Like many parents, Leland Schipper, a high school maths teacher from Iowa, is worried his son will struggle to wear a mask in the classroom [1]. Rather than forcing his son to wear a face covering all day, Leland opted to get his son to wear his mask regularly by requiring it during screen time [2]. He recently shared his promising idea to Facebook, and by the looks of the comments section, other parents plan to try it out.
"For parents worried their kids won't be able to wear masks for long periods of time this Fall, try this rule for your last few weeks of summer: You're only allowed screen time if you're wearing a mask," he wrote. "Either they will acclimate quickly, or you'll get them off devices for the last weeks of their summer. I've got my money on them acclimating and your kid's teacher having a much easier first week of school."
Pretty clever, eh? Families who are looking to stock up on masks for back-to-school season can check out this list of reusable face mask options [4] or score some of Crayola's colourful face coverings.