To say that the last year and a half has been traumatizing is an understatement. The world as we knew it came to a screeching halt with the COVID-19 pandemic. If this had happened 20 years ago, I imagine the chaos could have been somewhat less polarizing, but maybe that's just a middle-aged woman pining for the "good ol' days."
Don't get me wrong - I'm a huge fan of the internet. And social media. But we've gotten so used to having information served to us on a silver platter, we haven't paid much attention to the waiter.
The worst part is that when met with a conflicting opinion, people are no longer able to have rational conversations about their differences. It's partly due to the fact that there've been so few in-person interactions, and it's easy to say what you want from the safety of a screen. While I think most of us have realized that on our own, we can look to movies like The Social Dilemma to dig a little deeper into that.
Add to that immediate defensive stance the various "sources of truth," and you've got a recipe for disaster. Of course we're all arguing about who's right when every news outlet gives you different stats or a spin, And few consumers bother to do their due diligence by researching the statements to see if they're valid.
With school starting last week, the things I'm struggling with the most right now are masks and vaccines for kids. I refuse to argue with people through a screen. I'm happy to have a respectful conversation to hear logical opposing opinions on the matter, but so far that's not been my experience. I actually started writing this because on Insta there was a post regarding a school district deciding to give the parents the choice to let their kids opt-out of masks. Several vile comments were made, and I simply added one saying to keep in mind that most people are only trying to make the best decision for their family, not intentionally put others in harm's way, and there's no way we can know the circumstances surrounding every person's decision, so it's important to be respectful. To which someone replied that exempting their kids from masks for no reason doesn't deserve respect. Sigh. This is why I usually refrain from commenting. People are so defensive out of the gate that they're not even reading the whole statement before jumping to conclusions and flinging vitriolic diatribes.
Here's all I have to say about it. And it's neither pro/con for masks or vaccines, but highlighting another side of the story. According to the CDC, there have been 430 COVID deaths of children in the US since January 2020. Of course this is tragic. The loss of any life is heartbreaking, particularly that of a child. However, the total average number of annual child deaths (again, all of this data is on the CDC's site) is 18,346. That actually only covers ages 1-14. The number of deaths from injury is 12,175 through age 18. So let's say roughly 5,000 child deaths a year are from factors other than injury, such as diseases like COVID. And for the sake of argument, let's pretend all 5,000 are from COVID alone. Even though we know that only 430 have been from that specific cause over 20 months, not just a year. But with this Delta variant being more dangerous for kids, let's just jump to that extreme conclusion.
Out of 80 million children in the US, their odds of dying from COVID would be .006 percent.
The leading cause of death in children isn't illness. In fact, in ages 10-14, the #1 cause is accidents, #2 is suicide, #3 is cancer and #4 is homicide. Those top 4 make up 75% of the causes of death. Then a combination of health issues (diabetes, anemia, flu, etc.) makes up most of the rest of the top 15. (Still on the CDC site.)
The amount of energy being put into this fight for masks and vaccines for something that's nowhere near as dangerous to our kids as those top 4 is astonishing to me. Well, people might say, we can't control accidents, but we can control masks and vaccines. True. Accidents will happen. But what are we doing for kids' mental health that leads to #2 and #4 on the list? Maybe we should devote more energy to those problems. Of course, that will take a lot more time and energy and work than a quick post to shame others for not wearing a mask or getting a vaccine.
On a personal note regarding the mask/vaccine debate, after doing my research, and taking into account my family's specific needs, I will wait to get us vaccinated until it's approved by the FDA. That said, I think it's fine for places to require masks if they feel it necessary, and I'm ok with complying. I think my 11YO and 14YO should wear masks to school if it makes everyone feel better, but I also think that my high schooler is old enough to do her own research and critical thinking to make the smart choice for her and her fellow students. She doesn't love wearing a mask, but understands the thought process behind it and is accepting of it. We've also talked about the vaccine, and she has come to the conclusion that she would prefer to wait to get it but would consider it if it was required for extra-curricular activities.
However, my 7YO is too young for that level of discernment. Because of that, I do believe that as his mother, I know what's best for him. He's behind in reading - not compared to his peers, but compared to where his siblings were at that age. It's so fundamental and the building block for future academic success, and I do believe the masks inhibit the kids' ability to hear/see speech patterns that build their vocabulary for reading. Not just from what I've witnessed personally, but from direct feedback from a speech pathologist. I also think that while it sounds like a good idea in theory that there were fewer illnesses during the school year, we've done our children's immune system a disservice. They need to get sick when they're young to build up their immunity. One winter with a mask isn't the end of the world. But the reality is that COVID is here to stay. It will likely take on a path similar to that of the flu, mutating every year but never fully going away. We cannot maintain this lifestyle forever.
The district we're in did not give the parents a choice, so for now, they're all wearing masks at school. My hope is that after flu season the numbers will drop enough that they can go back to being mask-free. In the meantime, just trying to remember that I'm not an expert on anything except my own family and will continue to try to remember to think for myself.
