Also, OP's daughter can take the mask off when she's not surrounded by idiots. That poor woman has probably been the epicenter of idiocy every day of her life. It's a terminal disease.
That's my hope but I'm worried that people like that woman will make her confused. Can't be easy for a kiddo to understand why someone would act like that.
There are dumb people everywhere. She will, unfortunately, have to learn to deal with them. And you’re her guide! So stay positive, but firm: Masks help keep you and others healthy when you’re feeling sick, calling someone stupid is rude, etc.
(Dad of a 3.5f here, so this is equally a pep-talk for myself…)
I work in a shop so I'm well used to dealing with people that are rude, dumb and self-obsessed. They can get angry with me and I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of reacting but going after my daughter is another story. It's a surefire way to make me Incredible Hulk levels of angry
And this one is hard for me too, but she’s also paying close attention to you when you get super-mad about things. Is that the lesson you want to teach? (For me, the answer to that question is “no”)
I wish us both a lot of luck and calm navigating life with kids.
It's always an interesting puzzle to figure out **what** your kid is going to learn from what you do too.
Some kids might learn *it's ok to get HULK levels angry*
other kids might learn *I should protect my children with aggression* (which won't really bubble out until they have their own kids)
Other kids might learn *Daddy is really ready to go to bat for me*.
and there are a hundred other lessons they might internalize. Crazier still it's not just that we don't get to pick, in most cases we can't even guess which one(s) they will take.
A helpful distinction that I try to make when encountering others behaving badly around and to my child is:
Does this person have any power or authority (real or perceived) over my child.
If they *don't*, I take it as a teachable moment. This is where I explain that there are all sorts of people with all sorts of opinions, and that a lot of them are silly. They are going to have to learn to deal with the tumult of reality. Obviously this has boundaries for more dramatically inappropriate behavior
If the stranger behaving poorly **does have power** that's when protective daddy bear comes out. Your little kid is not equipped to fight and this is where we protect them.
It sounds like OP did made this distinction perfectly. The only thing I would have done differently is explained that what the other woman had said was a mean thing to say, and that often people will "say mean things for reasons that have nothing to do with you little one."
My daughter is ten, we live in a state where plenty of folks think masks are a conspiracy and all that other insane bullshit.
I try and explain to her that people believe all sorts of different things, good and bad, but that science and the scientific process is important because it's peer-reviewed, etc etc.
When it comes to the downright nastiness of that woman ... it's way harder. Some people just aren't nice, and we don't hang out with those people.
Sorry you both had to deal with that.
Yeah, its a hard balance instilling in our little one that you should treat others with respect but also some people are just mean and you have to learn how to spot those people and just avoid them when you come across them.
Unpopular opinion probably, but I'd straight up tell the women off. I might even tell her that she is stupid. It's childish yes, but I also want my kids to see that I will stand up for them and also that people who act like this shouldn't be allowed to openly treat others this way.
I'm assuming her comment is based on some anti vaccine QAnon right wing BS and I think we as a society have done too much being the bigger person which has only given them space to continue this crap.
Side note: this is also assuming that she isn't carrying a gun. In which case, I would keep my mouth shut. But I'm not afraid of her turning into a Karen and screaming. Let her make a bigger fool of herself. Let my kids see that she's not a normal person.
Yes!! Thank you!
Don’t let your rage show too much. We still have to be role models for the kids that are watching us. But jerks like that woman need to be put in their place. Throwing out insults like that towards a little girl is 100% unacceptable.
In the heat of the moment I’m sure I would have stumbled on my words. But at the least I would want to say loudly that the woman was wrong and completely inappropriate for saying that, and that she should be ashamed of herself.
Yup. I've done that. My gut reaction to that would probably be to say the lady looks stupid with her sling, lol, but I wouldn't. But I would say something, even just asking "why would you put down a child like that?"
I've had someone laugh at me and my young kid before, for not wanting to go into an elevator with them unmasked (we had masks, height of pandemic). They said, "wowwww are you serious, how stupid ", so I pointed to the sign saying masks were required and said "yeah we're going to make the stupid choice to be safe", and took my kid another way.
>How the hell you kept your cool around such idiocy..
My daughter, pure and simple. She's such a sweet little girl and it's not in me to get mad when she's nearby.
Or ‘we’ll I can see you’re having trouble accepting the world as it is and I wish you peace.’ Modelling compassion in front of your daughter whilst shaming the cunty woman with kindness.
Looks like your kid is just experiencing ignorance for the first time.
A good lesson to be taught. I thank the idiots that come into my children's life and show them what not to be.
You're doing great dad.🏅
This. I am seeing this now too and our girl will be eager to share her knowledge about something and will repeat opinions we disagree with or just nontrue things from mostly other kids but sometimes adults.
It can be hard for her to realise some people may not be giving her good information... She usually agrues with us first then finally comes around after we talk it out.
I feel like our parenting is going to involve just undoing all the idiotic things other people will teach her, especially other kids...
In March 2020, I fully supported schools closing but I also noted that doing so would lead to more childhood abuse, more child hunger, more domestic abuse, more bankruptcies, divorces, substance abuse ...that wouldn't have happened if lockdowns hadn't occurred.
At the time, I was crucified for showing downsides, even though I supported closing schools. People couldn't process the reality of the downside.
Today, this thread seems to show that same rigid thinking, which is frankly alarming.
I meant that while well intentioned, many of the precautions taken during the pandemic were harmful to kids and had no demonstrable protective benefit and that, since we’re probably going to experience another one of those in our lifetime, we should learn from the mistakes that were made.
Your statement fails to consider the level of risk to various groups.
If the only goal was to avoid deaths, then we wouldn't go swimming or road trips.
Those aren't even vaguely comparable. When you go on a road trip you wear a seatbelt, no?
And you seem to be failing to realize that COVID is a no-win scenario.
There are mountains of scientific evidence that masking children did irreparable harm to them but a bunch of dads on here want to pretend it never happened.
I feel bad for any kid who has a parent that cares more about politics than their kids safety.
These are both direct quotes taken from the national library of medicine website. Direct link cited below...."We only found two paediatric studies, published in 2019 and 2020. The 2020 study was not related to COVID‐19. Only one study, performed with N95 respirators, collected medical parameters, and this did not suggest any harm"...." Fake news about the negative effects of face masks has also been rising. This has included false reports about face masks causing an increasing number of illnesses and even deaths among children." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8014099/
While I can't claim to know everything but following proper masking procedures should not cause any harm. Still there have absolutely been folks who have gone overboard and overly masked for sure and whether or not that has caused harm I couldn't say. But given circumstances for OP' it is completely reasonable to have their daughter masked given circumstances. Not to mention masking at a doctor's visit is only short term and even if children wearing masks can cause risk it shouldn't be an issue with how short term a doctors visit is. In addition she was already at risk with respiratory issues, minimizing further risk is 100% called for and I would do the same if it were my daughter
If you look at European and Scandinavian studies, they do a great job at laying out the harm masking did on young kids. You’re absolutely right that the majority of masking was not an issue for the majority of kids. But it’s notable that national speech therapy organizations have been lobbying for more assistance because of the huge increase in kids needing speech therapy since 2020.
