Over the past several months, my family has eased back on our precautions. We see other families indoors, without masks or testing, and have resumed traveling and attending events. Our son, who turns 5 this week, started indoor soccer and indoor playdates. Our pandemic baby, now 2, went to day camp this summer. Both kids are starting school next week. Now that they are fully vaccinated, we do not plan to limit their activities, and — like most parents in their school — will not be masking them in the classroom.
I accept the risk that my kids will probably contract covid-19 this school year, just as they could contract the flu, respiratory syncytial virus and other contagious diseases. As for most Americans, covid in our family will almost certainly be mild; and, like most Americans, we’ve made the decision that following precautions strict enough to prevent the highly contagious BA.5 will be very challenging. Masking has harmed our son’s language development, and limiting both kids’ extracurriculars and social interactions would negatively affect their childhood and hinder my and my husband’s ability to work.
Other families will view these trade-offs differently. Some will maintain strict precautions to protect a severely immunocompromised household member. Some may decide on something in-between; for example, kids might resume their pre-pandemic activities, but the family still masks at airports and avoids large events. Others may choose to keep one-way masking at school, because, to them, the benefit of reducing infection outweighs the perceived downside of masks. All these decisions should be respected; there are no easy, one-size-fits-all answers.
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