Babies whose caretakers are masked will miss some of these visual cues, and it’s possible, Dr. Lewkowicz said, that young children may have some trouble sorting out who goes with which voice.

“Masks are not a great thing for communication in young kids,” Dr. Lewkowicz said. On the other hand, he said, the time children spend at home with people who are not masked will give them a chance to practice picking up the visual cues.