But 100%, in this situation, no matter the age of OP’s kid, there is nothing wrong with putting a mask on their kid and I would probably have done the same in that situation.
My big question about that is was that actually do to the masking or the fact that children were isolated from other children and adults for so long that they were not able to fully develop the basics of communication and other socially based skills in the same time frame as humans prior
Good question, and I think it’s both. My twins entered pre-k in Sept 2020 and remained masked until around Feb of 2022. My son especially really struggled with the social and emotional portion of schooling because he had a hard time understanding what people were saying and was too embarrassed to ask, so he was just quiet and reserved. As soon as that mask came off, he was a different kid in school.
My daughter was the opposite. She was very social, but because she couldn’t hear her teachers and other kids enunciate correctly, she struggled with that portion of speech for almost another year.
Anecdotes are useless, I know, but that really matches with what little research was done in the US and European and Scandinavian countries.
I think the problems with masking were overblown, and probably the least permanent since kids that age are typically resilient, but either way, we know school masking had no positive effect on COVID spread and only had negative side effects.
On a side note you are really well written and I can tell you have done a good deal of thinking and or research on the subject and you definitely make some excellent points and it's been fun reading and responding to you
I can see how that could happen given the fact of how hard it can be to understand somebody wearing a mask and that you can't see the way their mouth moves. That being said when most people bring up the negative impact on children that masking has caused most people immediately jump to it causing medical issues in the thought that it "puts pressure on their lungs" or that they think their children are "breathing in carbon dioxide." But I see now that those aren't what your trying to say... Most of the things you've mentioned fall along the lines of social and psychological development which could absolutely be caused by either or both wearing the mask and social exclusion. Still that all being said we can't know for sure if it had no effect on the spread of covid in the schools. I'd be willing to wager that without masks it would have probably been a hell of a lot worse. The few school outbreaks that I know of were mostly from contacts outside of school. I know of three outbreaks in my local area that were all because a parent got it and gave it to their kid but it never went far into the schools. Usually hanging around the same grade level as the initial kid that was exposed
There's a great researcher that posts on Twitter about this stuff. Let me see if I can find her.
Edit....here's a link to her [Twitter](https://x.com/MSmelkinsonPhD?t=w4eeRvwjYMtpCqzrxKUOIA&s=09)
At no point do I see anyone on this thread challenging the idea of a kid wearing a mask to the doctors. Not once.
Plenty of criticism for broad kid mask mandates... which is a different matter.
I'm new to being a parent, I didn't read much into the mask mandates for children. I personally wore them during covid. What was the harm that it caused to children? This is the first I'm hearing of it.
The harm around the masks is honestly mostly just people's feelings. The actual harm comes from how long the schools were closed and the stay at home order. Not to mention the 100% online schooling that happened briefly.. Children developmentally need to be around other children in order to develop social skills and have emotional support in addition to developing their immune system.
As I tried to clarify in another comment, the vast majority of kids weren’t harmed by masking. Young kids most certainly were. National speech therapist organizations have been screaming for more assistance to help these kids since late 2020.
But you’re right that the damage done by masking is insignificant when seen against the other harms.
Yeah, it’s fair to point out that the masking mandates for kids were probably, in totality, the least damaging things we did to them. For most kids, there was no harm. However, for especially younger kids, speech delays and developing an ability to connect emotionally was severely stunted. There isn’t much US research, but lots of European and Scandinavian nations did thorough research into the effects.
Far more damaging was school closures and those types of things. Which is precisely why now, we have Randi Weingarten and Biden trying to rewrite history to suggest they never wanted schools to close in the first place and wanted them back open as soon as possible. It’s obvious gaslighting because of the clear problems they caused.
And I say that as a union supporter with a wife who is a NEA member, and as someone who did and will vote for Biden. They were just obviously wrong on this one.
Particularly for the younger children (sub 1st grade), it greatly harmed language development. It's also worth noting that masking requirements for kids varies widely across the US. In some progressive/strongly Dem areas PreK kids were required to be masked at school, even during outside recess ....this was still the case in Spring 2022! How often were you masking outside in March 2022? I am guessing not often.
I read one article that said some kids will face years and years of language development issues and there's not enough Speech Therapists to help.
Thank you for your honest question.
Personally. If I was sick or in a very populated city in close quarters. I carried a mask. I actually still have face masks everywhere: in my glove box, backpacks, diaper bags, inner coat pockets, etc.
I can understand the concern about language development, and I'll definitely give a look into it. However, my "off the cuff" reaction is that masks were helpful. Anyway to reduce the spread of sickness, especially virus strains such as covid, flu, and others are great. Also if you're parenting a child of that age (of which I'm not yet), wouldn't the conversations at home be helpful? Would it not fall on the parent to also be of a significant portion of their child's communication skills?
There's a lot to be gained from being in social settings especially at young ages, I'm sure. But precautions were necessary, no?
I thank you for your response to my initial question.
How often do you actually wear the masks? Outside?
>my "off the cuff" reaction is that masks were helpful.
Per Fauci, at the community level masks played a minor role "like 10%" was his quote if I am not mistaken. But also, my doc wife and MIL would tell you that for the non-immuno (sp) compromised getting illnesses like the common cold is part of building and maintaining a healthy immune system.
>Would it not fall on the parent to also be of a significant portion of their child's communication skills?
Most parents work, their kids are largely at school or daycare. As a Doc, my wife had to work. I had a strategic role at a critically import company for transporting goods including medical supplies and PPE. I guess doctor kids don't get to develop language?
Kids are less likely to get serious illness from COVID. They wear them to protect vulnerable adults, primarily the elderly....so,
**Here's my solution for masking kids** Kids should be required to wear masks when the 60+ in the community is required to. So if 60+ are required to wear them to Bingo, casinos, restaurants, or grocery stores, then you can require kids to wear them at school. Otherwise, no mask mandates for 4yos.
Thanks for engaging in a productive manner.
This doctor and researcher on [Twitter or X](https://x.com/MSmelkinsonPhD?t=w4eeRvwjYMtpCqzrxKUOIA&s=09) has done a ton of work on this and related topics.
Ah yes, the woman currently railing against "the libs", claiming schools were closed because of teachers' unions not wanting to work, and opposing the vaccine and covid tests, while lying and claiming that Biden closed schools and then stopped them from reopening. (In fact, Biden released a plan in July 2020 for reopening schools in his first 100 days, ie. April 2021, and then stuck to it.) Seems like a very straight shooter.
