This argument works both ways: parents who wanted to politicize mask wearing made a far bigger deal of it and over-exaggerated the impacts. I know a fair number of people with small children, including those born during the pandemic, and the only ones who allegedly had problems uncoincidentally have parents who get their “news” from Facebook or Fox. Everyone else barely even mentions it because it’s no harder than all of the other things kids have to get used to, like toilet training or the oppression of wearing clothes.