By: Dr. David McIntosh
If there is one thing I have learned as a parent is that my children look to my wife and I to see how we respond to various situations. If we react negatively or positively to a situation, they will often respond in the same way to the same situation. I guess the message we send to our children is if an adult responds that way, then, it must be okay for me to respond in the same way. As my children grew older and they became much more outspoken and independent thinkers, they would not hesitate to call us out and let us know we could have responded a little better…nothing like having three additional superegos to let you know you could have done or reacted better to a situation! Anyhow, my point is as adults we need model wearing a mask. Yes, masks are uncomfortable and you have to spend five minutes looking for one prior to leaving the house (I honestly don’t know what happens to all the masks we have purchased over the past year. I think there is a little mask elf who purposely takes and hides all the masking in our house!); however, they are essential to our health and more importantly the health of others. I started wearing my mask 100% of the time when my son told his mother, “Why should I wear a mask if dad is not wearing his mask?” Now he wears his mask 100% of the time and has for over a year. The key for us during the pandemic is to model a positive attitude and model healthy behavior. It has gotten us a long way with our children and has helped us avoid having to confront them about wearing masks. Our plan is to keep it up until the CDC informs us it is safe to not wear masks.