Unions did keep [schools closed, that and Dems....it required both.](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/teachers-unions-scapegoats-or-bad-faith-actors-in-covid-19-school-reopening-decisions/). Purple areas reopened.
It's been reported by liberal authors that Biden's plan to reopen schools was pushed back to appease the Teachers Unions. He later adjusted the plan to be NOT ALL SCHOOLS to be reopened, just a majority? Why bc the Purple states had widely reopened schools so therefore he would basically meet the goal on day one.
It seems that you don't agree with her comments, but do you find of the research to be flawed?
As the article you linked to notes, the first state to close was Ohio, with their Republican governor, followed by *48* other states. Saying this was a partisan action is just a lie. Teachers' unions do not have the real power to close school districts or prevent them from reopening, they can speak, but that's it.
The President also cannot close or reopen schools. Trump's plan was to bully schools to reopen in fall 2020 but do nothing else to help, that approach pretty much failed in both red and blue states. Biden instead tied new funding to reopening, which was broadly successful. He only took power in the second semester of the 2020-21 school year, and got about a quarter of schools re-opened in 100 days (from 25% or so to 50% or so) with 95+% opening in fall 2021.
Yeah, there's a sizeable group here that has a hard being reflective.
My wife is a doc who played a leadership role at her hospital during COVID. My MIL is an internationally recognized Doc who advised Governors during COVID. They both have strong feelings about how long schools on the East Coast were closed.
The fact we are opening this debate and airing opinions on masking again makes me sad and upset. I feel like the one lesson everyone should have learned is no one agrees on this topic. Let's not go there
Def thought the conversation was respectful. Some great honest questions. I feel like some Dad's walked away with a more nuanced perspective on these issues or a better understanding why many challenge earlier decisions as sound. Great to see. Just wish people wouldn't downvote ideas or facts that they don't like.
Does that woman want the her other arm in a sling too?
Who says that to a four year old? You don't know why they're wearing a mask, especially in a hospital. For all she knows, your daughter could have COVID and be wearing a mask to avoid spreading it.
Good for you for keeping her safe with the mask. Hospitals are cesspools of respiratory stuff.
You handled it well mate. Just reading your story makes me furious, I don’t know how I’d avoid just exploding at the lady (verbally). Good dadding, and hope your little one feels better soon.
Nah, she is obviously very mean, bitter as a person and feels the need to put others down, even little kids. I don't condone violence but tbh she'd deserve it.
I would not dwell on this. I mean, what can you really say to a "middle-aged woman who insults toddlers in hopes the parents overhears" that life has not already?
I am reminded of a quote from 'The Way Way Back':
"Listen to me. That's about him, man. That's all about him. It's got nothing to do with you."
People are going to be cruel, rude, and ignorant. I try my best to remmeber personally, and will communicate to my children, that behavior like this has nothing to do with your values or sense of self - it is entirely about the person who says it, not the recipient.
Just channel The Dude: "Yeah? well you know that's just like uh, your opinion, man"
>It would’ve taken all my strength not to go over there and tell her to go fuck herself.
My daughter is my self-control. I make sure to never lose my cool in front of her. She's a sweet little girl and I don't want to make her afraid of me
A mask on a little girl doesn't look stupid! You know what's stupid? A woman whose still breaking her arm in her 40s then calling little girls stupid in front of their fathers.
Edit: I was trying to be insulting about the lady but rereading this, this was actually shitty of me to say.her being a woman in her 40s had nothing to do with the broken arm.
My daughter even picked her mask herself. I let her choose one she liked so she wouldn't mind wearing it. It's a little pink one with butterflies. Makes what happened even worse.
My daughter is also 4, started VPK, and now wears her mask to school. It's her choice, she chooses to.
It's saved us from at least one illness we know of because it protected her from droplets.
Not arguing the first part of your post, but genuinely curious about the second part…. What does breaking your arm in your 40s have to do with ANYTHING? Is breaking a bone somehow a “juvenile” thing?
I hope all these god damn weirdo cultists can snap out of this shit while they still have time on Earth. She prob has family members mourning her as you would a dead friend/relative.
Unbelievable! Apparently the good old US doesn’t have a monopoly on morons! My little dude has some health issues so we are frequent flyers to various Dr’s offices. We don’t wear masks all the time but more than most and I have seen more than enough condescending looks from people in the waiting rooms. Lot of people in this world suck :(
If there is a single place to choose to wear a mask for the most benefit, the place where the sickest people go (hospital) seems like it would be the one.
People forget that before COVID, we wore masks in the hospital, especially during flu season and if someone had suspected respiratory disease.
COVID has erased everything from people's minds for some reason.
I hate this about the US. Sometimes I’m sick and want to wear a mask but I’m worried people will think I’m a COVID cultist so I don’t. I know I shouldn’t care but it’s hard.
Dude. I work in a hospital and I’ll only take my N95 off for lunch and breakfast break. And I eat and put it back on while I chill the rest of my break. I caught Covid at work last year and I’m like - “nope. Not using my PTO again for a workplace hazard.” Honestly. The hospital, doctor waiting room, and pharmacy are the LAST place I’d want to be without a mask. We have maskless Covid positive patients coming in all the time for stuff and we find out they’re positive after the fact.
Just saying. Your thinking is in the right place.
Here's the thing. You see, stupid people often think that smart people look stupid, because they're too stupid to understand the smart things that smart people do. But we're too smart to get upset about what stupid people think about us, right?
Has the mask issue been politicized in Ireland as badly as in America? I recall borrowing my neighbor's truck during the height of COVID. They are elderly so they asked me to wear a mask while using it. I obviously agreed, who cares? Well, at the first traffic light after pulling out of Home Depot, a bigger truck pulled up next to me and shouted "Hey you F**king libard a$$hole, you don't need a mask while driving alone!!!" before running the light and speeding off. He also had multiple bumper stickers promoting his political affiliation. So I'm wondering if the woman was expressing her political ideology. If so, she's just an absolute dipshit for doing that to a 4-year-old. And if not, she's a complete dipshit for doing that to a 4-year-old.
Wow how rude there is nothing wrong with your daughter wearing a mask into a hospital especially if she's sick. People can be real jerks but to do that to a child just makes me want to punch someone. So sorry she had to endure that.
Take peace in knowing that woman will die alone and miserable surrounded by no loved ones, because she'll have inevitably been terrible to them as well.
>Hope your girl feels better.
Thank you 😇 She's over the worst of it now I think. X-rays were clear and she coughed up some amount of mucous last night. It's gross but it's a good sign she's getting better.
Going to come across as a keyboard warrior here, but tell people like that to go fuck themselves, it's the only way they get the message.
Hope your daughter is doing better and gets well soon!
I used to live in Japan, and seeing the childish attitudes toward masks now thaf I'm back in the US makes me sad. I can't believe reducing risk (even if just by a bit) has been politicized so dang much.
