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We are a family who vaccinates. We do them on schedule as best we can. It used to be that I would go into the doctor’s office and just say hey do what you will. However, over time I have been looking into more and I do question things a little more, but for the most part my kids are completely up to date on their shots at all times.
In all honesty it makes things much easier for school. There are no waivers to get and hoops to jump through or rushing around to get caught up on vaccinations. I was panicking this year when my son started Kindergarten because the school was telling me the day before school started that he was missing a shot that was required to start Kindergarten. I couldn’t imagine he would have missed it, our doctor is really on top of those things and I was worried I’d have to find someone who would give him this shot on super short notice. Thankfully it was a clerical error and we were good to go, but that was enough to send me into a frenzy. So I couldn’t imagine trying to play catch up just to start school.
And I know, getting all of those vaccinations at such a young age seems like a lot for such little ones, but at the same time when I compare the possible complications or side effects to the actual diseases they are protecting against it’s a no brainer for me.
Now don’t get me wrong, if you don’t want to vaccinate I’m not going to tell you that you are wrong. We do all have to make our own choices in life. For example, the Gardasil vaccine they now have out for young girls to prevent HPV and possibly cervical Cancer I have been avoiding like the plague. I know we are going to go in this year for both my older girls physicals and our doctor is going to give us all of the whys of doing it. She will even want to give it to my son when the time comes.
That one I have my qualms about because it is relatively new and because the thing it’s preventing is something that’s transmitted through close physical contact. In all honesty I would prefer to just teach my girls about safe sex and let them decide when they are older if they want to get the Gardasil vaccine. And trust me when I say I know my 13 year old is not out there having sex. How could she? Most of the time when she’s not with me she’s at school.
While the chances are small that they’ll have an adverse effect from the vaccine moving forward I don’t want to rely on a vaccine for something that isn’t even in the realm of possibilities for my children. If things change and I fear that my children might be heading towards a path that I have warned against, then I will reconsider. I know it might be too late, but as things stand right now my daughters are so far off from becoming sexually active that it does not seem like a viable choice. And as of right now this vaccine has not been made mandatory to attend school either. Which actually brings me to my point here and the government’s involvement in the raising of our children.
Laws Are Made For A Reason
The government mandates many things about our lives. They tell us that we have to put our children in car seats, that we have to put helmets on our kids when they ride bikes, and they tell us that we have to vaccinate our children against certain illnesses and diseases.
All of these laws were not made on a whim. There were many years and lots of evidence that was gathered which showed this to be the best course of action. Motor vehicle accidents were killing small children not restrained in car seats. Children falling off bikes and hitting their head and dying or getting serious brain injuries. And people contracting diseases which either killed or permanently harmed them. Someone began noticing a pattern and a rise in deaths and someone said we need to do something about this and then lawmakers were lobbied and after much debate and discussion laws were made.
The I was fine growing up defense doesn’t cut it for everything. For most things really. Hey, if we’re talking about soap and lotions on our kids I’m all for the I used Mr. Bubble as a kid and I’m fine defense. Because there aren’t thousands and thousands of deaths and injuries associated with Mr. Bubble. But when you look at the injuries and deaths that have occurred because of a child not properly restrained in a car or a child falling off a bike or a child who contracted a deadly disease then you might want to stand up and listen.
Big Brother Ain’t Half Bad
And you know having someone watching over us isn’t bad at all. And the great thing about our country is that a lot of times there are loopholes. Like the loophole in the vaccination laws that say if there’s a medical reason you can’t be vaccinated, then you get a doctor’s note. So they don’t want our children getting sick from the vaccination. So the very small percentage of the population who are truly medically unable to get vaccinated don’t have to be put in harms way.
But then our government went one further and said okay, but because we have that whole separation of church and state thing we’ll allow for religious waivers of vaccines too. And here’s where people are beginning to abuse things.
Oh, you don’t want to get that vaccine because you reacted poorly to it and therefore you think your child will too? You did fine without it growing up and survived your childhood, so why put your kid through the pain of just another needle, right? So what’s a parent to do? Oh, just sign a religious waiver. No one can question if it’s really against your religion and hey you’re saving your kid from a nasty shot which has a well less than 1% chance of causing seizures in your child. And don’t let those pesky doctors fear monger you into thinking that there are actually 20,000 children admitted a year for complications related to not being vaccinated.
So now we are seeing much less children getting vaccinated when they should be and now diseases which were all but eradicated are making a come back. You can’t tell me that more people are just into religion now either.
Do you know what’s going to happen? Big Brother is going to get angry and in a push to stop an epidemic they are going to take drastic measures to prevent people from using the, “my religion prevents me from vaccinating my children” excuse. So either they are going to make a move to prevent that from being used at all in order to protect the greater good. Because remember, the government has all of the people to look out for not just your family. Or they are going to make it much more difficult for people to use religion. It might even have an effect on the medical waivers people get too.
So it bothers me that people would use fraudulent tactics just to keep from getting a vaccination. If you are so opposed to the vaccination schedules or why they are mandated then go through the proper channels, but don’t lie and say my religion says we don’t have to vaccinate. You are putting your children at risk by doing this. And honestly, what are we teaching our children by lying? That it’s okay to not follow the rules as long as you have a good lie and you did your homework?
Do you vaccinate your children? Do you think it’s right for people to use religion as a reason to opt out when they don’t follow a religion that is against vaccinations?
