Q&A: How can parents and teachers support kids as mask mandates end?

With the Saskatchewan government lifting its masking mandate on Monday, CBCchecked in with Dr. Madhav Sarda, a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Saskatoon, for advice on how families and educators can navigate the change.

The following transcript has been edited for clarity and length.

What kinds of feelings might children be having around the lifting of the mask mandate?

I think that kids' responses to it will be very much impacted by their parents. To be honest, kids in general have had fewer issues with masks compared to adults.

As a child psychiatrist, I find that I have far more questions and concerns from adults than I do from kids who just sort of go along with things.

What kind of conversations should parents be having with their children, both before and after the mask mandate is dropped?

Before, parents have to make a decision especially for the young kids about whether they're going to have them continue to mask, and to let kids know that, as of Monday, it's not a rule anymore.

They have to let their kids know that there might be different kids who do or don't wear masks.

Parents should explain the reasoning behind making their decision about it and what they're trying going forward, then see what their kids' input is. Some kids may say, "Actually, I prefer to keep a mask on," and some may not. I think that's the type of conversation you'd want to have.

After it's lifted, I think the biggest thing is just to check in with them see how their day was.

Ask them, "What was it like? How many other kids in your class were doing it?" Just so you have an idea of the situation in their classroom, what they're experiencing and what they'd like to do from that perspective.

What's your advice to parents and teachers if there's a child who's anxious about masks no longer being mandatory?

Just like anything else, explain to them that the rules have changed and people have different opinions on whether that's reasonable or not.

Also, tell them that whatever parents decide for next week doesn't have to be the case forever, either.

What do you expect the social impact of lifting the mask mandate in schools to be?

My whole job is dealing with kids who are traumatized, were bullied, who are anxious, depressed, suicidal all sorts of things.

Throughout the whole pandemic, I've had kids raise all kinds of issues that are aggravating related to the pandemic: going to school in-person, being online, isolation all kinds of stuff. But I haven't had a single kid who says that masks are causing them grief, either socially or not.

That doesn't mean some kids aren't struggling with it, but it's not the driving thing.

I think parents are far more worried about that than kids actually are.

From that perspective, like any sort of bullying, we just have to let kids know what the rules are and what's allowed.

Parents have to make kids feel safe, regardless of whether they wear a mask. It's about making sure they have that support.

What are some warning signs to watch for that might signal that a child is being bullied?

School avoidance is probably the most common sign.

Maybe they say they don't want to go to school anymore, or they're suddenly having new headaches, stomach aches or things like that that are keeping them from going.

Obviously, you'll want to make sure it's not COVID first. From there, you kind of have to get them talking.

Start that conversation by asking something specific about school, using it as a launching point.

Or, if you're at the dinner table, say, "This is what I did today."Model the idea of sharing and start the conversation at an angle.

WATCH | Sask. psychiatrist offers advice on how to support kids as mask mandates lift:

Sask. psychiatrist offers advice on how to support kids as mask mandates end

3 years ago

Duration 2:49

With the Saskatchewan government lifting its masking mandate on Monday, CBC checked in with Dr. Madhav Sarda, a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Saskatoon, for advice on how families and educators can navigate the change

What would you say to kids who are worried about losing friends over their choice to go with or without a mask?

Everyone has a different level of safety and risk based off of where they're at, their family situation and social circumstances.

We have to be able to let people have their boundaries.

If it's important for you to wear a mask and mostly hang out with people who also mask because we're in a pandemic, because you are immunocompromised or have any other reason, that's OK.

You do have control over who you hang out with and maybe that means you don't hang out with some people right now and you do later. People have an individual right to make that call.

We have to be able to have a reasonable conversation about this stuff, and parents have to be able to model a reasonable conversation about it.

What's your advice to teachers who might have to play referee between students over masking?

If it comes up as an issue, be open about it with students.

Tell them that masks aren't mandatory, so no one is required to wear one; people can make their own choice and we have to respect that.

Teachers, you can say, "Look, this is what the rule is. I don't know what the right decision is. We're all just trying to make our best decisions and this is where we're at."

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What advice would you give to parents and teachers as we navigate this next phase of the pandemic?

I think the first thing to keep in mind here is that we're all in this weird, unknown pandemic.

It's OK to feel like you're not 100 per cent sure if you're making the right call or doing the right thing because a lot of us are in the same boat.

And even if we disagree with a change, that change is coming.

Give yourself some slack for not having all the answers or not knowing exactly what to do.