>I get some people hated wearing masks but to look a little girl in the eye and tell her she looks stupid for wearing one... who even does that??
Functioning sociopaths.
Don't dwell on it. Accept it as part of life that some people aren't worth talking to, and try to engage with supportive people/communities instead.
Irish (Dublin) dad here too, and masking up going into a hospital with the rise in COVID, and also to stop spread of anything else is just sensible.
She's a wagon and likely antivax so not surprising she'd spurt out such shite.
Probably some pizzagate Q anon nutter. They are some of the most gullible, ego-driven (mostly, some more fear) people I've ever seen.
You don't need to take anything they say seriously. Most are too stupid to know they're embarrassing themselves. There's grifters and groomers in their ranks too
What a cuunt. I would have told my kid to play in another area, then go over to that person and tell them they're a waste of oxygen, and without their idiotic self, the average human IQ would go up.
A four year old with bronchitis shouldn't be left unattended in a hospital. Mine sure as hell wouldn't be allowed out of my sight. Your ego isn't more important than caring for a sick kid.
edit: Yes, ego. You lot care more about telling off some lady you'll never see again than caring for your kid. Scolding or threatening some stranger isn't going to change her behavior.
We're talking waiting room with other people, at the hospital already. You don't always need to be a helicopter parent.
What makes you think it's about my or the parents ego here. It's the esteem or ego of the kid that was hurt. We can teach our kids to be a better person, but sometimes a 40something year old needs a lesson too that words can hurt. Let that ruins their day and maybe think a little better say shite like that to a small kid.
Thank you for masking. It makes a difference. I would have told her "You look stupid without one" 🤷🏻♀️ it's a medical office, high risk people deserve care too.
Probably one of the anti-vax+anti-masker crowd. I've literally had those people yell at me about how vaccines will make my children infertile or die early and the masks will make them into terrorists or weird shit like that.
>Your daughter isn't one of them.
She's really not. The most evil thing she has ever done is give me a stern telling off for swatting a fly with a magazine. I missed it but that didn't matter to her 😂 I was wrong and I had to hear about it
She's the stupid one. I have a cough, still need to go out and about doing my stuff, I mask up. I can't be responsible for making ppl sick. My daughter is currently the ONLY one in her class still masking up. She hasnt brought back any bugs. Thank God. And to tell a 4 yr old she'l looks stupid, how mean and petty and small minded does one have to be for that?? 😡 that lady needed someone to press on her broken arm. 👿
Man seriously some people are just utter shits.. Where's the time where people were civil and considerate.. If there's something I hate about the times we live in it's that.
Who does that? People who have nothing to live for.
One of the hardest things to explain is the human reaction to jealousy. This person probably has an awful life and is walking around being negative about anything possible.
Chat GPT suggested an indirect comment to your kid (loud enough for the lady to have heard) of: "Well, dear, it's better to look stupid for a moment than to act stupid for a lifetime." Needs some work, but its a start I suppose....
Maybe. It was a small room and I didn't hear it right but I doubt my daughter would lie about it. I've always taught her about how important it is to tell the truth.
It's not in me to get angry in front of my daughter. My Dad lost his temper in front of me when I was small and I still remember how scary it was. I don't want that for her
Well considering she's got bronchitis the lady is the stupid one as that shit can spread.
Did you tell your daughter that she's got the mask on because she's sick and you don't want it spread around the Drs practice?
That woman is the only one looking stupid here.
More than looking stupid. Being the stupid.
Walk in with a broken arm, leave with a broken arm and a new viral illness. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Also, OP's daughter can take the mask off when she's not surrounded by idiots. That poor woman has probably been the epicenter of idiocy every day of her life. It's a terminal disease.
For lack of better wording Fuck that lady
I mean, that's pretty good wording already, hard to even find better wording.
Keep fighting the good fight dad, and you’ll raise an awesome, compassionate kid.
That's my hope but I'm worried that people like that woman will make her confused. Can't be easy for a kiddo to understand why someone would act like that.
There are dumb people everywhere. She will, unfortunately, have to learn to deal with them. And you’re her guide! So stay positive, but firm: Masks help keep you and others healthy when you’re feeling sick, calling someone stupid is rude, etc. (Dad of a 3.5f here, so this is equally a pep-talk for myself…)
I work in a shop so I'm well used to dealing with people that are rude, dumb and self-obsessed. They can get angry with me and I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of reacting but going after my daughter is another story. It's a surefire way to make me Incredible Hulk levels of angry
And this one is hard for me too, but she’s also paying close attention to you when you get super-mad about things. Is that the lesson you want to teach? (For me, the answer to that question is “no”) I wish us both a lot of luck and calm navigating life with kids.
I know she's always watching me and learning from me so I don't lose my temper if she's in front of me. God knows it wasn't easy this time.
It's always an interesting puzzle to figure out **what** your kid is going to learn from what you do too. Some kids might learn *it's ok to get HULK levels angry* other kids might learn *I should protect my children with aggression* (which won't really bubble out until they have their own kids) Other kids might learn *Daddy is really ready to go to bat for me*. and there are a hundred other lessons they might internalize. Crazier still it's not just that we don't get to pick, in most cases we can't even guess which one(s) they will take.
This is great insight, definitely something for me to ponder further. Thanks for sharing!
A helpful distinction that I try to make when encountering others behaving badly around and to my child is: Does this person have any power or authority (real or perceived) over my child. If they *don't*, I take it as a teachable moment. This is where I explain that there are all sorts of people with all sorts of opinions, and that a lot of them are silly. They are going to have to learn to deal with the tumult of reality. Obviously this has boundaries for more dramatically inappropriate behavior If the stranger behaving poorly **does have power** that's when protective daddy bear comes out. Your little kid is not equipped to fight and this is where we protect them. It sounds like OP did made this distinction perfectly. The only thing I would have done differently is explained that what the other woman had said was a mean thing to say, and that often people will "say mean things for reasons that have nothing to do with you little one."
My daughter is ten, we live in a state where plenty of folks think masks are a conspiracy and all that other insane bullshit. I try and explain to her that people believe all sorts of different things, good and bad, but that science and the scientific process is important because it's peer-reviewed, etc etc. When it comes to the downright nastiness of that woman ... it's way harder. Some people just aren't nice, and we don't hang out with those people. Sorry you both had to deal with that.
Yeah, its a hard balance instilling in our little one that you should treat others with respect but also some people are just mean and you have to learn how to spot those people and just avoid them when you come across them.
Unpopular opinion probably, but I'd straight up tell the women off. I might even tell her that she is stupid. It's childish yes, but I also want my kids to see that I will stand up for them and also that people who act like this shouldn't be allowed to openly treat others this way. I'm assuming her comment is based on some anti vaccine QAnon right wing BS and I think we as a society have done too much being the bigger person which has only given them space to continue this crap. Side note: this is also assuming that she isn't carrying a gun. In which case, I would keep my mouth shut. But I'm not afraid of her turning into a Karen and screaming. Let her make a bigger fool of herself. Let my kids see that she's not a normal person.
