Some said the masks are hurting children s morale and mental health ― and some said children get their masks dirty and put them back on, defeating the purpose. Some described the struggles that their children with learning issues or disabilities are having wearing masks, including a child with autism who struggles without being able to take cues from people s facial expressions. If you for one second could look at us parents and understand the conversations we ve had to have with our children: the tears; the crying; the not seeing friends on the playground; the not seeing faces, said Karen Smith, whose children attend public schools.