A local parent was protesting outside the McLean County Health Department today, June 10. Katie, a learning behavior specialist, said it would be helpful if the department came out publicly and called upon schools to make the choice to unmask children in schools.
“School boards have blamed it on the Illinois School Board of Education, the Illinois School Board of Education has blamed it on IDPH. It is this run around where everyone is blaming one another and nobody is taking action. We just want more people to be aware that masks are harmful to children,” said Katie. “We should and the children should have a choice.”
Katie did not send her children to public school. Katie said her child is still social.
“She does ballet, soccer and swimming and those are all things that I just had to let the different organization know that she won’t wear a mask and it has not been a problem at all,” said Katie. “My biggest problem is how dirty the masks are. As a learning behavior specialist, when you mask a child you are teaching them that their unique needs no longer matter: Asthma, Anxiety and sensory processing disorders.”
Parents spoke on behalf of their children. They’re calling on MCHD to remind schools they have a choice.
Katie said it bothers her that children, when masked, are unable to read all of adults facial expression, which could prove dangerous.
“As they get older they use the eyes to decipher what is going on around them,” said Katie. “It is a safety hazard. They cannot identify who is a helpful, caring adult if they are in distressed. I know parents have given their best effort into teaching their children how to wear them and how to change them and how to keep them clean. It would be very helpful if the health department said, ‘Time’s up! Make a choice, the schools have the freedom to make a choice. Then I would think we would be moving in the right direction.”
Suicide, too, is a bigger risk than COVID. In 2017, certainly a less stressful period than 2020-2021, 73 kids died from suicide.