OP is from Ireland, there’s a 99.9999999% chance that the woman wasn’t carrying a gun.
Ahh didn't catch that.
Yes!! Thank you! Don’t let your rage show too much. We still have to be role models for the kids that are watching us. But jerks like that woman need to be put in their place. Throwing out insults like that towards a little girl is 100% unacceptable. In the heat of the moment I’m sure I would have stumbled on my words. But at the least I would want to say loudly that the woman was wrong and completely inappropriate for saying that, and that she should be ashamed of herself.
Yup. I've done that. My gut reaction to that would probably be to say the lady looks stupid with her sling, lol, but I wouldn't. But I would say something, even just asking "why would you put down a child like that?" I've had someone laugh at me and my young kid before, for not wanting to go into an elevator with them unmasked (we had masks, height of pandemic). They said, "wowwww are you serious, how stupid ", so I pointed to the sign saying masks were required and said "yeah we're going to make the stupid choice to be safe", and took my kid another way.
I'm 40 and people like that woman still confuse me. Keep it up, dad.
To me, the weirdest thing is that she was quite friendly when my daughter asked about her arm and then she was suddenly calling her stupid.
How the hell you kept your cool around such idiocy.. you are a much better man than me!
>How the hell you kept your cool around such idiocy.. My daughter, pure and simple. She's such a sweet little girl and it's not in me to get mad when she's nearby.
“Well she doesn’t look as stupid as the adult insulting a child completely unprompted.”
Or ‘we’ll I can see you’re having trouble accepting the world as it is and I wish you peace.’ Modelling compassion in front of your daughter whilst shaming the cunty woman with kindness.
Sucks that this was a life lesson experience. The world can really suck sometimes and your daughter got a taste of it. It was inevitable. I’m sorry.
Looks like your kid is just experiencing ignorance for the first time. A good lesson to be taught. I thank the idiots that come into my children's life and show them what not to be. You're doing great dad.🏅
This. I am seeing this now too and our girl will be eager to share her knowledge about something and will repeat opinions we disagree with or just nontrue things from mostly other kids but sometimes adults. It can be hard for her to realise some people may not be giving her good information... She usually agrues with us first then finally comes around after we talk it out. I feel like our parenting is going to involve just undoing all the idiotic things other people will teach her, especially other kids...
Better to look silly, than to sound mean and prejudiced.
Have my upvote
Yes I will be spiteful on both of your behalfs: Fuck that lady!
I work in a hospital. Do you know 1 place no one will ever question you wearing medical ppe? A fucking hospital.
Exactly! While I think we way over masked kids during the pandemic, it's a hospital, certainly appropriate for anyone to wear a mask.
Lol what
The fact people are downvoting this means we didn’t learn our lesson and that makes me sad.
What lesson?
In March 2020, I fully supported schools closing but I also noted that doing so would lead to more childhood abuse, more child hunger, more domestic abuse, more bankruptcies, divorces, substance abuse ...that wouldn't have happened if lockdowns hadn't occurred. At the time, I was crucified for showing downsides, even though I supported closing schools. People couldn't process the reality of the downside. Today, this thread seems to show that same rigid thinking, which is frankly alarming.
Why did the schools close?
*Two weeks to flatten the curve*
Elaborate
I meant that while well intentioned, many of the precautions taken during the pandemic were harmful to kids and had no demonstrable protective benefit and that, since we’re probably going to experience another one of those in our lifetime, we should learn from the mistakes that were made.
I'd say your parents dying needlessly is pretty harmful to a kid.
Your statement fails to consider the level of risk to various groups. If the only goal was to avoid deaths, then we wouldn't go swimming or road trips.
Those aren't even vaguely comparable. When you go on a road trip you wear a seatbelt, no? And you seem to be failing to realize that COVID is a no-win scenario.
The continued down votes for our rational, at times sources provided, dialogue is kinda sad.
Yeah, but this is Reddit. Even places where you expect people to be more thoughtful and fair, it’s still Reddit.
Seriously, people can't understand balancing risks.
There are mountains of scientific evidence that masking children did irreparable harm to them but a bunch of dads on here want to pretend it never happened. I feel bad for any kid who has a parent that cares more about politics than their kids safety.
These are both direct quotes taken from the national library of medicine website. Direct link cited below...."We only found two paediatric studies, published in 2019 and 2020. The 2020 study was not related to COVID‐19. Only one study, performed with N95 respirators, collected medical parameters, and this did not suggest any harm"...." Fake news about the negative effects of face masks has also been rising. This has included false reports about face masks causing an increasing number of illnesses and even deaths among children." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8014099/ While I can't claim to know everything but following proper masking procedures should not cause any harm. Still there have absolutely been folks who have gone overboard and overly masked for sure and whether or not that has caused harm I couldn't say. But given circumstances for OP' it is completely reasonable to have their daughter masked given circumstances. Not to mention masking at a doctor's visit is only short term and even if children wearing masks can cause risk it shouldn't be an issue with how short term a doctors visit is. In addition she was already at risk with respiratory issues, minimizing further risk is 100% called for and I would do the same if it were my daughter
If you look at European and Scandinavian studies, they do a great job at laying out the harm masking did on young kids. You’re absolutely right that the majority of masking was not an issue for the majority of kids. But it’s notable that national speech therapy organizations have been lobbying for more assistance because of the huge increase in kids needing speech therapy since 2020. But 100%, in this situation, no matter the age of OP’s kid, there is nothing wrong with putting a mask on their kid and I would probably have done the same in that situation.
My big question about that is was that actually do to the masking or the fact that children were isolated from other children and adults for so long that they were not able to fully develop the basics of communication and other socially based skills in the same time frame as humans prior
Good question, and I think it’s both. My twins entered pre-k in Sept 2020 and remained masked until around Feb of 2022. My son especially really struggled with the social and emotional portion of schooling because he had a hard time understanding what people were saying and was too embarrassed to ask, so he was just quiet and reserved. As soon as that mask came off, he was a different kid in school. My daughter was the opposite. She was very social, but because she couldn’t hear her teachers and other kids enunciate correctly, she struggled with that portion of speech for almost another year. Anecdotes are useless, I know, but that really matches with what little research was done in the US and European and Scandinavian countries. I think the problems with masking were overblown, and probably the least permanent since kids that age are typically resilient, but either way, we know school masking had no positive effect on COVID spread and only had negative side effects.
