As Northeast Michigan students return to school this week and in the coming days, parents can decide whether to send them to class with a facemask or not.

It’s important to note the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, local public health departments, and most local school boards strongly urge — but currently do not require — facemasks as a way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our classrooms.

With the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus now embedded in our community, local public health agencies have recorded more than 300 new infections this month, compared to fewer than 100 in all of July.

Whether you choose to send your child to school with a mask or without one, it’s important to talk to them about masks.

Many parents have said they worry their kids will get bullied for wearing a mask if most other kids do not or for not wearing a mask if other kids do. Whether your kid wears a mask or not, it’s important to tell him or her that other kids may wear masks because they or their parents want to protect them and their classmates and teachers or because their parents have concerns about the effects of masks, and no one should get bullied for that (or for any other reason).

If your child will wear a mask, it’s important to tell them that it only works if they actually wear it properly, covering their mouth and their nose. Parents should make sure kids have a well-fitting, comfortable mask that their children like to make it more likely the kids will keep it on.

By and large, it seems parents care far more about the facemask issue than the kids, but parents should talk to their kids and tell them masks have become a divisive issue in the community, but they shouldn’t have to worry about their parents’ politics.

Kids go to school to learn, and nothing more, and they should ignore all the hubbub, focus on what your family has decided is the safest course of action and on getting good grades.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)