vaccination choice

[road.not.taken]

It never ceases to amaze me how people can make such anti-social decisions, showcase them on a public forum and then wonder why society judges them. Your decisions have ramifications which you can choose to ignore, but it's better to know that other parents feel strongly on this subject.

[batgirl_cdn]

road.not.taken, if you truly have read anything on vaccination then you wouldn't have such a black and white view of the issue.

If you read labels and make choices about the food and drink going into your child's body, why don't you also educate yourself about the contents of vaccines and medicines, and decide for yourself if it is safe for your child?

I'm proud to tell parents to educate themselves and make the best decisions for their children. Even if parents do choose to fully vaccinate, they have every right to choose brands of vaccines that contain less aluminium etc. and avoid any brands that still contain mercury. Also, parents can refuse to vaccinate their newborn, who is given the same doses as older children or adults, and instead delay the vaccination until the child is larger.

Does your child have teething pain? Here is an interesting article on what researchers have found about acetaminophen use in children under 1 yr old. http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/09/ ... child.html Doctor's prescribe it, lots of parents use it, but are we doing harm?

[boffenl]

Yes, local schools ask for immunization records. This topic is timely since our daughter just had her mandatory health physical at school (I do love the free healthcare and dental at school!) and was out of compliance for two immunizations.

Sorry to post a pro-immunizations question on this thread, but can anyone recommend a good paediatrician just for immunizations? She usually sees a doctor at NUH but we've never done immunizations here. Thanks!

[cbavasi]

boffenl - i take both my kids to dr mark loh at international medical center in camden. he will work with the country schedule that you want to adhere to - and will go with whatever you do and don't want to give. the nurses ultimately give the shots rather than the doctor so it varies.
i have friends who see dr. belinda (also mentioned before on this forum) and have said that she does the injections herself.
HTHs.

[sundaymorningstaple]

If you read labels and make choices about the food and drink going into your child's body, why don't you also educate yourself about the contents of vaccines and medicines, and decide for yourself if it is safe for your child?

I'd say it's debatable that what the kid, who sits next to my kid in school, eats could kill my kid just by sitting there. Bad analogy I think. You decision about inoculations can KILL others.

One has to look at the bigger picture as well. Is it safe for society as well? If not, then maybe they should stay in their own country and not take the chance of endangering whole populations due to their "personal" reasons. Sometimes people need to look beyond their personal reasons and think about the greater good of society as a whole. If it means staying in the UK where there are only mad cows, or the US where there are mad politicians, then so be it.

[road.not.taken]

If you read labels and make choices about the food and drink going into your child's body, why don't you also educate yourself about the contents of vaccines and medicines, and decide for yourself if it is safe for your child?

I'd say it's debatable that what the kid, who sits next to my kid in school, eats could kill my kid just by sitting there. Bad analogy I think. You decision about inoculations can KILL others.

One has to look at the bigger picture as well. Is it safe for society as well? If not, then maybe they should stay in their own country and not take the chance of endangering whole populations due to their "personal" reasons. Sometimes people need to look beyond their personal reasons and think about the greater good of society as a whole. If it means staying in the UK where there are only mad cows, or the US where there are mad politicians, then so be it.

When I read that SMS, I think batgirl was trying to say that if you take the time to educate yourself about what your children eat and drink, shouldn't you also educate yourself about what is in their inoculations? Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I read it.

Unfortunately that attitude assumes that we believers in vaccinations haven't educated ourselves I weighed the risks and it was my belief that the benefits far outweighed the risks. Also, that I wanted my children to have full access to education, which would necessitate vaccinations. If you decide against vaccines for personal reasons, then there are some natural consequences for that choice.

Also, in rare cases of severe peanut allergies -- a child sitting next to your child could actually kill the other just by air borne exposure.

[viajera]

Sorry to post a pro-immunizations question on this thread, but can anyone recommend a good paediatrician just for immunizations? She usually sees a doctor at NUH but we've never done immunizations here. Thanks!

you could go to the same pedia. the nurses administer the vaccinations anyway, not the doc. at any rate, we see dr. wendy at the NUH, and are quite happy with her.

[batgirl_cdn]

From my experience, 95% of parents don't look into vaccinations at all besides finding out their country vaccination schedule and then going to the doctor for the jabs. Reading a pamphlet from the docs office on diseases and why you should get your child vaccinated doesn't count as "education". If you haven't checked out the pros and cons, the disease risk rates, considered your family history and looked into the vaccine brands and their contents, then you haven't gone far enough. That's just my opinion


sundaymorningstaple, you just buy into the hype that unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children are deadly. You know what, a vaccinated child can still catch and carry a disease if they are one of the rare ones that didn't develop immunity after vaccination. Do you want all the kids sitting next to your kids to have titer tests, just in case? In many cases, older children and adults who didn't get their boosters are the ones that are susceptible to catching and spreading the diseases. The authorities rarely police the boosters. Perhaps you feel mentally comfortable that once the jabs are given you don't have to worry. Well, life is dangerous. Colds, flu and other diseases that either don't have a vaccine or have ineffective ones can also cause complications and death in people with weak immune systems. Strong, healthy children can deal with disease and their immunity is better than that gained by vaccination. How many vaccines should there be in this world so that supposedly one more child/adult doesn't die from some disease? Should we have a vaccine for everything?