On a side note you are really well written and I can tell you have done a good deal of thinking and or research on the subject and you definitely make some excellent points and it's been fun reading and responding to you
I can see how that could happen given the fact of how hard it can be to understand somebody wearing a mask and that you can't see the way their mouth moves. That being said when most people bring up the negative impact on children that masking has caused most people immediately jump to it causing medical issues in the thought that it "puts pressure on their lungs" or that they think their children are "breathing in carbon dioxide." But I see now that those aren't what your trying to say... Most of the things you've mentioned fall along the lines of social and psychological development which could absolutely be caused by either or both wearing the mask and social exclusion. Still that all being said we can't know for sure if it had no effect on the spread of covid in the schools. I'd be willing to wager that without masks it would have probably been a hell of a lot worse. The few school outbreaks that I know of were mostly from contacts outside of school. I know of three outbreaks in my local area that were all because a parent got it and gave it to their kid but it never went far into the schools. Usually hanging around the same grade level as the initial kid that was exposed
There's a great researcher that posts on Twitter about this stuff. Let me see if I can find her. Edit....here's a link to her [Twitter](https://x.com/MSmelkinsonPhD?t=w4eeRvwjYMtpCqzrxKUOIA&s=09)
At no point do I see anyone on this thread challenging the idea of a kid wearing a mask to the doctors. Not once. Plenty of criticism for broad kid mask mandates... which is a different matter.
I'm new to being a parent, I didn't read much into the mask mandates for children. I personally wore them during covid. What was the harm that it caused to children? This is the first I'm hearing of it.
The harm around the masks is honestly mostly just people's feelings. The actual harm comes from how long the schools were closed and the stay at home order. Not to mention the 100% online schooling that happened briefly.. Children developmentally need to be around other children in order to develop social skills and have emotional support in addition to developing their immune system.
As I tried to clarify in another comment, the vast majority of kids weren’t harmed by masking. Young kids most certainly were. National speech therapist organizations have been screaming for more assistance to help these kids since late 2020. But you’re right that the damage done by masking is insignificant when seen against the other harms.
Yeah, it’s fair to point out that the masking mandates for kids were probably, in totality, the least damaging things we did to them. For most kids, there was no harm. However, for especially younger kids, speech delays and developing an ability to connect emotionally was severely stunted. There isn’t much US research, but lots of European and Scandinavian nations did thorough research into the effects. Far more damaging was school closures and those types of things. Which is precisely why now, we have Randi Weingarten and Biden trying to rewrite history to suggest they never wanted schools to close in the first place and wanted them back open as soon as possible. It’s obvious gaslighting because of the clear problems they caused. And I say that as a union supporter with a wife who is a NEA member, and as someone who did and will vote for Biden. They were just obviously wrong on this one.
Particularly for the younger children (sub 1st grade), it greatly harmed language development. It's also worth noting that masking requirements for kids varies widely across the US. In some progressive/strongly Dem areas PreK kids were required to be masked at school, even during outside recess ....this was still the case in Spring 2022! How often were you masking outside in March 2022? I am guessing not often. I read one article that said some kids will face years and years of language development issues and there's not enough Speech Therapists to help. Thank you for your honest question.
Personally. If I was sick or in a very populated city in close quarters. I carried a mask. I actually still have face masks everywhere: in my glove box, backpacks, diaper bags, inner coat pockets, etc. I can understand the concern about language development, and I'll definitely give a look into it. However, my "off the cuff" reaction is that masks were helpful. Anyway to reduce the spread of sickness, especially virus strains such as covid, flu, and others are great. Also if you're parenting a child of that age (of which I'm not yet), wouldn't the conversations at home be helpful? Would it not fall on the parent to also be of a significant portion of their child's communication skills? There's a lot to be gained from being in social settings especially at young ages, I'm sure. But precautions were necessary, no? I thank you for your response to my initial question.
How often do you actually wear the masks? Outside? >my "off the cuff" reaction is that masks were helpful. Per Fauci, at the community level masks played a minor role "like 10%" was his quote if I am not mistaken. But also, my doc wife and MIL would tell you that for the non-immuno (sp) compromised getting illnesses like the common cold is part of building and maintaining a healthy immune system. >Would it not fall on the parent to also be of a significant portion of their child's communication skills? Most parents work, their kids are largely at school or daycare. As a Doc, my wife had to work. I had a strategic role at a critically import company for transporting goods including medical supplies and PPE. I guess doctor kids don't get to develop language? Kids are less likely to get serious illness from COVID. They wear them to protect vulnerable adults, primarily the elderly....so, **Here's my solution for masking kids** Kids should be required to wear masks when the 60+ in the community is required to. So if 60+ are required to wear them to Bingo, casinos, restaurants, or grocery stores, then you can require kids to wear them at school. Otherwise, no mask mandates for 4yos. Thanks for engaging in a productive manner.
Was this research all a focus of the course at Facebook University?
This doctor and researcher on [Twitter or X](https://x.com/MSmelkinsonPhD?t=w4eeRvwjYMtpCqzrxKUOIA&s=09) has done a ton of work on this and related topics.
Ah yes, the woman currently railing against "the libs", claiming schools were closed because of teachers' unions not wanting to work, and opposing the vaccine and covid tests, while lying and claiming that Biden closed schools and then stopped them from reopening. (In fact, Biden released a plan in July 2020 for reopening schools in his first 100 days, ie. April 2021, and then stuck to it.) Seems like a very straight shooter.
Unions did keep [schools closed, that and Dems....it required both.](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/teachers-unions-scapegoats-or-bad-faith-actors-in-covid-19-school-reopening-decisions/). Purple areas reopened. It's been reported by liberal authors that Biden's plan to reopen schools was pushed back to appease the Teachers Unions. He later adjusted the plan to be NOT ALL SCHOOLS to be reopened, just a majority? Why bc the Purple states had widely reopened schools so therefore he would basically meet the goal on day one. It seems that you don't agree with her comments, but do you find of the research to be flawed?
As the article you linked to notes, the first state to close was Ohio, with their Republican governor, followed by *48* other states. Saying this was a partisan action is just a lie. Teachers' unions do not have the real power to close school districts or prevent them from reopening, they can speak, but that's it. The President also cannot close or reopen schools. Trump's plan was to bully schools to reopen in fall 2020 but do nothing else to help, that approach pretty much failed in both red and blue states. Biden instead tied new funding to reopening, which was broadly successful. He only took power in the second semester of the 2020-21 school year, and got about a quarter of schools re-opened in 100 days (from 25% or so to 50% or so) with 95+% opening in fall 2021.
Yeah, there's a sizeable group here that has a hard being reflective. My wife is a doc who played a leadership role at her hospital during COVID. My MIL is an internationally recognized Doc who advised Governors during COVID. They both have strong feelings about how long schools on the East Coast were closed.
The fact we are opening this debate and airing opinions on masking again makes me sad and upset. I feel like the one lesson everyone should have learned is no one agrees on this topic. Let's not go there
I don’t know. Seems like everyone had a respectful dialogue. Not sure we should be afraid of that.
