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A mom complained about Highlights magazine showing kids in masks. Their response was perfect.

@bethanyshondark/Twitter

Bethany Mandel wants Highlights to stop reminding her kids they're in a pandemic.

We're heading into year three of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we're all ready to be done. That doesn't mean we are done, of course. The virus and its various mutations don't give a flying fig how we feel, and with a new variant knocking on our door, we're still knee deep in mitigation measures to try to keep our healthcare system from sinking. That means vaccines, limiting group gatherings and, of course, masking in public places.

It's hard to believe that there are still anti-maskers at this point in a viral pandemic, but here we are. And not only do some of these folks not want to wear masks, they don't even want to see people wearing masks.

A mom on Twitter even went so far as to call out the popular children's magazine Highlights for including illustrations that show children wearing masks. Bethany Mandel shared a photo of a page of the magazine that showed a child playing the piano on a stage and kids in the audience behind the piano wearing masks. She also shared the email she sent to the editor of the magazine.

My email to the editor of @Highlightspic.twitter.com/U1BzVoabpv
— Bethany S. Mandel (@Bethany S. Mandel) 1639576282

"Stop with the mask illustrations," the subject line reads before the blunt opening, "Christine." (Christine French Cully is the magazine's editor-in-chief. I recall being taught to address professionals in a business letter with a bit more courtesy, but perhaps Mrs. Mandel's education omitted such things.)

Then she voiced her complaint:

"I understand the objective here: to normalize masking young children. That is not a message I'm sending to my kids. Masks are a temporary situation and on their way out the door. Getting these magazines with mask illustrations is a reminder of the broken world we live in. We get your magazine to be an escape, not a reminder of the reality we're forced to be living right now. I am planning to screen future issues, and if more of this content is present, we will be trashing them and canceling our subscription.

Best

Bethany Mandel"

If you think the complaint seems rather asinine considering we've been wearing masks for two years, you're not alone. Many, many snarky comments followed, but Highlights responded with what is probably the most perfect reaction.

We want our readers to see themselves and their experiences in our magazines, so we've included masks and acknowledgements of the pandemic to help support kids. As one child wrote to us, \u201cKids need to know that they are not alone.\u201d Like you, we hope that this will be over soon.
— Highlights (@Highlights) 1639585283

In a tweet, Highlights wrote:

"We want our readers to see themselves and their experiences in our magazines, so we've included masks and acknowledgements of the pandemic to help support kids. As one child wrote to us, 'Kids need to know that they are not alone.' Like you, we hope that this will be over soon."

Simple, straightforward and honest. Including a quote from a child reader was a beautiful move, as was creating a sense of solidarity in the last line.

Mandel may think her kids want a magazine that will let them escape reality, but that's not what Highlights has ever been about. It's about helping kids become "creative, caring, curious, and confident." Part of being caring during a pandemic is wearing a mask to protect others. Part of being confident is dealing with challenges head-on, which is what we're doing when we listen to infectious disease experts and follow their advice.

Seeing reality reflected in an illustration is not going to harm kids. Masks are not evidence of a broken world—they are evidence of our collective efforts to mitigate a deadly pandemic. If anything, they are symbols of hope, of humans doing what they can to protect one another.

So much of this comes down to what we are choosing to teach our kids. My own kids have remarked more than once how happy they are to see people wearing masks at stores, how it makes them feel like they're surrounded by people who care and who are smart enough to follow the guidance of public health experts. Nobody likes wearing masks, but we understand why they're necessary.

We all want this to be over. But that won't happen if people keep ignoring the measures that can help us get there and denying the reality of where we are now.

From Your Site Articles

Feelings: Everybody has 'em. Even superheroes.

As his young son grew older, a deep-rooted concern began nagging at Keith Negley — an anxiety many parents can probably relate to.

When something would embarrass or upset Negley's son, Parker — on the playground or the soccer field, for instance — Parker would grapple with how to show his feelings.

Sometimes, his emotions would manifest as anger or hostility. Other times, "he'd just shut down altogether," Negley explained to Upworthy.

Photo via iStock.

This was troubling because — coming from a long line of "emotionally repressed" men himself — Negley understood that bottling up your feelings won't do any good.

He decided to poke around a bit to see if there were any books out there to show his son that it's totally normal to feel sad or upset or disappointed at times.

As Negley looked around, he saw no shortage of triumphant books about spacemen, tales of fearless ninjas, and stories about cowboys who saved the day.

But Negley, an award-winning editorial and children's book illustrator, couldn't find too many options that explored what these heroic characters must feel when things don't go their way.

All images via "Tough Guys (Have Feelings Too)" and Flying Eye Books, used with permission.

So Negley decided to create his own.

"Tough Guys (Have Feelings Too)" is a kids' book aimed at teaching boys that it's perfectly OK (and healthy!) to express their emotions.

The book features a wide range of larger-than-life male characters experiencing things we don't often see. Like a pirate, who is frustrated he can't find his treasure.

Or a race car driver, crying after he fails to finish first.

There's even a superhero who's super lonely eating lunch without his friends.

By teaching boys that it's OK to express their emotions, then "they're going to grow up having much deeper relationships," Negley hopes.

And that's true for kids and astronauts who miss their families from afar.

"Tough Guys (Have Feelings Too)" might only feature fellas, but that's just the focus of this particular book — it's not a knock on all the tough girls out there.

As a big believer in combating gender roles in children's literature, Negley said he contemplated featuring some tough women as characters. But at the end of the day, he didn't want to dilute the book's underlying message of showing boys it's OK to get the feels sometimes.

Seeing as research suggests we could be doing a whole lot better at getting this idea across to young males, it's definitely a goal worth pursuing.

Besides, “moms and daughters can read this book and get a lot out of it" too, Negley noted.

But it's all the sons and fathers out there who were really the inspiration behind his work.

"This book is just as much for the dads as it is for their boys," Negley said. "The idea of a dad reading this book to their son is really important to me."

Because sometimes the toughest thing any one of us can do — kids and grown-ups alike — is be OK with shedding a brave tear.