in recent weeks the great debate seems to be to vaccinate or not to vaccinate. well, more like "how can you selfish asses not vaccinate your kids?!" "how can you poison your babies and give them this junk that causes autism?!" that's more along the lines of what i see. and i have largely stayed away. i read the links shared on Facebook. i watch the news. we went to disneyland 2 weeks before this outbreak. TWO WEEKS. we have a 11 month old son at home who cannot be vaccinated for MMR until his first birthday. what if we had gone later? what if we had brought home this deadly illness to our sweet son?
the thought alone kills me inside. i worry about colds. i worry about green noses and ear infections and coughs. i worry about fender benders. cars driving too fast while we walk to the park. i worry about leaving her at preschool; not incredibly worry but a little piece of me has that thought (you know what thought) lingering. i worry about my sweet girls feelings being hurt. i worry about her falling from the play structure. i worry about duke bonking his head while learning to walk. i worry about his little teeth because he has irregular enamel. i worry about my kids getting cavities.
do you see my point? these are the normal worries of a mama and daddy. these are the day to day things that wrack my brain. and these thoughts were here before either of them came out of my belly. we should NOT have to worry about diseases that have once been basically eradicated. pardon my french, but what the fuck are you thinking when you choose not vaccinate your kids? what the fuck are you thinking when you have the thoughts that everyone else is vaccinated so your precious children are protected? what the fuck article did you read that told you autism is linked or directly caused by the MMR vaccine? what the fuck makes you think you are smarter and know more than your pediatrician?
because i bet you don't. and if you don't like or trust your pediatrician, then maybe you should find a new one.
i am pro vaccination. i am pro protecting my babies to the death of me. i will protect them and fight for them and worry for them every second of their lives.
//i am also a believer in everyone doing what is best for their family. i am pro bottle, pro boob. pro preschool, pro homeschool. pro working mom, pro stay at home mom. pro 1 kid, pro 5 kids. but this topic is not something i take lightly and i truly believe that the best thing is to vaccinate your children. the best way to protect them is to vaccinate them//
I know people on both sides of this debate. In my mind, I find it inconceivable that people choose to not vaccinate their children. Over the past few hundreds of years science has made so many huge steps forward in the medical arena. How, as responsible parents, can we say we know better than years and years of science? Understandably some children are unable to be vaccinated because of allergies or immunodeficiencies. This is all the more reason why, collectively, those who have the ability to vaccinate and protect their children should. Because when you choose not to you are not only putting your own child at risk, you are putting other people's children at risk as well. How can we not want what is best and healthiest for ALL children? As far as the autism link to vaccines debate.... I would much rather spend the rest of my life caring and loving for my child with autism than I would at a cemetery. No one wishes for their child to face challenges and hurdles in life like those with autism do. But you know what else no one wishes for? To lose a child to a disease as preventable as measles. Or polio. Or any other life threatening and preventable diseases. Some people are just plain stupid.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. It's so unfortunate that people make selfish and uneducated decisions about vaccinations when there are babies and kids with diseases like you mentioned. We went to the Dr. on Tuesday and I talked to the pediatrician about getting Duke his MMR shot early. He looked at me and said "you're being completely paranoid." He explained that the media is hyping this up way more than need be. But for pro vaxxers, this is a good thing. We want people to be afraid and vaccinate their children. He also said the chances of Duke getting whooping cough (he is vaccinated) are WAY higher than him ever getting measles. He eased my worry a teensy tiny bit. But not much. I'm still on quarantine here at the Marks Homestead.
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