Parents Masks during practice -suggestions please, not debate

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Madden3

Proud Parent
I am purposefully posting this in the parent forum because I am not interested in a mask v. no mask debate. I am looking for suggestions. The mask in this situation is required, so not point debating.

DD (acro) is now required to wear a mask for all of practice as well as all previous safety precautions (temp/symptom checks, social distancing, brings all her own items like weights, chalk, water to the gym.) Her practice consists of warm up, working on blocks (her own) or floor skills, tumbling, trampoline. Even though they cannot do partner skills, it is a real workout, and this time of year it is very warm in the gym plus they are opening doors for ventilation making that worse. So, her cloth mask that we purchased at Target got wet because she sweats and also sucks on it (she is young.) This is the lightest weight cloth mask we have.

I told her if she felt nauseous, lightheaded, or at all funny, that she was to move away from everyone else and remove her mask. I told her to not suck on her mask. But it is still going to get wet from sweat. Any other suggestions?

Thank you!
 
I have heard that some are doing the bandeau type that stay down on their neck during activity (turns) and gets pulled up when they are waiting in line. These seem to work as a better alternative than a mask in regards to staying put (not flopping up and becoming a hazard when flipping). I'm in no way saying I agree with wearing a mask at all but if your kid absolutely has to wear one, I'd look at that option
 
For breathability, the paper surgical masks are hands down the best. I have made masks out of ridiculously porous fabric like gauze and the paper masks are still more comfortable/breathable. Bonus that they're really cheap so she could just throw them away if they got wet. They do make child sizes you can order in bulk for really cheap

For the gaiters like Flippin out mentioned, recent studies came out that say gaiters and bandanas are the only coverings that are worse than no mask at all because they break the particles into smaller particles that fly further through the air. I know some people will still use them, and I'm not debating, but I just wanted you to know in case you care about cutting down on spread.

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I wear surgical mask all day at Work and they are way more breathable than Cloth mask, of you can find some for kids, could be a alternative ( although a bit expansive if she has Many practices a week....
 
For breathability, the paper surgical masks are hands down the best. I have made masks out of ridiculously porous fabric like gauze and the paper masks are still more comfortable/breathable. Bonus that they're really cheap so she could just throw them away if they got wet. They do make child sizes you can order in bulk for really cheap

For the gaiters like Flippin out mentioned, recent studies came out that say gaiters and bandanas are the only coverings that are worse than no mask at all because they break the particles into smaller particles that fly further through the air. I know some people will still use them, and I'm not debating, but I just wanted you to know in case you care about cutting down on spread.

.

Thank you for this!
This study uses fleece gaitors for the material, and I am thinking the fleece is the issue here. you can get the gaitors in other fabrics.
 
She hasn’t worn them during practice, but my gymnast loves the Bloch masks- they are a stretchy leo like material and have little tabs on the side to tighten the mask so it fits. Maybe that would work a little better for practice ?
 
Thank you for this!
This study uses fleece gaitors for the material, and I am thinking the fleece is the issue here. you can get the gaitors in other fabrics.

I'll be curious to see if someone else tries to replicate. It seemed to me like the issue was a porous material stretched tight against the face like gaiters are, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for any further studies that refute.
 
I just pre-ordered the Under Armour one for Puma and me. They are marketed for athletes and allegedly very breathable? I can let you know my thoughts when they come in!
 
The best thing I have found for exercising while wearing a mask is to get a mask frame aka lipstick protector. It holds the mask off your lips so you don't breathe the fabric in your mouth. My wife and I both do some heavy cardio workouts that require masks and we don't have issues anymore, without the frames we would have to pause.

1597178755189.png


You can get them on Amazon, just search "lipstick holder mask".
 
The best thing I have found for exercising while wearing a mask is to get a mask frame aka lipstick protector. It holds the mask off your lips so you don't breathe the fabric in your mouth. My wife and I both do some heavy cardio workouts that require masks and we don't have issues anymore, without the frames we would have to pause.

View attachment 7921

You can get them on Amazon, just search "lipstick holder mask".
I want to try these for myself because I get so hot in my mask even just shopping and it is so irritating. I do not see any in kids size- but maybe that will not matter? Do you use a cloth or paper mask over the frame?
 
Interested if anyone has tried paper masks for kids and what brand they recommend. She has a little face and needs a little mask. We have retrofitted adult size paper masks for her but this would not do for practice.
 
My dd wears a gaitor throughout practice. She’s used to it but says it also gets hot and uncomfortable during conditioning. I’m wondering if coaches are modifying training as a result.
 
For breathability, the paper surgical masks are hands down the best.

100%... we have many kids that just wear these. Give her 2 and have her use a new one if needed.

My dd wears a gaitor throughout practice.

We do not allow our team athletes to wear the gaitor style masks as we feel that objects tied around the athletes neck can be very dangerous. This is just our opinion.

I’m wondering if coaches are modifying training as a result.

Unless a club was doing little to nothing before... practice must be modified. You would have to ask them how they are modifying.
 
The best thing I have found for exercising while wearing a mask is to get a mask frame aka lipstick protector. It holds the mask off your lips so you don't breathe the fabric in your mouth. My wife and I both do some heavy cardio workouts that require masks and we don't have issues anymore, without the frames we would have to pause.

View attachment 7921

You can get them on Amazon, just search "lipstick holder mask".

This is very interesting... do they move much when doing powerful skills?
 
I wear glasses that are quite soft and flexible, and over the years have been hit in the face by balls or kids flailing limbs, and I would like to caution that anything solid near the face, even if it is cardboard or flexible silicone, has the potential to break skin or bruise if there is an impact. It can make an otherwise forgettable incident a significant one.

For that reason I would be cautious about the lipstick saver insert for a sport like acro.

I agree with the paper mask suggestion if you can get them in kids’ size. I wear surgical masks at work and cloth masks for everything else, and the surgical masks are much more comfortable.
 
My daughter has been training with a mask for about 3 weeks now. She brings 2-3 cloth masks from target for practice and switches them out as they get sweaty or super chalky. She tried gaiters at first but found they fell down too easily. The child size target masks fit her well and are cheap so I don’t mind her bringing several to each practice.

I found it amazing how quickly she adjusted to wearing a mask. She has even gotten new bars and tumbling skills. Children are so resilient.
 
I want to try these for myself because I get so hot in my mask even just shopping and it is so irritating. I do not see any in kids size- but maybe that will not matter? Do you use a cloth or paper mask over the frame?

I have used a home-sewn cloth mask, a store bought multi-layer mask, a gaiter, and a paper mask. They all work fine, the gaiter worked a lot better than I thought it would but the gaiter has to be fairly snug, those loose hanging ones don't work.

The frame makes a huge difference, especially when talking a lot, I bought a 8 pack for $11 and just use them with my daily work masks as well as my exercise mask.

I wear glasses that are quite soft and flexible, and over the years have been hit in the face by balls or kids flailing limbs, and I would like to caution that anything solid near the face, even if it is cardboard or flexible silicone, has the potential to break skin or bruise if there is an impact. It can make an otherwise forgettable incident a significant one.

For that reason I would be cautious about the lipstick saver insert for a sport like acro.

The plastic is soft silicon, it isn't a hard plastic, but yeah it's something on your face. I do training with heavy medicine balls and have taken a ball in the face with the mask and frame on and it has been fine, didn't break and cut skin or bruise in any way, but everyone is different so my fine might be different than yours.
 

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