CDC urges schools and parents to promote wearing face masks to help prevent bullies

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Most students going back to school in-person this fall will be required to wear masks, and now the CDC is telling schools they need an additional plan on how to deal with mask bullies.

The CDC website says parent anger and mask bullying are unintended consequences of heading back to school with COVID-19 still raging.

The agency is concerned that kids will face bullying or discrimination for either wearing masks or not wearing them, and the agency is giving schools guidance on how to combat that:

• Parents can help now by correctly wearing masks to show kids there is no stigma in wearing them

• Schools can encourage mask wearing for parents to set a good example for kids

• Elementary school teachers and staff should be there to help the kids put masks on correctly, play games that encourage mask wearing and use positive reinforcement to increase the likelihood that students will follow the rules

• Middle schools are encouraged to show educational videos explaining why mask wearing is important, have classroom discussions about why masks are needed and use science class to show examples of how respiratory droplets spread infectious disease

• High schools can show videos of celebrities wearing masks, ask students to write a short science paper on face coverings and create a competition for the best way to get the message out that masks are important

The CDC said it acknowledges that not all families agree with wearing masks, but it still wants schools to address those challenges as soon as kids get back to in-person learning.

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