We can all understand why dullards get thrown off flights or banned for refusing to wear a mask, but two-year-olds? Yet that’s what happened on a JetBlue flight when a little girl could not keep her mask on. How far is too far? Should JetBlue have removed a family of seven because a small child could not keep her mask on?
JetBlue Removed Family Of Seven After Two-Year-Old Refuses To Wear Mask
Chaya Bruck and her six children were forced off a JetBlue flight from Orlando to Newark this week after her two-year-old daughter could not keep a mask on. Now to be clear, Bruck did not want to her daughter to wear a mask. Furthermore, she was admonished on the Newark to Orlando flight that her daughter had to wear the mask, but was just given a warning. The same crew happened to be operating the return flight.
Bruck told ABC 7:
“Like what, am I going to tie her hands and feet? How am I going to get her to? I took out a mask and tried to put in on. She pulled it off.”
Now she is considering a lawsuit (which will fail…she has no case).
JetBlue issued a lengthy but impersonal statement:
“During these unprecedented times, our first priority is to keep crewmembers and customers safe, and we’ve quickly introduced new safety policies and procedures throughout the pandemic. Specifically, our face covering policy was updated most recently on August 10 to ensure everyone is wearing a face covering – adults and children alike – to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Children age 2 and over must wear a face covering, consistent with CDC guidelines, which say “Masks should not be worn by children under the age of 2.”
“Customers receive an email before their flight outlining the latest safety protocols and face covering policies. Our crewmembers are ready to assist customers in the airport and onboard who might need support. We have a flexible rebooking policy for those who are unable to meet this requirement, and customers who refuse to follow these standards after requests from crewmembers will be reviewed for further travel eligibility on JetBlue.
JetBlue says its hands are tied because the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends all people over two wear masks. Here’s what the CDC actually says:
- Masks should NOT be worn by children under the age of 2 or anyone who has trouble breathing, is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
Well, Bruck admits that her daughter pulled the mask right off so that the “unable to remove the mask” exception doesn’t apply…
While Bruck’s behavior is suspect, can we discuss the concept of a two-year-old a wearing mask? To my readers who are parents of young children, are you as incredulous about this as I am?
Part of me thinks for every idiot there is an idiotic penchant to let rules overrule common sense. Shame on JetBlue for kicking off an entire family because a two-year-old child could not keep a mask on. But part of me also thinks Bruck was warned and JetBlue is certainly allowed to conduct business in this way.
I’m not an anti-mask zealot. Quite the contrary, I’ve scorned those who lie about medical conditions because they think their “freedoms” are being infringed upon. We wear a mask to show solidity with one another, noting that the inconvenience of wearing a mask is not outweighed by the protection such masks may provide in stopping the spread of virus.
And while we have to draw the line somewhere, I find myself drawing the same conclusion as I did when Southwest kicked off an autistic three-year-old last week:
I do not see why going from age two to three (or here, from age one to two) suddenly renders a child a public health threat and am much more comfortable with an exception for young children than adults.
Overall, I understand (having a three-year-old myself) that children do not like things over their face. Should this mean they cannot fly (and therefore families cannot fly) for the remainder of the pandemic? Should this mean, taken to its logical extension, that there should be no exceptions whatsoever so babies are banned because they cannot wear masks? After all, if the point of a mask is to prevent your germs from spreading, why do babies and toddlers get a free pass?
The ensuing discussion will be predictable. Most will say “no exceptions” because they do not have children or view unmasked children as an unacceptable risk. I’d simply posit that if families are forced to drive instead of fly, that carries inherent risks as well to themselves and others.
CONCLUSION
These masks stories are going to continue. We have to talk about them. We have to somehow deal with them because they are not going away. Maybe it’s just me, but if the line is arbitrary and must be drawn somewhere, I’d be far more comfortable drawing it at age four than age two.
How about you?
I’m surprised that you’re saying masks *may* provide protection when the best current scientific evidence has repeatedly shown they very much do.
It’s not that I personally question the efficacy of masks for logic as simple as this:
I do find it interesting that Europe has taken a lighter approach and that leading public health experts in Sweden and the Netherlands are essentially anti-mask.
@matthew yes but Sweden also just reported it’s biggest death rate in first six months of this year since 1869 so clearly that’s not working… You can Google that it’s being widely reported. So yeah, sorry, no exceptions, for time being if you have small children no plane rides until this is under control/over.
It’s very easy to see both sides of this story. A 2 year old has a mind of her own and can be very difficult to force to do anything without potentially crossing over other legal lines. I do feel for the mother, however, when booking the flight she was made aware of the rules. Again before getting on the plane she was reminded. She, as the mother should have a good sense of whether or not she would be able to persuade her child to wear the mask. She could have made the staff aware beforehand and perhaps ask for assistance from them during the flight. this may have resulted in a different outcome.
“I do feel for the mother, however, when booking the flight she was made aware of the rules.”
Except the airlines changed the rules with little warning. On American and Alaska at least, they changed the exception from “young children” to “under 2 only” with only about a week’s notice. Maybe she relied on the “young children” exception when booking, only to find out about the rule change too late to realistically cancel her trip.
