Mask and two year old

[TinkB278]

We have a trip planned for September 2021 with our son. It will be Gigi’s first WDW trip and he will be 2 years 2 months at the time. Today I just realized that since he will be 2 he will be required to wear a mask while flying and at Disney. I’m very concerned because there is no way he will leave a mask on. Does anyone on here have experience with having a barely 2 year old at Disney with a mask?

 

[Brett Wyman]

If they cant leave a mask on the entire time they won't be allowed, on the plane or in the parks. Both airlines and Disney have taken a zero-tolerance stance on this topic. I would practice at home first and sadly if it doesn't work you should reschedule for a later date to save yourself the frustration and heartache.

 

[lanejudy]

You have 10 months to work on it. I suggest you practice, make it a game. "See mommy/daddy wearing a mask, now your turn." Give him a reward after he wears it for ___ seconds/minutes. Gradually build up to longer time. And when he's had enough, head back to the resort pool so it doesn't become a power struggle. You've got lots of time -- don't stress about it now.

 

[yulilin3]

Just adding to PP wear then around the house, while watching tv, playing games, reading books. Kids are super malleable, actually kids are better at adhering to wearing than some adults, they are creatures of habit, just incorporate into daily life, normalize wearing it

 

[YesterDark]

My 2.5 year old is good with a mask for longer periods of time. But we've drilled in the importance of a mask since March and she has an older brother (5) and sister (7) who do a good job as well.

I'd suggest going for walks and wear masks yourself and your kiddo should hopefully follow suit. We'll be wearing masks for a while so it's good practice especially with COVID now spreading rampantly throughout the country.

To everyone else: wear a mask whenever you leave the car or your home!

 

[darrenwatson66]

I agree with what everyone else says. We have a 3 and 6 year old and practiced a lot with our three year old before going to Disney last month. She had zero problems. It was actually the adults having problems! LOL

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

I agree with what everyone else says. We have a 3 and 6 year old and practiced a lot with our three year old before going to Disney last month. She had zero problems. It was actually the adults having problems! LOL

Honestly, I saw more small children properly wearing masks than I did adults when we were at Epcot last week. There are cute masks for kids and get him use to them now.

 

[lovethattink]

I’ve noticed in the parks that the little children are doing great with masks. I’ve really been surprised at how well they’re doing with keeping masks on properly. Maybe because they hear the announcements and see everyone else wearing one?

They’ll be able to take breaks at relaxation stations, the pool, eating/drinking and your resort room.

Practicing at home should help.

Watching videos since re-opening may help too.

My son is on the autism spectrum and when he was little I use to make Social Stories for him, a step-by-step guide how things will work at Disney. You can find examples online. Maybe making a social story about Disney with masks will help?

 

[LizzyDragon]

There's several threads on the family forum on this topic, including posts with ideas on helping kids adapt to masks. https://www.disboards.com/forums/disney-for-families.23/

 

[focusondisney]

Kids that age are learning all kinds of new things. Masks are just another thing for them to learn. They also pick up on adult’s cues. So if the parent‘s attitude is “ I know you won’t wear this”! The kid won’t. If the parent has a a positive attitude “we’re all wearing our masks“, the kid will react to that & learn to wear the mask.

 

[Dug720]

Kids that age are learning all kinds of new things. Masks are just another thing for them to learn. They also pick up on adult’s cues. So if the parent‘s attitude is “ I know you won’t wear this”! The kid won’t. If the parent has a a positive attitude “we’re all wearing our masks“, the kid will react to that & learn to wear the mask.

100% this!!! And what everyone else has said.

Also let him pick out his mask - or at the least find ones with favorite characters.

I teach special education - the group most people were most concerned about keeping their masks on - and my class has 100% mask compliance when we are in person because of everything said here and them picking out their own masks. (I even have one kiddo who will put her mask on during remote learning because she sees me with mine on and takes the cue.)