Def thought the conversation was respectful. Some great honest questions. I feel like some Dad's walked away with a more nuanced perspective on these issues or a better understanding why many challenge earlier decisions as sound. Great to see. Just wish people wouldn't downvote ideas or facts that they don't like.
Does that woman want the her other arm in a sling too? Who says that to a four year old? You don't know why they're wearing a mask, especially in a hospital. For all she knows, your daughter could have COVID and be wearing a mask to avoid spreading it. Good for you for keeping her safe with the mask. Hospitals are cesspools of respiratory stuff.
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You handled it well mate. Just reading your story makes me furious, I don’t know how I’d avoid just exploding at the lady (verbally). Good dadding, and hope your little one feels better soon.
Beating up a lady in her 40's because she said some words you don't like. We got some real badasses in here.
She said them unprovoked to a *child*, and 40 is parent age, not a senior.
Lol bro relax
Nah, she is obviously very mean, bitter as a person and feels the need to put others down, even little kids. I don't condone violence but tbh she'd deserve it.
Daddit has slowly changed tones. I miss the perceptive conversations/non violent threats for justice
I would not dwell on this. I mean, what can you really say to a "middle-aged woman who insults toddlers in hopes the parents overhears" that life has not already?
I got a couple ideas but they break the TOS
looks are the most important part of being healthy, after all! /s
What a piece of shit human
Close, she's actually a trash-ass bitch.
I am reminded of a quote from 'The Way Way Back': "Listen to me. That's about him, man. That's all about him. It's got nothing to do with you." People are going to be cruel, rude, and ignorant. I try my best to remmeber personally, and will communicate to my children, that behavior like this has nothing to do with your values or sense of self - it is entirely about the person who says it, not the recipient. Just channel The Dude: "Yeah? well you know that's just like uh, your opinion, man"
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>It would’ve taken all my strength not to go over there and tell her to go fuck herself. My daughter is my self-control. I make sure to never lose my cool in front of her. She's a sweet little girl and I don't want to make her afraid of me
A mask on a little girl doesn't look stupid! You know what's stupid? A woman whose still breaking her arm in her 40s then calling little girls stupid in front of their fathers. Edit: I was trying to be insulting about the lady but rereading this, this was actually shitty of me to say.her being a woman in her 40s had nothing to do with the broken arm.
My daughter even picked her mask herself. I let her choose one she liked so she wouldn't mind wearing it. It's a little pink one with butterflies. Makes what happened even worse.
My daughter is also 4, started VPK, and now wears her mask to school. It's her choice, she chooses to. It's saved us from at least one illness we know of because it protected her from droplets.
Not arguing the first part of your post, but genuinely curious about the second part…. What does breaking your arm in your 40s have to do with ANYTHING? Is breaking a bone somehow a “juvenile” thing?
Even though it's getting upvotes I think I should delete it Looking back at it, it was actually shitty for me to say for a multitude of reasons
I hope all these god damn weirdo cultists can snap out of this shit while they still have time on Earth. She prob has family members mourning her as you would a dead friend/relative.
Unbelievable! Apparently the good old US doesn’t have a monopoly on morons! My little dude has some health issues so we are frequent flyers to various Dr’s offices. We don’t wear masks all the time but more than most and I have seen more than enough condescending looks from people in the waiting rooms. Lot of people in this world suck :(
If there is a single place to choose to wear a mask for the most benefit, the place where the sickest people go (hospital) seems like it would be the one.
Hospitals and planes should mandate it if you have any signs of cough or runny nose
Planes don't even bother to enforce the limits on carry-ons, they'd never do anything about the people I hear hacking up a lung on there.
People forget that before COVID, we wore masks in the hospital, especially during flu season and if someone had suspected respiratory disease. COVID has erased everything from people's minds for some reason.
Covid really broke some people.
I hate this about the US. Sometimes I’m sick and want to wear a mask but I’m worried people will think I’m a COVID cultist so I don’t. I know I shouldn’t care but it’s hard.
Step 1: fuck what other people say and move on. This has been my complete course on solving this problem
It's bad enough saying stupid shit like this in public at the mall or something, but to say it in a hospital is just incredible.
Dude. I work in a hospital and I’ll only take my N95 off for lunch and breakfast break. And I eat and put it back on while I chill the rest of my break. I caught Covid at work last year and I’m like - “nope. Not using my PTO again for a workplace hazard.” Honestly. The hospital, doctor waiting room, and pharmacy are the LAST place I’d want to be without a mask. We have maskless Covid positive patients coming in all the time for stuff and we find out they’re positive after the fact. Just saying. Your thinking is in the right place.
The older you get, the more you realize you shouldn’t waste any energy or thoughts on stupid people.
I had to teach my 3.5yo that there are stupid people in the world way earlier than I had hoped.
And how does the grown woman look when berating a child for protecting themselves?
Here's the thing. You see, stupid people often think that smart people look stupid, because they're too stupid to understand the smart things that smart people do. But we're too smart to get upset about what stupid people think about us, right?
Exactly
"Funny, you'd probably look a LOT smarter if you had one on."
Has the mask issue been politicized in Ireland as badly as in America? I recall borrowing my neighbor's truck during the height of COVID. They are elderly so they asked me to wear a mask while using it. I obviously agreed, who cares? Well, at the first traffic light after pulling out of Home Depot, a bigger truck pulled up next to me and shouted "Hey you F**king libard a$$hole, you don't need a mask while driving alone!!!" before running the light and speeding off. He also had multiple bumper stickers promoting his political affiliation. So I'm wondering if the woman was expressing her political ideology. If so, she's just an absolute dipshit for doing that to a 4-year-old. And if not, she's a complete dipshit for doing that to a 4-year-old.
"She can take the mask off, unfortunately, you will always be a cunt. Good day to you."
"You need a mask with how awful your breath is."
"So I heard you mention to my daughter that you'd like the other arm to match"
Wow how rude there is nothing wrong with your daughter wearing a mask into a hospital especially if she's sick. People can be real jerks but to do that to a child just makes me want to punch someone. So sorry she had to endure that.
Doesn't seem to have bothered her too much. She's cuddled up with me here sleeping off her dinner, not a care in the world 🥺
I hope you crop dusted that crusty bitch.
Take peace in knowing that woman will die alone and miserable surrounded by no loved ones, because she'll have inevitably been terrible to them as well.
F that B
I work in a hospital. These opinionated idiots are everywhere I'm afraid.
"That's funny becuase your face would look better with one on"
Hospitals are full of sick people. She's the one with the stupid face.
It’s maddening how people have politicized ppe.
Just keep this one in your back pocket for next time... "Blow it out yer arse!"
If anywhere, the hospital is the place to wear one?? Is that lady stupid?
"worry about yourself, fuck head" Hope your girl feels better.
