Shannon Dorsey is quoted in this New York Times articles about masks for kids
This Year’s Must-Have Back-to-School Item: Masks for Children
Crayola, Old Navy and Disney are among the brands making colorful masks for children. Child psychologists see this as a positive step toward “normalcy.”
Fall is drawing near, and right on schedule, ads offering discounts on backpacks, notebooks and pencils are beginning to pop up on television and online.
But this year, during a pandemic that has school officials agonizing over how and whether to safely reopen, masks are appearing among the glue sticks and glitter as essential back-to-school items.
Companies like Crayola, Old Navy and Disney have begun selling colorful masks for children in packs of four and five as part of their back-to-school offerings. Even larger quantities of masks for children — up to 50, in some cases, can be found on Amazon, while Etsy, the e-commerce site for handmade items, has a large selection of face shields adorned with cartoons and animals.
It’s all very bright and colorful, if a little dystopian.
Dr. Andrew Adesman, the chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Queens, said face masks for children should be viewed positively...
Many children have been wearing masks since the spring, when the outbreak in the United States was intensifying, but usually at their parents’ direction. Now, as they prepare to return to the classroom, they will be beyond their families’ control but may be required to wear masks at school.
In terms of fit and acceptance, it’s important that masks be designed for children, Dr. Adesman said. Masks, he said, are a “tangible reminder” that life right now is different from before the pandemic, but they are also “one important step toward trying to approach some semblance of normalcy.”
Shannon Dorsey, a psychology professor at the University of Washington, said the key to getting children to wear masks in school was to make them fun.
“As a clinical psychologist and as a parent, we know our children are more likely to wear masks if they think they’re a fun print that they like, if they’re engaging,” she said.
Read the entire article here.