What are the true concerns raised about the impact of the muzzle on the linguistic and emotional development of children?

Weather of Arabia - Two years after the spread of the Corona epidemic, fears about the impact of masks on the linguistic, emotional and social development of children took center stage, especially within scientific societies, and calls in the United States to lift the imposition of wearing masks and face masks in schools have multiplied in recent weeks, at a time when they are declining It has new cases of coronavirus.

Scientific studies have shown that the muzzle does affect children's ability to recognize faces and emotions, as it does adults, and the muzzle can also hinder verbal communication, but experts are divided about the long-term effects on children's development.

Impact on children's language learning

The first concern relates to the language learning process that takes place in the early years of a child's life, as children learn to speak through social interactions, and in particular looking at adults' mouths in order to analyze different syllables, and since this method is not available with wearing a mask, it makes sense Assuming the harmful effect of the gag on the language learning process.

And while it's important for kids to look at faces while learning to speak, it's not the only way, according to Diane Paul of the American Hearing, Speech-Language Association (ASHA). Those with a visual impairment can learn to speak well, Diane also indicated that we do not always wear a mask, and we do not put a mask at home, for example.

"At least at this time, there are no studies that have directly assessed the long-term effect of speech and language development when young children interact with adults who wear a mask," Diane says.

"But there are studies that show that children can tune in to these different communication signals and gestures when an adult's mouth is not visible."

A 2021 study showed that infants were able to recognize unique words even with a mask on, but according to another study in France, a mask can impede learning to read among children with learning difficulties.

In general, there are still few studies on this topic. But Diane sees no cause for concern.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the limited data available indicates that there is no clear evidence that wearing a mask impairs emotional or language development in children, and the agency recommends wearing a mask from the age of two, while the World Health Organization recommends it starting from the age of five. Years.

Impact on social and emotional development

Doctors and psychiatrists view the issue differently. Manfred Spitzer, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Ulm, Germany, considers that the emotional aspect is more important, noting that seeing a smile is the first thing we miss when putting a mask on.

"In educational settings, there is a lot of implicit feedback between the teacher and the child," Spitzer told AFP . "If this continuous communication is impaired, it will certainly affect the success of the education process."

Concerns also relate to the ability to form social bonds. Several studies have shown that wearing a mask makes it more difficult to recognize faces and emotions, and that this effect is greater among younger people, but conclusions about the possible consequences vary.

A study conducted on children between the ages of 7 and 13, published in the journal PLOS One, confirmed that the ability to identify emotions, such as: fear, sadness and anger, was lower when wearing a mask, but the results were similar with wearing sunglasses, and the study concluded that There is little chance of social interactions affecting children's daily lives.

However, another study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, showed that the ability to recognize the emotions of people wearing a mask was significantly reduced among 3- to 5-year-olds, findings that suggest we live in a time that may affect the development of a mask. Social and emotional thinking.

Johns Hopkins Psychiatrist Carol Vidal thinks it's worth worrying about at a societal level, but that doesn't mean parents have to be anxious all the time.

Doctor Carol Vidal is one of a group of doctors and scientists who are calling for the lifting of the obligation to wear the muzzle in schools, and she believes that it is not necessary at this stage of the epidemic, given the reduced risks that children are exposed to in the face of Covid-19, and the availability of vaccines starting from the age of five.

And she stresses that it is about balancing the risks and benefits, as Vidal believes that the risks of putting the muzzle “may not be dramatic in the sense that we may not have immediate effects, but I think we have to be careful.”