What is the negative effect of the muzzle on children?

What is the negative effect of the muzzle on children?

Wearing masks has sparked a lot of controversy, especially with regard to children, not only for fear of its effect on their inhalation of carbon dioxide, but also for fear of its harmful effect on their development, growth and cognition, as many experts indicated that children need to see the facial expressions of their peers, parents and teachers. So that their minds can develop properly.

And some researchers had previously studied in 2012, years before the spread of the Corona epidemic, the effect of wearing masks and face masks on children’s skills related to learning, communication and empathy with others.

According to CNN, this study found that the participating children, whose ages ranged between 3 and 8 years, did not find any difficulty in understanding the facial expressions of others while wearing the muzzle.

The researchers wrote in the study, which was published in the journal "Perception" that this indicates that children under the age of nine are primarily interested in looking at the area of ​​​​the eyes to understand the expressions of others' faces.

And last year, after the outbreak of the Corona epidemic, researchers at the University of “Wisconsin-Madison” also conducted a study on the fact that masks had an effect on children’s ability to understand facial expressions.

In the study, 80 children between the ages of 7 and 13 participated in the study, and the researchers showed them pictures of the faces of people who showed sadness, anger or fear, once while those people were wearing masks and again without them.

The study team indicated that the children's success rate in identifying the revealed facial expressions was correct by 66%.

As for the mask wearers, children gave 28% correct answers for sad faces, 27% for angry faces, and 18% for scared faces.

Although the percentages are not significantly high, the researchers indicated that they confirm that children can still understand facial expressions from behind the masks.

For his part, Dr. Hugh Basis, assistant professor of pediatrics at Hassenfeld Hospital at New York University Langone Health, said: “Children’s innate resilience helps them adapt to the challenges they may face,” stressing that there are no long-term effects of wearing masks on the growth and development of children. children.

For her part, Amy Learmonth, a professor of psychology at William Paterson University in New Jersey, commented on these concerns, saying: “If we assume that the social and linguistic development of children has become a little slower because of the masks, this should be balanced with the risk of a person dying from the Corona virus.”

Learmonth added: “If you are concerned about your child’s language and social development during the pandemic, just make sure you make time to talk to your child face to face when you are at home and not wearing a mask. The children will be fine as long as they interact with their parents in the morning and evening.”

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