I am not one to tell other people how to parent their children. I am a firm believer in you do what you feel is best for your family and I'll do what I feel is best for mine. As long as you are not harming your children, I really don't care what you do. I might not agree with your choices, but that is none of my business. They are your choices to make, not mine. I expect the same in return. I know there are plenty of people out there that think I am nuts and don't agree with my choices and that is fine. Just be respectful of the fact that they are MY choices and I will do the same for you.
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Vaccinations can be a pretty hot topic of discussion among parents and it is one I usually try to avoid. That is until I get an email from my school telling me that the state of Connecticut now requires all preschoolers to receive a flu vaccine.
I am a semi-delayed vaccination parent. I held off on giving my twins both the MMR and chicken pox vaccines until they were three years old. Everything else they got on schedule. The chicken pox I was hoping they would actually get and so be immune for life with no boosters required. The MMR I delayed because no one can really say for sure or not if it harms children. Is it linked to autism? I don't know. But with two toddlers that already had significant speech and motor delays, I wasn't taking that chance. When it was time for me to enroll them into school, I got them up to date and all was fine.
But this email today just might have sent me off my rocker. How dare the government tell me I am required to give my child a flu shot? We are talking about the flu here, THE FLU, not the plague. The fact that they are doing this just seems utterly ridiculous to me. I am not usually one to complain about big government being too involved in our day to day lives - that changed today. I am pissed. The bottom line is we will not be giving our kids the flu shot. My gripe is that we shouldn't even have been put into this position in the first place.
I'm all for vaccinations - until you tell me that it's 'mandatory'! I don't know why, but being told to do something really, really irritates me. (It's the libertarian in me)
ReplyDeleteWe do get the flu shot, only because last year I didn't get one for myself and I caught it. I honestly thought I was going to die. It was misery and I don't want to repeat it!
Good for you!!! :) What is really sad is a lot of parents do not know that they can refuse the vaccines by simply filling out an exempt form.
ReplyDeleteI have only slightly delayed with my last son. 4 or 5 in one time just seems irrational to me. But the flu vaccine is one I have waivered on EVERY year. I took them when I was pregnant and due during the flu season because I feared my newborns getting the flu and never had issue from the vaccines but I still worry. I would be upset if someone told me I HAD to give them. But I know my father, who works in the schools is required to get them
ReplyDeleteWe're "delayers" here too. Whatever your take on vaccines, I'm in support of a parent's choice to vaccinate on schedule, delay, or skip them completely. That's why we live in a free country...supposedly. So how are you going to get out of it?
ReplyDeleteJenn I have absolutely no idea. I am researching options and laws.
ReplyDeleteCan you use the mist? Or is the vaccine you're against?
ReplyDeleteIt is the vaccine in general that I am against. I think I probably dislike the mist more since it is a live virus.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with your post. We had free Flu shots at work and I was one of the few who didn't get one. I'm not scared of needles, I simply don't believe in the the Flu shot. Just because something is wildly popular doesn't make it good for you! Good job on standing your ground. And please keep us updated, I feel like you just might have a fight on your hands.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. It is SO WRONG to demand this. I am firm believer in vaccinations, and I STILL think it is totally and extremely wrong.
ReplyDeleteThey can not MAKE you do it. You should submit a religious exemption letter.
We are also vaccine delayers. We didnt get the flu shot last year. I truly believe the government has hyped it for more money and now they have a bunch in storage they need to get rid of. I would fight it to
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree. While I have always had my boys vaccinated, I have never done the flu shot for a variety of reasons. I would be livid if the school tried to tell me I had to do that to my child.
ReplyDeleteI delayed shots for my kids. I will NOT get my children the flu shots. The government should have no say.
ReplyDeleteThat is a weird thing to require ...
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, I worry about all the shots they want us to give our kids. And starting them so young is ridiculous. I was scared to death when my two month old got his shots, all 3 of them (combination vaccines I think)
ReplyDeleteI would like to ad that my step son almost died from the Flu Shot!
ReplyDeleteVaccinations for horrible things like measles, mumps, etc are very understandable. But a flu shot should be optional! Is this all preschools where you live or just the one you go to??? Can you go to a private preschool instead of a public one? Will that help?
ReplyDeleteOver the past three decades Flu related deaths has ranged from as low as 5,000 a year to 52,000 a year. These are estimates from the CDC. I appreciate your stand but don't think I could live with the worst case scenario if I didn't vaccinate. I think one of the reasons they are requiring it is the recent concern over H1N1 and the escalating cost to insurance providers that unvaccinated patients present when they become I'll with the Flu. Add that with the frequent exchange of germs with younger children the state is hoping to curb the spread of influenza.
ReplyDeleteAccording to this, about 100 children die from the flu nationwide yearly. While it is terrible that any child dies, I don't think 100 qualifies to make this mandatory.
ReplyDeleteNow I see it as big pharma lobbyists getting law makers to pass a law that now guarantees more sales of the flu vaccines.
