Face masks’ lasting impact on children: a Hong Kong mother and son reveal his struggles, and experts give tips to help kids thrive post-pandemic

Face-mask wearing during the pandemic affected young children in various ways, from stunting speech to emotional development, according to a psychologist

A mother and son reveal the effects Covid measures had on him, and experts explain the age groups hardest hit and how to help kids adjust to post-pandemic life

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Many Hong Kong children, and their teachers, still wear face masks. Young children’s speech development and social skills have suffered from remote lessons and teachers wearing masks and, now they are back in classrooms, some struggle to cope. An NGO is helping. Photo: Just Feel

Published: 6:15pm, 15 Apr 2023

Marco was an energetic and sociable three-year-old just starting kindergarten when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020. He stayed at home with his one-year-old sister and mother, who had switched to working from home.

“In the beginning, I was happy staying at home. Then I felt sad because I couldn’t go outside, I couldn’t go to the park. And I was bored. I felt powerless. And I got scared when we went outside. I didn’t want people to look at me,” says Marco, who is now six.

One year into the pandemic, Marco’s mother, Chloe, noticed that her son’s Chinese language development was poor and took him to see a speech therapist. Three years on and he is still seeing the therapist. (To protect their privacy, Chloe chose not to provide their surname.)

“If the therapist wasn’t wearing a mask, he would have progressed much faster,” Chloe says.

Wearing face masks in schools, while helping to protect against Covid, has been said to hinder children’s speech development. Photo: Shutterstock

That’s right – the therapist wore a mask through the pandemic and even now, after the mask mandate has ended, she continues to wear one, ostensibly to protect her students.

“When they developed the transparent face masks, she wore one, but it fogged up and Marco felt scared when he saw her mouth and asked her to change to the standard mask,” Chloe says.