Politics & Current Events
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Re: s/o vaccines-would you keep your kids away from non-vaxed kids?
As a parent of a child with severe food allergies, this thread makes me sad.
We have friends that don't vaccinate. Even we don't vaccinate for everything.
I guess this is a reminder that my healthcare decisions are no one's business but my own. I will no longer be discussing the issue with anyone else so my kids aren't discriminated against on the playground, for Pete's sake.
I'm imagining all of these mothers going around and interviewing every other parent at the playground and asking for updated shot records before they let their child go down the slide. lololol
I would be nervous about the legit one, but I wouldn't want to penalise them for a medical issue, so I'd bite the bullet. The selfish crazy ones, no I would avoid them. Not just because they might give my kid the measles, but they tend not to give a toss about giving kids any other disease, either, and because I couldn't be friends with someone who was so selfish.
He could still get pertussis, even vaxxed. And you won't know for sure if the MMR "took". He may not be immune even though he's had the vax. After the second vax he's more likely to be immune, but there's still a chance he's not.
As a parent of a child with severe food allergies who has been vaccinated on schedule, I have to ask: how are the food allergies holding back your child's vaccinations? Honest question, no snark intended.
The flu and yellow fever vax contain egg. MMR uses chick embrio cells and rabies uses chicken protein.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf
This is not a discrimination issue. This is a public health issue, ffs, and it's nothing to lolololololol about.
The fact that your child can't be vaccinated due to legitimate non-made-up reasons should make you advocate for parents to vaccinate their kids so yours can remain healthy. You're depending on the rest of us for that.
My son has experienced anaphylaxis in response to eggs and obviously is allergic but got his MMR on schedule and receives an annual flu shot at his allergist's office. The process must be broken down into small steps for safety reasons because of his allergy, but it gets done. He has not traveled to Africa or South America and therefore has no need for the yellow fever vax.
Edited to clarify.
My son was allergic to eggs and outgrew that particular allergy. Now he is only allergic to milk and peanuts. We don't vaccinate against chicken pox, rotavirus or flu in all of our children though. Food allergies aren't the reason.
My reason for bringing up the allergies was in response to the posters who said they wouldn't play with the kid with food allergies who wasn't vaccinated. I realize it's not everyone that feels that way, but it makes me sad because there are some that do. My kid has enough problems to deal with concerning his allergies - not being able to eat the same treats as the other kids or even sit at the same lunch tables in some schools. Now there are kids who have to worry about parents not wanting to let their child play with them. I just have compassion for those children and parents. That's all I'm saying.
And to be honest, I meet new children and families at the playground all of the time. It has never ever occured to me to ask the parent if their child is vaccinated. I honestly don't think it's any of my business. I can see why you may think it is your business, but if a stranger asked me that I would probably give them the strangest look ever and answer honestly. If they don't want to play with my family because of it I would probably be thankful because I don't think I would get along well with the nosy parent anyways or want my child hanging around with people like them either.
Maybe it's because I live in a rural area. People just don't talk about or worry about stuff like this. That's why it's laughable to think about interviewing parents for vaccination records. I can't imagine how it would ever be possible to avoid all unvaccinated kids your child is going to come in contact with. Thinking you can is sort of crazy IMO, unless you live in a bubble (says the homeschooling mother).
I'm the OP whose daughter was 6 months old when our friends brought over their two unvaccinated kids (one who was in school and one who I think was in dc).
I have a lot of compassion for them. I made sure the food I had at the little gtg was safe food and even cooked separate food for the child with allergies.
I hope you can see there's a big difference between a 6 month old baby and children that are old enough to run around and be on a playground, who likely have most of their vaccinations.
I wouldn't go around with a clipboard at a playground making sure all the kids there have all their shots b/c by the time my dd is there with them she will most likely have her vax's.
I wouldn't even ask that of people I don't know. That's a ridiculous, over the top suggestion. But I think it's a parent's responsibility if they have unvaccinated kids to warn me if I'm inviting them over to my home where there's a young baby to give me a heads up and let me decide.
adamwife, I think this is more of a hypothetical playground situation. No one is interviewing parents at the playground. But if they could somehow know vaccination status, would that affect their decisions?
This is reminding me of my roommate's crazy friends. One had a child, about 8, and selectively vaxed. She was talking to me about trying to find a chickenpox party to expose her young, although that's certainly more difficult these days when people want to avoid dealing with weeks of miserable sick children.
Another friend had an infant. She was super crunchy. She told me that she wasn't going to vaccinate at all.
Guess who was around when new baby came home from the birthing center! Yes, we all got to hold little newborn kiddo, even the barely vaccinated 8 year old. I guess if vitamin k is considered natural (the only shot the newborn got), then so is hib and chickenpox.
I just hope you ask every adult that comes into contact with your child the same question. I mean, adults can be unvaccinated too and can carry the same diseases.
My FIL was raised Christian Science and doesn't have all of his vaccines. I can't imagine allowing fear to control me so much that I wouldn't allow him to be around his grandbabies.
You know, I'm not one of those parents that puts my kid in a bubble.
I breastfed her for a year to hopefully pass on my immunity. She gets all her shots. She goes to daycare and she gets sick. It's part of being a kid. It builds her immunity.
