We have started wearing the mask two years ago, as a result of the pandemic, and this means that we have become accustomed to it. Also the children.
For this reason, it is increasingly common to find children afraid to remove their mask in case they become infected or because they feel unprotected and vulnerable. And this fear could increase now that the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP) has proposed to start removing it from classrooms.
Does it happen to your son? Are you afraid to take off your mask? How can we manage it as fathers and mothers?
Pediatricians propose to start removing the masks
As we have explained in a previous article, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics has just prepared a document in which it sets out its proposal to progressively remove the mask in classrooms .
According to the AEP, this de-escalation measure would correspond to the progressive advance towards normality, as is the case in other European countries.
Why this fear of removing the mask?
As we will see, it is normal that many children have been acquiring a certain fear of removing the mask, for fear of getting infected.
This fear can be the result of many things ; of having lost a loved one due to Covid, of having been infected (themselves or a family member), of not knowing very well what would happen if they were infected, of the situation of uncertainty and changes that we are experiencing…
Also, let’s not forget that we are in a time of great tension , where it is normal for children to feel vulnerable or confused.
Therefore, the first step in managing this situation will be to validate the emotions they feel and understand where they come from. So, how do we manage it and where do we start?
How to manage the fear of not wearing a mask?
Validate their fear
Validating that fear in our children is important, since every emotion is valid and deserves to be traveled. Also, paradoxically, what happens with fear is that “you have to receive it to make it go away”.
But what exactly are we talking about when we talk about validating? Validating implies accepting that emotion, giving it validity and meaning. Allow our children to feel what they feel and let them know that it is okay.
Understand (and make him understand) its causes
Once the emotion of fear has been validated, it is important that our child can understand what is hidden behind it. That is, what causes explain that fear. Therefore, we can talk about it with him, ask him, normalize … Normally, after that fear, the most common cause is the fear of getting infected.
We have to think that children (and adults in general) have been very exposed to this environment of tension, change, uncertainty…
And it is normal that this fear of catching the virus was born in them, as a result of having so much information on the subject.
Give him the option to choose
It is important that we respect our children’s decision not to want to remove their mask. We have to keep in mind that if they feel pressured to choose one thing or another, this will make them feel bad.
However, it will be just as important, in these cases, to work on the fears that lead them not to want to take it off , and that they can decide consciously and freely, with all the information they need.
Because it is from there that they can choose freely, and not from that fear and that overload of information.
Solve your doubts
It is also important that we can solve your doubts, since the information (not over-information, much less contradictory information), will help you dispel that fear of contagion.
Therefore, let’s talk openly about the subject; What’s bothering you? Let’s also talk about the possibilities of contagion, what the virus can entail, what not… what measures can be applied to prevent contagion… In other words, everything that can help you, but without overwhelming or saturating you .
That you can expose yourself to your fears
Overcoming a fear, as we have said, implies facing it. That is, expose yourself to it. If after talking about it with your son, he expresses his desire to combat that fear, the ideal is that he gradually exposes himself.
In fact, in psychotherapy the therapy of choice for phobias is exposure therapy . How can you progressively expose yourself to that fear?
Through a hierarchy of items; To do this, we will make a list with him of the situations that generate the most fear (from least to most).
- progressive exposure
The idea is that you first expose yourself to the “easiest” situations (or the least fearful of them); For example, first, try to take off your mask for only a few hours a day, or in the courtyard, and little by little you can take it off for more hours, in the classroom…
You can also start by putting it on only when you are very close to the other children, and gradually take it off. In the end, the hierarchy must be personalized for each child , and if you have the help of a professional, the better.
Let’s be your role models
If your child is afraid to take off the mask, but wants to start facing this fear, it is also important that we are their role models.
If they see us calm without wearing the mask in situations where it is possible (without risk to health), it is easier for them to end up developing that calm as well.
Let’s not forget that many of the phobias are acquired by vicarious learning (that is, seeing another person being afraid of a certain situation).
For this reason, let us try to transmit calm and security to them, through our behavior and also by resolving their doubts, as we have already seen.
Photos | Cover (freepik), Image 1 (freepik), Image 2 (freepik), Image 3 (freepik)
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