 

[Bullseye]

I agree with what everyone else says. We have a 3 and 6 year old and practiced a lot with our three year old before going to Disney last month. She had zero problems. It was actually the adults having problems! LOL

Totally agree. We were there in mid October and most of the little kids that I was seeing were real troopers. Me... I was fussing with my mask all day long, It's in your eye view, or your glasses are fogging up, or it's just stifling

 

[fabfemmeboy]

Yeah kids are much better with masks than the adults are - just like they hate wearing shoes but know they can't go running around in stocking feet at Disney, just like they can't strip off their shirts on the plane, they have to wear masks. Get ones with characters/patterns they really like, model good mask habits, and work up to longer time periods over the coming months.

 

[olliesmom]

We haven't been to Disney yet, but my 2.5 year has adapted really well to wearing a mask in public. We started off in April by putting it on stuffed animals for modelling and pointed out all the masks everyone else was wearing in stores. It now goes really smoothly and we never have any issues or complaints! Every kid is different, but if you focus on the fun patterns and just matter of factly explain that if he wants to do ______ he has to wear his mask, he may respond better than you think!

 

[Disneyfan754321]

It's amazing how much they grow and tolerate.. 9 months from now he may be just fine.. just revaluate in june/july.

 

[jsmla]

We’re heading to Disney with our 2 1/2 year old granddaughter over Thanksgiving and I’m a little worried. She hasn’t gone out much since COVID so doesn’t have much practice with masks. I bought kids disposables and we’re going to decorate them. Hopefully that will help. If not, we’re prepared to head back to Ft Wilderness for some campground fun. I’m really glad there won’t be any older kids along to disappoint.

 

[yulilin3]

We’re heading to Disney with our 2 1/2 year old granddaughter over Thanksgiving and I’m a little worried. She hasn’t gone out much since COVID so doesn’t have much practice with masks. I bought kids disposables and we’re going to decorate them. Hopefully that will help. If not, we’re prepared to head back to Ft Wilderness for some campground fun. I’m really glad there won’t be any older kids along to disappoint.

Again, you don't need to go out to put on a mask, just put it on at home, all day just like you would a shirt or pants. Just make it a normal thing to do

 

[subtchr]

We have a trip planned for September 2021 with our son. It will be Gigi’s first WDW trip and he will be 2 years 2 months at the time. Today I just realized that since he will be 2 he will be required to wear a mask while flying and at Disney. I’m very concerned because there is no way he will leave a mask on. Does anyone on here have experience with having a barely 2 year old at Disney with a mask?

This means he is now about 16 months old. He will be a very different child, developmentally, at 26 months. And if masks are still required by then (which I think they will), he would have had 10 months to use and become acclimated to mask wearing.

Don't overthink it now. Revisit in 6 months.

 

[subtchr]

We’re heading to Disney with our 2 1/2 year old granddaughter over Thanksgiving and I’m a little worried. She hasn’t gone out much since COVID so doesn’t have much practice with masks. I bought kids disposables and we’re going to decorate them. Hopefully that will help. If not, we’re prepared to head back to Ft Wilderness for some campground fun. I’m really glad there won’t be any older kids along to disappoint.

I'm assuming you mean at your personal campsite/cabin, right?

You have a couple weeks to practice, and she is at an age to understand that without a mask, she can't go to the parks. Not that there still might not be issues because she's uncomfortable, but I bet she'll do better than you think!

My 3 and 5 year old grandkids are fantastic about wearing masks. They understand it's about the "sickness", and are honestly better about wearing them properly than many adults. We have not taken them to Disney, but we did go to a local theme park recently, and they were very conscientious about it.

 

[Disneytam]

We just returned last night from a trip with a set of twins that 2 years and three months. I give a lot of credit to their mom who practiced a lot with them on wearing masks. We flew Southwest and they were pretty strict about reminding us to keep their masks on. Thankfully they slept most of the way down. However in the parks I saw a lot of young children with no masks at all and no CM commenting on it. Many of them looked more like 4 than 2. Our 2 kept the masks on pretty well with only a couple of issues.