© Reuters / Stephane Mahe
In the video, a female teacher behind the camera encourages a group of uncomfortable and agitated-looking children, who are all wearing Covid-19 face masks, to join in with the song about the necessity of covering your face.
The song includes such lyrics as "I wear a mask to school," "It helps to keep me safe," and "It keeps my friends safe."
Though the date when it was filmed and other details surrounding the video are not yet clear, it went viral on social media on Sunday due to a wave of outrage, with critics comparing the clip to a "hostage video" after it was first posted by the @libsoftiktok account.
"Somebody save these poor kids!" tweeted former UFC fighter Jake Shields.
"Those babies look so unhappy. This is child abuse," another person observed, adding that the kids "look so tired."
Australian columnist Rita Panahi wrote, "Do Americans realise the rest of the world looks at this in horror? Even In Covid crazy Australia we have never forced kids this age to mask," while others called the video "creepy as hell" and "heart breaking," and questioned why the teacher thought it was okay to record the incident and upload it to the internet.
The World Health Organization (WHO) advises that children aged five and under "should not be required to wear masks," citing the "safety and overall interest of the child."
The American Academy of Pediatrics, however, suggests masks "can be safely worn by all children 2 years of age and older," and says children aged two and over "should wear masks when they are at school, child care or camp, and while participating in group activities."
Texas Governor Greg Abbott was hit with several lawsuits after banning school mask mandates in his state in July, and the US Justice Department has given its support to those legally challenging such mask mandate bans.
My 2yo son loves Pete the Cat. A song called "I Love My White Shoes" has a new version where kids sing "Mask" over every instance of the word shoes.
So instead of I love my white/blue/red/brown shoes, it sings I love my white/blue/red/brown mask.
Now, Pete the Cat is no more in this house.
In a somewhat related note, he loved a show called Word Party. While rather docile, I generally liked the content. Then came season 4 and added a new character that only speaks Mandarin. So the entire show is now half Mandarin. Jim Henson Co sold out hard on that one.