I have a 3 & 6 year old registered in a @TCDSB school, the 1st ON board to mandate masks for kids Jk to Gr 3. The pushback on this by parents is mond-boggling so a thread on why I am very supportive of this decision. #SafeSeptemberON #TCDSB
Unfortunately @Sflecce has not given the boards resources to allow for small cohorts with 2m distancing in well ventilated areas. If we had that, masks would not be needed. But instead what we face is 32 people enclosed in a small room 5 days a week.
Anyone who thinks this is remotely safe without masks with this virus either has not been paying attention or expects other people to work in conditions they would never put themselves in.
I get it. I am not confident my 3 & 6 yr olds will keep them on, but we have to try. Many kids are adaptive & resilient. My 3 yr old says "Mommy, can we out on our masks and go to the store?" It sucks but it is their new normal and denying that won't make the virus go away.
Some parents are saying wearing masks and shields all day will traumatize their small kids. I say, if that's the trauma in their life ina global pandemic, so be it. Their teachers, grandparents, parents getting sick and/or dying will be far more traumatizing.
Some parents are saying only N95s work. Those parents are thinking only of protecting their own kid, not minimizing the amount of droplets in the air for everyone in the room. Those parents either don't understand how this is spread or they are incredibly selfish.
Some parents are saying there will be impacts on oxygen levels for kids wearing masks all day. As far as I know there's nothing to support that and you know what does impact your oxygen levels?? #COVID19 and the scarred lungs some people have to live with after recovery.
Finger oximeters are cheap, so if you want to see your kid's oxygen levels while wearing a mask, I recommend purchasing one and collecting the data.
So yes, I am on team #masks4all. Except people who can't wear them for real medical reasons. It's certainly not ideal but it's one thing we can do to make schools safer for everyone and their families. I cannot imagine what it's like to be a teacher & reading antimask sentiment.
I am begging the parents with young kids like mine to try to remain focussed on the main objectives of keeping our kids in school as long as possible and our communities safe. Face coverings are one way to help. It's not a perfect situation but we *can* do this.
Our kids will surprise us. Our teachers will lead them. But we have to start it all off on the right foot with the right discourse. These kinds of comments to your kids (from a TCDSB fb gp) before we even start are going to get ppl killed. Much 💜 to our teachers reading this 💩. 
More crap. Here a parent explicitly says the life of their kid is more important than anyone over the age of 30, likely incl her kids' teacher, or anyone with underlying conditions & ignoring the fact that we have no information on the longterm impacts of this disease on kids. 🤦🏾♀️
How depressing that the state of #ONPoli has lead to these incredibly harmfum conversations within our school communities. Where people's lives are dismissed. We need to build our communities and be our own leaders now. Stay safe all & please #WearAMask 😷
And yes, I am up & tweeting about this at 3:30 am bc it is so incredibly disappointing and worrisome. Solidarity to all the parents & teachers who can't sleep because they are thinking about impossible choices. I suspect the prov govt isn't losing any sleep over what they've done
Follow @jkwan_md for mask-wearing info & inspiration & @DFisman, @farah_way& @AshTuite for local #COVID19Toronto expertise.
Thanks to @imgrund for compiling the comparative information for easier public access.
Face shielded pirates.
