Has two years of masking hurt our kids? Here’s what experts say

There are growing calls for COVID-19 mask mandates to end, especially for kids. But will any damage be done by keeping them in place?

Rishi Ramberran’s children were ages 11, nine and five when the COVID-19 pandemic first began.

When masks became mandatory, it was a no-brainer for the family of five.

“My father was very ill during COVID and he had a lung disease, so our family just put him as a priority. … We all just wore masks and that was that,” the Winnipeg father of three explained.

“Initially it was cool. We got some pretty cool masks. They liked it.”

But like so many other parents, two years on, Ramberran wonders, how has masking affected them, if at all?

“As humans, we thrive on interaction,” Ramberran said. “So much of that is facial recognition and playing off each other’s faces. How do you know if the person is surprised, angry or sad if we can’t see half of their face?”

There are growing calls from some politicians and parents for mask mandates to end, especially when you are talking about kids.

Some provinces are already making moves to ditch them.