As a mum of two, and having worked with children for more than 15 years, I recall many occasions when I’ve used just a caring smile to comfort a child or a reassuring “You can do this!” facial expression to support my son or daughter in moments when they needed a boost of confidence. No words needed.

After all, when it comes to communication and language development, a great deal of information is shared through visual cues, not just auditory ones.

As children grow, they learn how to ‘read’ facial expressions to support their social interactions and their understanding of the world. Consequently, they gradually improve their social skills as they develop language and the ability to communicate with others.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the widespread use of face masks meant that many of these visual cues were partially hidden. So, what could parents do to help minimise the impact of this new reality?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Make mask-free moments a special part of your routine

In addition to using facial expressions to understand others, young children look closely at the mouth when learning how speech sounds are produced.

To support development, parents can spend daily one-to-one time with their child without a mask, making eye contact and encouraging children to mimic sounds and expressions.

Having a busy day and struggling to find time to play? Simply give your child your undivided attention as you go about everyday routines such as changing nappies, feeding and bathing them.

2. Make Greater Use of Body Language

If it is already tricky for us, as adults, to understand one another effectively when our mouths are covered, imagine how this might feel for children who are still acquiring language.

To make things easier for them, emphasise expressions, feelings and emotions by using your eyes, tone of voice and plenty of gestures.

As your child grows, encourage them to find different ways of communicating through their eyes and body. By doing this, we help children become more aware of a variety of non-verbal cues.

3. Find creative ways of helping them recognise others

Young children use facial features to recognise and form connections with the people around them. During periods when children regularly saw important adults, such as their teachers, wearing masks, some may have needed additional support to recognise and connect with them.

Parents could help by keeping photographs of family members and other important adults at home without masks, arranging video calls so children could see familiar faces clearly, or creating a personalised memory game with matching cards showing the same person both with and without a mask.

4. Make them more comfortable with the ‘new normal’

During the pandemic, when face masks became part of everyday life, helping young children become familiar with them could make the experience feel less intimidating.

Giving your child opportunities to explore masks through play was one simple way to do this.

How about putting masks on their teddies or playing with masks in front of a mirror together?

Young children may also enjoy playing peekaboo with mum or dad, hiding behind a mask and then removing it to reveal a funny face.

While playing, encourage your child to focus on your eyes. Then try changing your facial expression to see whether they can guess how you are feeling even when part of your face is covered.

Most importantly, remember that children can be remarkably resilient and adaptable. With reassurance, patience and support from the adults around them, young children can learn to adjust to unfamiliar situations and discover new ways to communicate and interact with others.

Mrs Carol Oliveira
Former Nursery Manager
Jumeirah International Nurseries at Regent International School, The Greens