This wasn’t about a mask, it was anti-semitism, plain and simple. They were targeted by the airline because of their religion. Must be a bunch of right-wing extremists running JetBlue these days.
Ha ha. Right.
Maybe JetBlue should hire Christina Kohl as a FA. She’s very available and clearly shares the airline’s values.
LOL. You are too much Joe.
The autism case is different. But when I was two or three.. I was taught to listen to my parents. I could sit quietly when instructed to. I think the parent should have been working with the child beforehand to get her used to the mask. I’m also 100% sure there are contraptions that would make it more difficult for a little kid to remove a mask or special masks- kinda like baby glasses. They could have been practicing, but the mom thought she could get away with not following the rules. Just my opinion.
I grew up in NJ in the late 80s and back then airfare was $$$ so in the summer it was common for families to do the long drive to Orlando for a Disney vacation. That’s what my family did when we went to Disney for the first time back in 1989.
I feel bad for the mother for having to travel with 6 kids on a plane! Wow! Kudos to her but at the same time JetBlue flight crew was just doing their job. Next time it may be better to do the long drive to Disney.
This is just typical of the current USA, where reason has been abandoned, and the stupidity and grandstanding is glaring on both sides on what is now the political battlefield of ‘wearing a mask’. You have the anti-maskers, and then you have the other side on their pulpit screaming “everyone must wear a mask”, including two year olds who still piss in diapers and barely talk, but are going to calmly do what they’re told and wear a mask for extended periods of time. My eyes do not roll far enough back.
The stupidity in my estimation was a mother taking her 6 kids on a vacation during a pandemic. Sorry, makes no sense to me.
I ask myself, did they really have to fly between Orlando and Newark? Legally, they can. Should they? Maybe no?
This is not a huge battle. It’s a huge war. We have to be on a war footing to stop or slow down Covid-19. Just stay home as much as possible. No food? Ok, go to the store, shop quickly, wear masks, then go home. Ask yourself “is this trip actually essential?”
If everyone followed these principles for just 4-6 weeks, Covid-19 could be just a rare disease. If that happened on April 1, 6 weeks later would be May 15. That would have been 3 months ago.
I was going write a similar post, but then read your reply. I think too many people are flying because they want to fly, not because they need to fly. Of course, there is debate on what “need to fly” means.
This sounds like a vacation trip. They should have read the rules and figured out if they could comply with them. If they couldn’t, they shouldn’t have taken the flight.
I hope other businesses are learning from the airlines, and banning customers who don’t comply with their rules.
Right, 1st I question why you’re taking your kids on vacation in the middle of a raging pandemic, 2nd going to Florida which is one of the hotspots. 3rd, if you’re dumb enough to do it then you ought to be aware of the rules and follow them. If your kid can’t wear a mask then don’t get on a plane.
Yep, derek has got it exactly right.
It’s irresponsible to travel for anything but essential reasons. Period. Until we get this under control. Sadly, we are unable to get it under control because spoiled, entitled, selfish A-holes insist on just doing whatever the hell they want, the rest of the world be damned. A vacation is not essential. Boo hoo.
And speaking of spoiled, entitled children…it seems many of those spoiled, entitled children have reproduced, and now have their own spoiled, entitled children. Dear spoiled, entitled lady: control your spoiled, entitled child. Oh, how convenient: “my child just will not keep the mask on her face.” Fine. Then your child (and you) have no business on an airplane. Stay home. Problem solved.
We’ve been stuck in this same place – an uncontrolled pandemic – for 6 months, needlessly. All because of these A-holes who don’t think the rules apply to them. Off the plane and on the no-fly list. Stay home and grow up.
Exactly. I guess that’s why Lucky has stopped updating us on his joyride to Tirkey. I think he gets he behaved selfishly.
My guess is that Lucky’s Turkey articles are getting a ton of views by people who (1) want to comment that he behaved selfishly, (2) wish they could also go on vacation to Bodrum, but are smart enough to know its best not to travel, and (3) those who want to plan a similar vacation. Its almost like the Turkey posts have something for everyone. He published his review of the Bodrum Edition today and I’m sure there will be a few more posts on Turkey as well.
The perverse thing is that objectionable articles drive website traffic.
I agree with you up until the end, “If everyone followed these principles for just 4-6 weeks, Covid-19 could be just a rare disease.” Take a look at areas like Spain, France, Germany that were praised for the efforts they took with lockdowns. What happened when they eased such restrictions? The lockdowns did not make this virus a rare disease. It caused a whole population that had no exposure to be exposed and proliferation of the virus. There is not enough known about this virus for anyone to say they have it under control, exception being China lol.
The one thing about viral outbreaks and virus they really cannot be controlled. Rhinovirus (cold), Human Coronavirus (influenza incl. CoVID-19), Herpes (HSV1 & 2), Measles, Rubella, Varicella, Polio, are all viruses mitigated and not under control. Why do we get a cold anytime despite already having colds throughout our life? Why is Herpes 1&2, if contracted, are recurrent that require anti-viral treatment without a cure? Measles, Rubella, Varicella, Polio are all mitigated with exposure and or vaccination while the possiblity of recurrence and/or late life complications exist, shingles anyone?
