Announced by the Ministry of Health, transparent masks were distributed a bit ahead of schedule in Nice at the end of last week. For children, it represents a reopened window to non-verbal communication, which is so important for them.
After a successful testing phase in five establishments (one family daycare service and four nurseries) that began in November, the use of these transparent masks has finally been adopted by early childhood professionals and children. Among the very young, the effects can sometimes be striking: “I remember a baby who, after the end of the confinement, when shown our face, made mouth noises, as if realizing that the other person had a mouth. I think that children have this question of whether the other person has a mouth like theirs,” highlights Pascale Agostini-Kieffer, a child psychologist in the city of Nice. She notes that this mask for children is an open door for infants who, for some, have never had the opportunity to see a face almost in its entirety.
A smile for children who become more friendly and playful, but also for parents reassured by the fact that their offspring feel less anxious about the mask in daycare settings. For Anne-Laure Rubi, there was an urgent need to react and find a sustainable solution other than wearing traditional masks: “From 0 to 3 years old, little ones develop their language and speech by mimicking the mouth movements of adults. We contacted a French manufacturer, APF France handicap, and then chose the test locations. We needed to see how staff and children would receive this new mask.”
Washable at 60°C for up to 20 uses, this mask costs €8.97 and will quickly be distributed across the 28 municipal nurseries, including “Les Petits Poètes,” whose staff participated in the testing phase. In total, 1,200 masks have been ordered, and more will arrive shortly to provide each staff member with three masks until the next school term.
