Masking and Emotions

Children should not be masked for a variety of reasons. More than any other age group, a strong correlation exists between imposing masks and impairing critical developmental tasks. Only recently, some of our healthcare personnel and their minions, like misbehaving children trying to minimize their bad deeds, admit the damage that has been done. The most recent Johns Hopkins’ meta-analysis study assesses how poor COVID health policies make the cure worse than the disease.

Beyond the debates and debacles over masking children, one of my favorite, time tested studies demonstrates the innate existence of facial expression of emotions. This study conveys the importance of seeing and interpreting the emotions of others. Accurate emotion perception contributes to a healthy perception of reality. When the normal development of emotion perception is artificially obscured, negative psychosocial consequences ensue. Due to the critical nature of learning and development when young, children are uniquely impacted.

Dr. Paul Ekman conducted research on the universality of facial expressions and body language. (Are There Universal Facial Expressions? - Paul Ekman Group) Amazingly, this study was conducted over 50 years ago. Salient facts from the study include:

• Seven universal emotions transcend language, geographical, cultural, and ethnic differences.

• Every human is biologically predisposed to uniform facial expressions of emotion (even those born blind have similar facial expressions.)

• We cannot choose our emotions; yet, we can choose the ways in which we respond.

• Facial feedback theory reveals how our facial expressions trigger a corresponding emotional response.

• Observing the facial expressions of others triggers an emotional response in the observer.

• Our emotional responses shape our experience of the world.

• Children learn healthy and unhealthy emotional responses by empathizing with the facial expressions of adults in their lives and how they respond.

• Given the critical and sensitive nature of learning for children, denying the ability to observe the emotion expression and behaviors of others handicaps the child's psychosocial development.

We are only beginning to encounter the psychological impact upon children whose emotion perception and response has been arrested by covering their faces and limiting their social interactions. Oppressed by the “mask the children in school” travesty, many children spent much of their formative time and space in an emotion-perception vacuum. Universal facial expressions of happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, anger, disgust, and contempt occur unobserved. When observational learning is inhibited, a developmental vacuum ensues. Children then struggle with interpreting the emotions of others and how to respond to others.

Tragically, much damage has already been done. Many parents, pre-K and grade school teachers, speech pathologists, and child therapists I know express concern over a host of developmental delays and disorders. Children are resilient, but positive intervention must occur, beginning with throwing masks in the garbage. At this point, every parent and everyone else associated with the development and education of children needs to be especially attentive and engaging. We have much to do to recover what has been delayed and, unfortunately, lost.