What are parents saying?
“She has only been to church twice since March 2020, both times wearing a mask. I was constantly worried that we had become too loose, but we were the only ones who were still hiding our unvaccinated child in the public spaces of our home. I had to pay my kids $1 every time they wore a mask in public places in the house.” – Kristen Green Wiewora, Searcy, Ark.
“Leave the kids alone. Perfecting the vaccine (usually takes 10 years!!) and then getting the kids involved. I think the child should get this vaccine as early as adolescence. ” – Patricia Verma, Reno, Nev.
“We hardly went anywhere. When my 2.5 year old had his first friend come over, he kept touching her to see if she was real. It was heartbreaking, scary, sad, not quite what I expected from parenting when I was pregnant in 2019.” – Lauren Klinger, St.Petersburg, Fla.
“Imagine Groundhog Day, but you will be free of anxiety, stress, loneliness, heartbreak. She doesn’t know all she’s missing out on, and I’m grateful for that. But I do, and that’s what makes me sad. – Angela Smith, Colorado Springs
“It is exhausting and heartbreaking. Every day, I shed tears as I prepare to send my baby to care. We have not left our home, seen the inside of an airport or stayed in a room with more than 12 people since February 2020.” – Katie Nelb, McKinney, Texas
“I’m not selling in terms of effectiveness and potential side effects.” – Adrian Bryant, Willowbrook, Ill.
Many have written about how the pandemic has caused division in society, a lack of trust in government and public health, and a lack of empathy for others. One New York City mom wrote that she and her toddler often wait 20 minutes to use the elevator of their apartment building on their own, rather than risking a ride with a passenger who doesn’t have one. mask.
One parent in Denver writes, “We are a nation of selfish kids, except for the kids themselves.”
Katie Nelb, an IT worker and mother of a 3-year-old in McKinney, Texas, wrote: “I have friends and acquaintances who have boarded planes, gone to events, and wandered through the streets. grocery store either knowingly has Covid or while having symptoms but doesn’t want to get tested. And since I know a lot of people doing those things while my kids have no protection, my family is forced to live in solitary confinement after two and a half years.”
Alli Chan is a pediatric intensive care nurse in St. Louis. Her husband is an emergency medicine doctor. Their youngest child is almost 3 years old; Their 6-year-old child has an immune deficiency.