To be clear, my children have every other vaccine and I am not anti-vaccine. I just don't believe in the flu shot which is for a seasonal virus. Those who die from the flu are usually those with per-existing conditions and/or compromise immune systems.
I think its awful to try and force this on anyone- my son has NEVER gotten the flu shot, I never get it and neither does my husband. How dare they try to force the flu shot on us- they already "require" enough!
ReplyDeleteMy children (ages 2 & 3) have both had their vaccines according to schedule and have not had any adverse effects. They have both received flu vaccines as well as H1N1 vaccines last year. However, it was I, their mother, who made those choices. I made them based on my research and the fact that both are at higher risk of respiratory complication should they contract any of the childhood virus. Heck, if they had a rhinovirus vaccine, I would likely choose it for my asthmatic daughter. The government did not make the choices, and the government darn well better not try to tell me which vaccines I have to give my kids. They are MY kids. I would be ticked, too, if I were you.
ReplyDeletewow, this is news to me! I have never given my child (or me for that matter) the flu shot. Look..we are still alive!!
ReplyDeletetrisha
I respect a parent's choice to delay vaccinations but taking their choice out of the matter doesn't seem right. This is just another example of the government overstepping their boundaries when it comes to deciding how we should parent and care for our children.
ReplyDeleteThat's wrong that they have to mandate something that is not helpful (at least I've gotten the flu more WITH the shot than without). I'd be really upset if I received that letter.
ReplyDeleteI have no problems with the flu vaccine, but I'm floored that a school is making it mandatory. Is that even legal? Hopefully it will be as simple as an exemption form and it will be okay.
ReplyDeleteim not a parent but i am a teacher. i dont know where i stand on the issue but have a thought...schools are breeding grounds for sickness. isnt it beneficial to your child and others children to get the flu shot? less chance of germs and illness spreading. Ive seen my students drop like flies when something is going around/
ReplyDeleteWhat if the child is allergic to one of the ingredients. I know I'm allergic to a preservative they use in the TB test so I can't take that anymore. It was a hassle when I worked in the hospital and was required to get one every year. A note from my doc was all that was needed for me to be exempt though.
ReplyDeleteI am a firm believer in immunizations, but I feel like the flu shot should be a choice.
ReplyDeleteHere is an interesting article worth reading; it could be transferable to the population at large in terms of arguments, not just HCP. Shouldn't we, as human beings, "have an moral obligation to minimize the chance that will harm will occur to" others? Something to think about seeing that "The influenza vaccine is safe. Serious side effects are extremely rare and the risks from influenza are much greater. The vaccine is far safer than driving (30,000 deaths a year), taking a bath (450), or standing under a coconut tree (130). " Should we not drive first? There are more science-based articles there as well: http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/influenza-vaccine-mandates/
ReplyDeleteI am not anti-vaccine...but this is ridiculous! The FLU is not the measles, it is not SMALLPOX for heaven's sake. I'd be pretty pissed off about this as well!
ReplyDeleteI have heard of that happening. We don't get the flu shot, so I would have a problem with it too.
ReplyDeleteI think the thing is that so many people think the flu isn't serious, but it is responsible for deaths in the youngest, oldest and weakest parts of our population. I don't think forcing shots is the answer, but at the same time I do get the FLU shot for myself and my children. I prefer a vaccine to the possibility of my child having serious complications with the Flu or Chicken Pox and other epidemics. But that's my preference. And I see they believe that our little ones are germ carriers which is why they want them immunized at schools, to prevent population outbreaks. I actually can see where they are coming from, wanting to prevent an outbreak in a school.
ReplyDeleteI have a serious problem with the government telling me to inject my child with not only the vaccine, but chemicals, preservatives and whatever else they put into to so that these pesky little kids don't pass it along to the rest of the population. The people who get seriously ill from the flu are a very very small portion of the population. Those who are susceptible should be getting the flu shot. But don't force it on me and my little kids.
ReplyDeleteARGH! I am so sick of schools telling us how to raise our children. This is the first year my son is getting the flu shot and ONLY because we will have a new baby in the house.
ReplyDeleteWe delay here too - and usually avoid the flue vaccine (although I did have everyone get one this school year since we have a newborn in the house) -- but I can't BELIEVE that particular vaccine is mandatory. Really? I know we have have a few seasons off and on with a lot of flu cases, but to make rules that parents must follow with vaccines? Mandatory? This really should be something left up to parents -- not the the state. There are too many unknowns when it comes to vaccines to let the state mandate them.
ReplyDeleteI, too, don't care what a parent does or doesn't do as long as it doesn't harm the child. It's not my business, and it shouldn't be the government's either. I've never had a flu shot even though I can get it for free through work. My husband got the flu shot three years ago and became very ill. The shot didn't help and he refuses to get another.
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me what you decided to do. I just got the notice today telling me that if my son does not get the flu shot by Dec. 31st then he will not be able to attend school. I am thinking about signing the religious exemption for this vaccination, but he has all the others shots that were required. Wondering if this would be a problem.
ReplyDelete