I'm sorry if it offends you for your food allergic child that I wouldn't want my infant exposed to someone who isn't vaccinated when she's a young baby who doesn't have all her shots.
I'm a little surprised by your reaction, considering you're someone who is always spouting off about your rights as a parent to make decisions for your kids.
And no, btw, if Grandpa isn't vaccinated due to religious reasons his exposure to my baby would be limited. I'm ok with that. The concern is legitimate.
I never said it wasn't your right. It is your right to protect your child. I was just wondering if you were consistent with your protection. I can't imagine asking every adult or child that touches my newborn whether or not they are up-to-date on their vaccines. It just sounds exhausting to me.
But it is totally your right, just as it every other parent's right not to vaccinate their child.
The thought never crossed my mind to ask them. I'm really not worried about it.
And I'm not alone, apparently, because there have been a lot of babies born in our families over the last five years and I don't remember anyone ever asking me about the status of my or anyone else in my immediate family's vaccines.
Like I said, maybe it's the area in which I live. I just don't think people worry about it as much here. I'm honestly more concerned about my FIL giving my children food I don't approve of or exposing them to toxins in his home than passing my children pertussis.
This isn't irrational fear though. Have you seen people with polio? Do you know that measles can kill? Have you see a child whose mother had rubella during pregnancy?
I grew up in a developing country and had mumps and measles as a child and it was scary as schit for my mother. I remember having to stay with my grandma to try to protect my brother who was 20 at the time as mumps can lead to infertility in men.
But yes being aware of these things are allowing fear to control you. People in the US have the luxury of saying and doing things like not vaxxing because of the success of vaccination programs here. I dub this First World Privilege.
AW, I don't remember what part of OH you live in, but you might want to take a look at the alarming increase in rates of pertussis there. Here a link:
http://www.odh.ohio.gov/features/odhfeatures/pertussis.aspx
I would be hard pressed to find a cause for this other than a lack of vaccination, particularly in the hardest hit areas.
"You don't get to be all puke-face about your kid shooting your undead baby daddy when all you had to do was KEEP HIM IN THE FLUCKING HOUSE, LORI!" - doctorwho
Actually we were quite consistent in that. I wasn't exactly walking through the grocery store handing off my newborn to total strangers, either.
I don't believe this is one of those 'parenting choices' though.
Like I said in the other thread, this isn't the difference between cd'ing and using disposables. Other people's decisions to not vaccinate their kids due to ignorance affects me and my kid.
I don't believe there's really a reason, other then legit medical reasons, to not vaccinate. It's irresponsible, selfish, and down right dangerous.
FIL had mumps in his twenties. He's not infertile, but MIL says it was pretty scary.
Thanks for the link. I know we've had some cases in the area, because it's always the first shot my doc wants my kids to get. We only do one shot at a time and space them out two weeks, so my doc feels like it's important we get that one sooner than later.
But I'm really not that worried about my FIL passing it to my babies. None of the other adults in my life that I know (aside from the few that have had babies at the hospital and were told to get a booster) are up-to-date on it either.
I'm more worried about people giving my newborn some random virus or flu bug, to tell you the truth. Everyone washed their hands and uses common sense by not holding the baby when they don't feel well. We can't protect them from everything, since they can carry things they aren't aware of, but we try to do what we can that doesn't involve forcing people to get shots in order to see their grandchild.
I'm a vaccinated adult who's scared of pertussis. Food I disapprove of given on occasional visits probably won't kill my child or make her otherwise miserable for months, possibly years.
I'd be concerned if my parents had bug spray hanging out next to the juice, but other than that, what toxins should I care about more than illness and death?
Unless he's a smoker. I'll grant that I probably wouldn't want my child going to my FIL's smoke filled home. My FIL also respects me, though, and would not at all be offended at that.
yes, but they could kill MY child.
You said you were worried about the flu, but I thought flu shot was something you turned down. Am I remembering that wrong?
So could your child's pertussis. How about this? I agree not to serve eggs when your kids come over, and you agree to get your kids vaccinated before we come over?
That's exactly my point!
You wouldn't invite someone over if you knew there was a good chance they were going to bring and give your kid peanut butter sandwiches, right?
You're correct. Not to open that can of worms (because it's been played out too many times on this board before), but I don't think the flu shot is any more effective in my experience at preventing the flu than other simple measures like handwashing and common sense are. We wash hands properly and often during flu season, our kids aren't in daycare, and we don't take them out in public around other children during flu season (not even the church nursery). I actually feel like because we don't vaccinate for it, we are even more vigilant about these things.
But since the flu is more common than pertussis and I can't control how often other people wash their hands or whether or not they avoid germy public places, I am way more worried about people giving my kid the flu than pertussis. But you won't see me demanding they get a flu shot before they touch my babies either.
My son is only 4 months old, and his four cousins on his father's side are not vaccinated.
I expressed my concern to my S/O about his sister's kids. He was on the fence for a while, not wanting to cause a family feud, but then a whooping cough outbreak popped up in their school district. We now both feel that while the chance of transmission might be slim, but we would never forgive ourselves if something happened to him, and DS' health is more important than placating S/O's sister.
It can render one infertile not that it always does and it is scary so why expose oneself and one's kids to the risk?