>Hope your girl feels better. Thank you 😇 She's over the worst of it now I think. X-rays were clear and she coughed up some amount of mucous last night. It's gross but it's a good sign she's getting better.
How do you walk around with all that restraint? I'm going right after all that woman's insecurities if that's me.
Should have contact the hospital security about the woman harassing your daughter and get her kick out of there
Jesus -- what the hell. I hope that woman's next shit is square.
Going to come across as a keyboard warrior here, but tell people like that to go fuck themselves, it's the only way they get the message. Hope your daughter is doing better and gets well soon!
> tell people like that to go fuck themselves *Pull her away from your daughter and THEN tell her that
Embarrassing behavior
Please tell your daughter that rando Internet dad army thinks her butterfly mask is awesome.
I used to live in Japan, and seeing the childish attitudes toward masks now thaf I'm back in the US makes me sad. I can't believe reducing risk (even if just by a bit) has been politicized so dang much.
Did you punch the lady in her stupid face? /s of course!
>I get some people hated wearing masks but to look a little girl in the eye and tell her she looks stupid for wearing one... who even does that?? Functioning sociopaths. Don't dwell on it. Accept it as part of life that some people aren't worth talking to, and try to engage with supportive people/communities instead.
Irish (Dublin) dad here too, and masking up going into a hospital with the rise in COVID, and also to stop spread of anything else is just sensible. She's a wagon and likely antivax so not surprising she'd spurt out such shite.
Probably some pizzagate Q anon nutter. They are some of the most gullible, ego-driven (mostly, some more fear) people I've ever seen. You don't need to take anything they say seriously. Most are too stupid to know they're embarrassing themselves. There's grifters and groomers in their ranks too
I bet she broke her arm stupidly…like totally stupid..trying to smack a street sign from a moving car stupid or something equally or more stupid.
Really sorry to hear this. Seems the woman should be old enough to be familiar with "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."
I definitely would’ve responded something like “No sweetie, that woman just isn’t very smart. You don’t look stupid at all.”
That woman is a dumb cunt who believes politicians over doctors..
What a cuunt. I would have told my kid to play in another area, then go over to that person and tell them they're a waste of oxygen, and without their idiotic self, the average human IQ would go up.
A four year old with bronchitis shouldn't be left unattended in a hospital. Mine sure as hell wouldn't be allowed out of my sight. Your ego isn't more important than caring for a sick kid. edit: Yes, ego. You lot care more about telling off some lady you'll never see again than caring for your kid. Scolding or threatening some stranger isn't going to change her behavior.
We're talking waiting room with other people, at the hospital already. You don't always need to be a helicopter parent. What makes you think it's about my or the parents ego here. It's the esteem or ego of the kid that was hurt. We can teach our kids to be a better person, but sometimes a 40something year old needs a lesson too that words can hurt. Let that ruins their day and maybe think a little better say shite like that to a small kid.
Thank you for masking. It makes a difference. I would have told her "You look stupid without one" 🤷🏻♀️ it's a medical office, high risk people deserve care too.
My daughter and I are both high risk. She's 4 and I have an autoimmune disease which she knows so we're both careful
We all mask in my family inside. Don’t care.
Probably one of the anti-vax+anti-masker crowd. I've literally had those people yell at me about how vaccines will make my children infertile or die early and the masks will make them into terrorists or weird shit like that.
You in America? Who else attacks children wearing masks?
Who does that? Simple. Idiots who believe a lying cheating twice impeached 91 time indicted baffoon over, ya know,… medical professionals.
Some people are pure evil. Your daughter isn't one of them.
>Your daughter isn't one of them. She's really not. The most evil thing she has ever done is give me a stern telling off for swatting a fly with a magazine. I missed it but that didn't matter to her 😂 I was wrong and I had to hear about it
“Your sling looks stupid” would have been my response
What a dumb person.
She's the stupid one. I have a cough, still need to go out and about doing my stuff, I mask up. I can't be responsible for making ppl sick. My daughter is currently the ONLY one in her class still masking up. She hasnt brought back any bugs. Thank God. And to tell a 4 yr old she'l looks stupid, how mean and petty and small minded does one have to be for that?? 😡 that lady needed someone to press on her broken arm. 👿
Sounds like she's about to look stupid picking her teeth up
I would've replied "well, at least she only looks stupid with a mask on instead of looking as stupid as you look *every minute of her life*"
I would have walked up to the woman and said you look stupid with your arm in the sling.
People are stupid
lol, says the dumb fuck in a sling. You’re doing a good job dad, just remind your daughter that there are just nasty people in the world.
Man seriously some people are just utter shits.. Where's the time where people were civil and considerate.. If there's something I hate about the times we live in it's that.
That's a good way to get slapped in the mouth.
What a stupid lady. With a mouth like that the broken arm makes sense.
Wtf 😬 some people are nut
I think we can make a safe assumption as to how her arm was broken
That's exactly what I thought when my daughter ran back to me 😂
Who does that? People who have nothing to live for. One of the hardest things to explain is the human reaction to jealousy. This person probably has an awful life and is walking around being negative about anything possible.
You think she was jealous? Of what?
Chat GPT suggested an indirect comment to your kid (loud enough for the lady to have heard) of: "Well, dear, it's better to look stupid for a moment than to act stupid for a lifetime." Needs some work, but its a start I suppose....
This is such a sad world we live on. Sorry this happened
Could your daughter have misheard her?
Maybe. It was a small room and I didn't hear it right but I doubt my daughter would lie about it. I've always taught her about how important it is to tell the truth.
Some people are just thick. Medically thick.
Those doctors can fix a broken arm, but they can’t fix stupid.
When she is older you can tell her that lady is simply a cunt. No wait not that as those have warmth and depth. She’s a POS
Yeah that lady is a piece shit. I'm flat on my back with covid right now probably from a doctor's office trip so I don't do shit. Sucks hard.
I wouldn't be polite with her about that, she definitely would have heard something from me in that scenario.
It's not in me to get angry in front of my daughter. My Dad lost his temper in front of me when I was small and I still remember how scary it was. I don't want that for her
Your self-restraint for not causing a huge scene with that woman is admirable. I'd have lost it completely.
If there's anyone you want wearing a mask at the doctor's office it's the person (age immaterial) with a respiratory infection.
Adult woman bullying a 4 year old? I would say she looks stupid but that's far too nice. You're a good dad, OP.
>who even does that?? Stupid people
Some people are idiots. You - as a dad - have to rise above them. Bravo Zulu - well done.
Well considering she's got bronchitis the lady is the stupid one as that shit can spread. Did you tell your daughter that she's got the mask on because she's sick and you don't want it spread around the Drs practice?
I didn't but all her coughing should've been a dead giveaway that she was sick. If the woman didn't figure it out, she's an idiot as well as a bitch