Do you agree?
On a national level, Ireland has removed most remaining Covid restrictions as per today.
However, the advice is still for people to wear face coverings when in shops, public buildings, workplaces and on public transport. This also includes children down to third class primary level, who are still wearing masks in school. Secondary schools students have now been wearing masks while in their classrooms for almost two whole school years.
Face masks should be removed in schools
However, according to the National Parents Council, more and more parents are starting to think this measure should now be scrapped. Especially since it has been shown that most primary school children are not wearing their masks correctly.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast yesterday, CEO of the National Parents Council, Aine Lynch, explained:
“We do hear from parents on both sides of the discussion, and parents who feel very reassured that their children are wearing masks. But more recently we’re hearing from more and more parents who are saying ‘when are mask restrictions going to be removed.”
And this, she reveals, is now the case for most parents.
“Of parents that are contacting us, it’s the majority view”.
Concerns about their children’s social, emotional development
NPHET is due to meet this week to discuss the issue surrounding face coverings and especially the continued use of these in school settings, as debate continues among parents.
Lynch explains that many parents have several concerns in relation to masks on younger children.
“Generally they’re concerned about their children’s social, emotional development,” she says.
“The children don’t want to wear them everyday, sometimes it can be a struggle getting them to put them on. And on the other side of it they’re saying their children aren’t wearing them properly. They often pull them down to talk to each other, they pull them down to show expressions if they’re laughing”.
This is, of course, Lynch says, a normal thing that we can expect from young children who are trying to learn to communicate and make friends.
“So if they’re not wearing them properly, it really does I suppose raise the question of why are they still wearing them at all”.
Lynch says she believes the measure should be removed quickly, if the advice finds it is warranted.
“All along with the pandemic we’ve obviously wanted to recommended sticking with public health advice cause we’re not public health experts ourselves.”
She continues:
“But I suppose what we would like to see is if there is no public health reason for children to continue to wear masks in school, then we would like to see that lifted overnight – as the restrictions a number of weeks ago were lifted overnight. So we just think they need to be lifted as soon as that advice is given”.
Do you agree it is time to get the masks off kids in school? Let us know in the comments.