I’m not advocating for herd immunity, but, to the same extent life cannot be in lockdown until further notice. Vaccines aren’t always the answer as seen with the influenza virus that is not always spot on for the current viral agent due to mutation. It leaves much to question.
How did China have so much success eradicating this bug and yet the measures taken by the world are ineffective at best, valueless at worst? Why is there so much new data coming out regarding this virus that has been put to rest by China? I guess what I’m taking forever to get to is my sentiment from the outset of this virus, “One must be responsible and selfless while thinking of your fellow man and being the best of humanity,” whatever that means. The difference between humans and animals: we know right from wrong and act based upon morals and not instinct.
Personally, I have more of an issue with parents who allow their child to constantly kick my seat or bang on the tray. This is also true of childish adults who don’t seem to understand (or don’t care) that there is somebody sitting in the seat in front of them. My favorite mask pic right now is of someone wearing a surgical mask exhaling water vapor (from vaping). Yes, it blocks the vapor from going froward, but does absolutely nothing but redirect it all up, down, left, and right. Better if you’re in the seat in front of an infected person, really bad if you’re beside them.
A great option, but somewhat expensive from the NE to Disney is Amtrak’s Autotrain (DC area to Orlando/Sanford area). Get a sleeping car room(s) and the mask issue does not matter in the room and you have your car on both ends. A few hours of driving from NY only. I have done it and it really is a pleasant way to travel if not safer.
As long as you have people (cough cough…Lucky…cough cough) screaming “all masks, all the time, no exceptions”, you’re going to see more and more of this stuff.
The airlines were kind enough to change the rules on young children wearing masks literally a week before we were set to fly to Alaska. We were seriously worried about getting booted if our 4-year old wouldn’t cooperate and keep a mask on the entire time. He didn’t. Luckily, nobody seemed to care if a little kid could keep one on or not. Nor, for that matter, could anyone be bothered by the moron woman sitting across the aisle from us who repeatedly removed her mask to cough up a lung into the seatback in front of her on our last flight from Seattle to DFW.
I can tell you, now that the rules are clear, I’m not dealing with the stress anymore – no more air travel until we’re either done with this mask thing (good luck with that), or our son is old enough to keep one on all day. Which means we’re done for a loooooong time.
I think the key is keeping the mask on your kiddo until you’re up in the air. And then attempting to keep it on as much as possible, even if unsuccessful at times. Extended snack breaks may be helpful.
I booked a flight for my 3 year old before the mask requirements for toddlers. Now I will have to pay a cancellation penalty to cancel, because they’re saying it’s a voluntary change, which seems unfair. So we will roll the dice and see how it goes.
Which airline?
American. However I booked it as an Avios award and they want 35 quid per ticket to cancel the booking. To be fair, AA might have been more lenient had I booked with their miles for all I know. We’re going to go ahead with the flight and hold our breath (no pun intended).
To be clear, that’s exactly what we did – try to keep it on him as much as possible. We were sweating bullets but fortunately, apart from an Alaska check-in agent at Fairbanks (who also made up rules on what constitutes an acceptable face covering), nobody hassled us. Nevertheless, I’m not doing that again. Until he’s old enough to keep one on, we’re road tripping.
The child said to JetBlue “I’m a little girl, but I ain’t no pussy”.
really, one adult travelling with 6 kids, one of whom is two. She didn’t anticipate any issues whatsoever. Unless she has the worlds best behaved kids (and she obviously does not based on this story), then this is amazingly short sighted and/or selfish move on her part. I applaud Jet Blue for upholding their policy.
“she was admonished on the Newark to Orlando flight that her daughter had to wear the mask”
So she was ready to turn it into a publicity stunt if necessary if she ran into the same thing on the return trip.
No one who takes six children on a plane for a Florida vacation in the middle of a pandemic gets any sympathy from me.
To all the bird brains out there that think these rules are rigid and must remain inflexible even for 2-yr old children: Matthew is absolutely right. It’s a fifty-fifty shot getting any kid, five or under, to wear a face covering for the duration of a flight. For the sake of parental (human) compassion, let’s cut the kids some slack. And if you truly believe your risk of catching CV19 is so greatly enhanced by a child or two not wearing a mask on your flight, then I suggest you don’t fly commercially until a this virus is arrested.
Thanks, I won’t because of all the bird brains out there.
Johnny, why should the rule-follower not fly “until the virus is arrested”? Why shouldn’t the burden of not flying be on the person who can’t get her family to follow the rules (and is aware that her kid won’t follow the rules)?
Also, no adult should fly with 6 kids. I know Hillary wrote a book that it takes a village, but by village, she did not mean other passengers on a place.
The first time I read this, I commented but it did not go through. So I repeat: “No Exceptions” must mean exactly that. If two is the age, then two it is; no argument, no snowball. In answer to those who say “Why not 3, 4, or 5” when children would be “easier to control” I would remind you that young children may well be spreading the virus; some are super-spreaders. The more a child screams and cries, the greater the danger becomes to every crew member and passenger. Anyone flying with young children must acknowledge the risks to everyone and agree to abide by the rules and regulations applicable to the flight.