2020 with data from 11,000 participants across the UK. And they not\u00a0only found\u00a0 that mask wearing did not negatively affect mental health. They discovered that<\/strong>—<\/span><\/p>\n

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–those who wore masks \u2018most of the time\u2019 or \u2018always\u2019, even after controlling for behavioural, social, and psychological confounds, had better mental health<\/a> and wellbeing<\/a> than those who did not.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>They felt less depressed and anxious<\/a>, and, surprisingly, less lonely<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This could suggest that mask wearing<\/strong> creates a feeling of solidarity, whether or not it slows virus transmission.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course this research was done on adults, <\/strong>and there isn’t a similar study yet done\u00a0 in the UK on children and face coverings. But there is general research around child mental health in the UK during the pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Child mental health during the pandemic\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Research published in January 2021 <\/a>in the Lancet psychiatry journal shows a marked if not extreme rise of 5.8% of mental health issues in children since the pandemic began<\/strong>. Reported issues include feeling lonely<\/a>, sleeping poorly<\/a>, and, in those who already had prior mental health issues, being afraid to leave the house.<\/p>\n

The study suggests such mental health effects might relate more to the economic outcomes<\/strong> of the pandemic than things like mask wearing. Children from families with money issues<\/a> were found to be more than twice as likely to report mental health issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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This seems backed up by other research. For example, a study from the East of England<\/a> <\/span>showed a rise in depressive symptoms, whereas a study looking at a thousand preteens<\/a><\/span> in wealthier south west England found \u2018little overall change in anxiety, depression, or wellbeing\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Is there a middle ground? <\/span><\/h3>\n

In an August 2020 report<\/a>, the World Health Organisation (WHO)<\/strong> suggest three guidelines for mask wearing and children. <\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. \u201cDo no harm\u201d – prioritise the wellbeing of the child. They discuss, for example, that children with learning disabilitie<\/a>s might do better with face shields.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Choose guidance that doesn\u2019t negatively affect development and learning outcomes.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Consider the different social, cultural, and geographical contexts and what is or isn\u2019t then feasible.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    5 ways to help your child with mask anxiety\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

    What can you do if you feel a kid’s face covering is distressing your child, or you and your child disagree on their use of a mask?<\/em><\/p>\n

    1. Ask good questions.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

    If you are very pro mask wearing and want your child to wear a mask outside of obligatory places<\/strong> like school corridors, do consider the World Health Organisation advice above.<\/p>\n