I vaccinate on schedule.
okay I don’t like to get into the whole debate because it is sooo passionate and people really get upset about it. This is purely my opinion and I am not trying to step on toes. Look I don’t want my kids to get illnesses that can be prevented like Polio…and YES Polio is around for people who don’t think it is. My Dad is a Dr. and my mom a nurse and I can tell you that the diseases that are vaccinated against are still around and during this day and age many are just a plane flight away.
Now I don’t get the ability to not vaccinate because of religion. I understand why, but it is a public health concern. I do support all religious beliefs but this does scare me and the fact that people are lying about it makes me very very uneasy.
I do understand parents that have children that have autism and worry, therefore they may delay vaccinations, etc. However, the autism link with vaccines has never been proven, but they are seeing genetics as the link. I am a Mom though and I worry too..it is always in the back of my mind even though I have seen the research.
Now there definitely are things that come up. Such as my Mom got Hepatitis A when I was 2 and I had to have a Gamuglobulin shot…and I was not allowed to get vaccines for a year because of it, or there are instances of children getting injured by vaccines so they may not get vaccinated after that.
However, the whole thing worries me and I totally understand parents and being worried, etc. but I would rather my kids not get diseases
As far as Gardasil…safe sex does help but if a man contracts HPV younger he can pass it to his wife easily even 10 years later….so you have to insure that your daughter’s husband does not have it and there is no real way to make sure of it. That is why I believe in that vaccine, but again my opinion and I totally accept your opinion as well on this.
Noone should Lie about anything…including this.
So those are my opinions
Thanks Jenny for your thoughts on this. I know it’s a very touchy subject. And I’ll say as far as Gardasil goes I don’t think my 10 and 13 year old should be vaccinated for it. And I don’t think it should be my decision either. They aren’t getting married now or anytime soon I don’t think. So I think it can be something that they can decide for themselves when they are ready to take on the responsibility of sex. That’s just one of the things that go into considering their partners.
But being a public health issues I definitely don’t think the choice should just be left up to families. Because like you said there are some that cannot get vaccinated because for them the vaccine would truly do more harm than good. So we should consider that when making these choices.
We are a non-vaccinating family. I appreciate that this article was not written in an inflammatory manner and was fairly respectful to those with differing views. But, I wanted to bring to light a fact that you may not be aware of. We live in Pennsylvania and here, there is a third type of exemption. Medical, religious and philosophical/moral. Using the philosophical/moral objection all you have to do is write or type a note saying that you choose not to vaccinate based on a strongly held moral or ethical belief and sign it. So, my daughter goes to public school, is unvaccinated and is legally exempt. Her pediatrician is totally fine with it and I DID NOT LIE AT ALL. Many states have this option.
And unfortunately that is not an option in my state and I actually have had people tell me to just use a religious exemption or that they just do it and it’s no big deal. If that were an option, then that’s fine, but it’s not in all states and people are lying to get around that.
I understand what you mean. I was just letting you know that there is sometimes a third exemption and that not ALL nonvaxing families are being deceitful. That being said, Im honestly not sure what I would do if I lived in a state without that exemption. Either lie or move.
I guess homeschooling is always an option. Then again you could also see what it would take to get the law changed if it was that important to you. I truly think the only thing lying gets us is into more trouble so I think that’s never an option.
Personally, knowing my own strengths and weaknesses, homeschooling is not an option for my family. And changing laws takes time. My little ones would be starting school long before a,law,would be changed (if it ever were) and my oldest already is in school. I agree that lying is not right. But, neither is dictating parental choices. A parent should not have to lie or jump through hoops to do what they feel is best for their family. I am so glad that the state of Pennsylvania agrees.
And you see this is where I disagree with you because I think it really is a public health issue. Living in a society with other people I do think we have to take others into consideration. For example, my son can’t have anything with peanuts in his class because someone is allergic. My son loves peanut butter, but that doesn’t mean I should put this other child at risk because I want my son to be able to eat peanut butter crackers at school. Don’t get me wrong, my kids always come first. If I feel something is not right for them I would take them out of that situation before I would lie about our beliefs though.
I have a friend who home schooled her daughter for a year when her school district wouldn’t give her the education she deserved. Completely against the law, but lawsuits take time and are stressful too so she dropped it and just home schooled for a year. She didn’t feel that she could do it until she was doing it. I have always said I couldn’t home school, but you know what? I am considering it as a possibility for my oldest daughter if I continue to have problems with them giving her what she needs. My point being is that we never know what we’re capable of until we give it a try. Now not knowing you I don’t know you might be very right, but I will tell you this my oldest and I butt heads a lot. We are very much alike. That’s what I worry about with teaching her if it comes down to that. I think it would be different though because I’m not trying to learn how someone else is teaching things in order to explain it. We’d both be on the same page.
I hope I don’t sound like I’m being dismissive here either Ashley. Because you know you and your family and children best and what you can handle I totally know that
. Also, I don’t think anyone really decides to have vaccinations because it will benefit others. I mean that’s not why I do it, but I have also been faced with a decision in following the law with vaccinations and lying. I have never been too crazy about the flu vaccine. I usually passed on it, but last year a new law went into effect for CT preschool students which required preschoolers to be vaccinated to be in school. I ended up giving in and vaccinating. Honestly it was best for my family as a whole to do it anyways with my asthmatic daughter. So I have no regrets about getting it and I have also been getting all of my kids vaccinated this year. But lying about my religion was never a consideration in my book. I would have preferred to keep him out of school before I lied about why he couldn’t be vaccinated.
I guess it’s a good thing you don’t have to worry about any of this though
. Maybe other states will adopt similar laws, but I have to say I do kind of hope they don’t. Just from a public health stand point is all.