Masks for Newly 2 Yr Old

[jktmom]

We are thinking of booking a cruise on the Fantasy leaving 10/2. My youngest son just turned and definitely will wear a mask but does sometimes remove it. Ha s anyone cruised recently with a young 2 year old who might still be learning to wear a mask? What was your experience? We completely want to follow all rules and protocols and are just looking for others experiences. Also, what masks do you use for your toddler? Still look for a good fitting one for our 2 year old. Think that will help a lot. Thanks!

 

[danissmart]

This is such a sad thread.

 

[Lucijoy]

My daughter and her family (almost 3-year old and infant) went to Disney World earlier this year. I realize not a cruise, but similar situation regarding mask-wearing. Several weeks before the trip she experimented with different mask types (cloth vs. disposable) and found he did better with disposable ones. She then had him practice wearing them at home for various time periods--had to wear it while watching an episode of a favorite show or set a timer and get a treat for keeping it on for a designated time period, that kind of thing. He did fairly well on the trip wearing the mask. She found once he had it on, he was fine with it. They ordered a package of disposable masks with kids' designs on Amazon. I also read on a cruise thread a few days ago that the Cast Members were very kind and "playful" with reminding kids to put on their mask if they saw a little one without or fighting it.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

We are thinking of booking a cruise on the Fantasy leaving 10/2. My youngest son just turned and definitely will wear a mask but does sometimes remove it. Ha s anyone cruised recently with a young 2 year old who might still be learning to wear a mask? What was your experience? We completely want to follow all rules and protocols and are just looking for others experiences. Also, what masks do you use for your toddler? Still look for a good fitting one for our 2 year old. Think that will help a lot. Thanks!

I don't currently have a toddler, but I have cruised since restart. From what I saw, the crew members were very polite about their reminders to wear a mask and will be understanding about a newly turned 2 year old just learning to wear a mask. Enforcement isn't like on a plane where you could be kicked off if your 2 year old takes his mask off.

I would recommend trying pediatric sized disposable masks. My DD is on the autism spectrum and has major sensory issues. During the last 18 months, she has mostly worn cloth masks, but switched to the disposable surgical type masks during our combined WDW/DCL trip. They were more comfortable for her in the heat.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Yes, pandemics are sad. No controversy there.

 

[MomOTwins]

We haven't cruised yet, but at the disney parks, our experience was that CMs were very nice about letting us know the handful of times our son was in the stroller with the shade up where we couldn't see him and for whatever reason his mask wasn't worn correctly (one time he took a sip from his straw cup and forgot to pull it back up, another time he was picking his nose, as kids do). No stern voice or yelling, just a polite "Let's make sure we have our masks up over the nose there little guy." We very much appreciated it and he had no problem with us pulling it back for him.

Now I think there are different scenarios that might be more problematic. If adjusting to wearing a mask means your toddler is like my youngest and just forgets or isn't paying attention and lets the mask down briefly, it's nothing that would stop me taking them on a cruise. But if it is a situation involving prolonged tantrums/fighting putting the mask on (totally understandable--kid tantrums happen) I could see that being more of an issue and I'd worry that in those cases, you might often be asked to leave and go back to the stateroom, which would make me not want to cruise in that circumstances. I guess I'm just trying to say, you know your kid and probably have the best understanding of whether it is going to be a problem or not.

Only other suggestion--I think a good secure-fitting cloth mask is very helpful. The disposable ones with the wires just don't sit well on little-kid noses and tend to fall down repeatedly. We like the shopdisney ones because they do come in genuinely small kid sizes.

 

[jktmom]

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Lillebelle]

I wish I had cruise-specific experience to offer here - the best I can give you is conjecture based on my experiences at Disneyland and Aulani. The cast members were definitely firm with adults needing to wear masks for things, but I feel like they were a little more lenient if a kid was just walking here or there and their mask had slipped. Especially if your kiddo just recently turned 2, it's not like kids have ID on them, they may just assume your child is under the age requirement. To be clear, I'm not trying to advocate for breaking the rules intentionally, I just think they are unlikely to give a barely 2 year old much of a hard time for having some trouble complying. I feel like a big reason to sail with Disney specifically is because they 'get' kids.

If you end up booking, I hope you have an amazing time!

 

[jktmom]

Thanks! We are definitely rule followers and he does wear a mask but he is not quite as pro at it yet as his older bro

 

[Ronneeaght]

Is your son talkative? We've found that the Old Navy kids masks that are shaped like surgical masks work the best for our 2yo son who certainly has things to say just not a steady stream of things, but they tend to slip down our 6yo daughter's nose because her chin is constantly wagging, lol.

 

[jktmom]

Thanks! I actually just ordered these today! Heard they were good for the real littles. Funny enough they only had one pack for boys and it was Mickey Donald and goofy and one had little anchors all over it. Maybe a sign we should book! Lol.