The pediatrician Fabienne Kochert, president of the French Association of Ambulatory Pediatrics, gives us her nuanced analysis of the impact of wearing a mask by adults on the development of babies.
Does wearing the mask have an impact on the development of toddlers? No, according to pediatrician Fabienne Kochert, president of the French Association of Ambulatory Pediatrics. “It is certain that babies need the interaction with the face of the adult to develop properly. But in most of the current situations, babies are only confronted with masks in childcare facilities. In the evening and on weekends they see their parents unmasked”, analyzes the pediatrician. “We pediatricians, we can clearly see in consultation that babies smile at us despite the mask, so they manage to decipher emotions through their eyes and facial expressions. Their brain reconstructs the entire face”, continues Fabienne Kochert.
“It’s more annoying for babies in the nursery”
“Where it’s more annoying is for babies who are in the nursery, with adults wearing masks all the time, or for children with disabilities, who require more non-verbal communication. And of course, for children who need to consult speech therapists. For babies staying in the nursery, the staff must not be masked at all times, to preserve interactions”, nuances the pediatrician.
In France, since September 18, wearing a mask has been compulsory for staff in crèches, day care centers and homes for childminders, even in the presence of only children. Aware of a potential impact on development, the government recently announced the distribution of 500,000 transparent masks for the staff of crèches and homes for maternal assistants. “Professionals carrying out their activity in the presence of young children will receive three transparent masks each”, specifies the National Family Allowance Fund. In all, nearly 458,000 masks will be distributed in the 17,000 crèches financed by the single service provision (PSU) and the reception service for young children (Paje), as well as 42,000 masks in the 3,500 MAMs.
A transparent mask at home?
Last May, Anna Cognet and Célia du Peuty, two clinical psychologists, published a column in Release where they worried about the impact of wearing masks on babies. “Turns out we had experience working in neonatal intensive care,” says Anna Cognet to franceinfo. “We have witnessed, in particular in a baby who had stayed five months in our service, an impact of the mask on his development. On the language-social level, we realized that he was really behind. He couldn’t vocalize properly and didn’t smile in response to adults when the mask was removed.” she continues. But by removing the mask, which the mother also wore, the child’s development quickly resumed its normal course.
Should we, in this context, recommend that parents wear a transparent mask at home? “I don’t think so, you have to know how to keep reason”, judge Fabienne kochert, while welcoming the delivery of transparent masks for early childhood professionals. “The virus circulates mainly between adults when they do not respect barrier gestures, and children are not very contagious”, concludes the pediatrician.
