AUSTIN (KXAN) — Talking about masks and mask mandates can be a sensitive subject, especially for children returning to school and caught in the political crossfire between local and state officials.

When it comes to masks, chances are you’ve probably already decided what’s best for your family. Dr. Lindsay Elton, an Austin pediatric neurologist, is sharing tips on how to explain that with your children.

Elton said it’s about preparing them to see kids who have both opted to wear a mask and opted out of not wearing one.

“‘Hey listen, you may see some other kids at school that aren’t masked, and they may ask you why you’re wearing a mask,’ and kind of doing that prep work and talking about, ‘This is the decision that our family has made to keep us safe,'” Elton said.

Elton said other families may make different decisions, so prepping your kids on how to approach any questioning they may be confronted with is key.

However, she reminds parents to keep politics out of the discussion.

“Trying to keep that discussion with your kids neutral, you don’t want to transfer all of that, sort of, political and emotional stuff to them. We want to keep it a pretty neutral discussion, because we don’t want to create more drama for them at school,” Elton explained.