road.not.taken is correct that kids can become seriously ill or die from allergies like peanut or scent allergies. Maybe everyone should be banned from eating nuts and wearing perfumed products in public, just in case they harm or kill someone

[road.not.taken]

From my experience, 95% of parents don't look into vaccinations at all besides finding out their country vaccination schedule and then going to the doctor for the jabs. Reading a pamphlet from the docs office on diseases and why you should get your child vaccinated doesn't count as "education". If you haven't checked out the pros and cons, the disease risk rates, considered your family history and looked into the vaccine brands and their contents, then you haven't gone far enough. That's just my opinion


sundaymorningstaple, you just buy into the hype that unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children are deadly. You know what, a vaccinated child can still catch and carry a disease if they are one of the rare ones that didn't develop immunity after vaccination. Do you want all the kids sitting next to your kids to have titer tests, just in case? In many cases, older children and adults who didn't get their boosters are the ones that are susceptible to catching and spreading the diseases. The authorities rarely police the boosters. Perhaps you feel mentally comfortable that once the jabs are given you don't have to worry. Well, life is dangerous. Colds, flu and other diseases that either don't have a vaccine or have ineffective ones can also cause complications and death in people with weak immune systems. Strong, healthy children can deal with disease and their immunity is better than that gained by vaccination. How many vaccines should there be in this world so that supposedly one more child/adult doesn't die from some disease? Should we have a vaccine for everything?

road.not.taken is correct that kids can become seriously ill or die from allergies like peanut or scent allergies. Maybe everyone should be banned from eating nuts and wearing perfumed products in public, just in case they harm or kill someone [

Just like you bought into the hype that vaccines are bad for you?? It's a personal decision for you, yes, but one that can endanger the greater public -- can't expect not to take some flak about it. And lots of schools have banned peanuts outright because children have been harmed, even killed.

[viajera]

Maybe everyone should be banned from eating nuts and wearing perfumed products in public, just in case they harm or kill someone

wouldn't that be great. my son is anaphylactically allergic to peanuts. please don't treat this issue lightly.

[realthomo]

Why, oh why, do threads about things like maids and vaccinations get everyone so riled up and agressive in their responses?

Whether or not you are for vaccinations, the OP has asked a question and just needs answers to that question, not opinions on whether what she is doing is right or wrong. Can't we all just leave it at that?

FWIW, I am pro-immunisations in a big way (although I have refused to immunise all my kids with the BCG, but that is the only one they have not had - I follow the Aussie immunisation schedule to a tee in the knowledge that we will end up back in Oz). BUt please don't judge me on that. Whilst I have opinions of those who choose not to immunise, I keep them to myself. I would hate anyone to tell me how to raise my kids, or that what I am doing is wrong, so why would I do the same to someone else. In my opinion, not strapping your children into a carseat is 1000 times worse that sitting my child next to someone who isn't immunised, but who am I to pass my judgement onto someone else and bully them into doing something they don't believe in?

Anyway, to answer the OPs original question, my kids go to an international preschool where they did indeed ask for immunisation records, but at the time I had not had my youngest immunised with MMR and none of them had the BCG. I explained to the school that I was delaying the MMR until she was a little older (over 2 years) and they were fine with that. THey have not since asked for updated records. I am sure, if you have medical reasons for not immunising, you must be able to get some sort of written exemption.

And for all those who are pro-immunisation bullies and giving these people a hard time for not immunising, what are you worried about? Your kids are immunised anyway so you shouldn't actually care if the child they are sitting next to isn't!

[road.not.taken]

Why, oh why, do threads about things like maids and vaccinations get everyone so riled up and agressive in their responses?

Perhaps you're reading too much into the posts or assigning a tone? Who is 'riled up'? Public safety and personal safety are important enough issues to warrant strong reactions, nothing wrong with that. Strong opinions are not bullying.

If all this forum did was answer an OP's original question, this would be yahoo answers or wikihow. But it's not. This is a forum where opinions are expressed freely, encouraged. Embellishments, anecdotes, personal experiences -- all given, all the time. And thank goodness too, because it makes for an interesting site. The OP asked for opinions from 'like' minded parents, but it doesn't work like that -- she got opinions from everyone who wanted to respond. Everyone who wants to limit posters ability to post on any subject, please stand up...

And while we're at it, I'd like to take back the word 'judge'. When did judging become so impolitically correct? Of course, thinking, experienced individuals make judgements all the time, all day long. It's shows they have higher reasoning skills. In the US we even elect people we think are the best judges! Judging is a good skill, an attribute that allows us to negotiate society and the wider world. Only the word 'judgmental' has a negative connotation.

Posters who take up strong positions on any subject, whether they know it or not, are essentially picking a shady spot under a tree, spreading out a checkered cloth, reaching into their basket for a can opener, then a big can marked WORMS. No harm in that, just don't be surprised if a few ant(ies) want to share the picnic.

[batgirl_cdn]

If I had bought into the anti-vaccination hype I wouldn't have vaccinated my child at all. As I mentioned before, I have partially vaccinated my child and used our own schedule for the vaccinations, in consultation with our pediatrician.

I haven't met a human being yet who doesn't judge other human beings on what they do with their children.

My posts were just meant to encourage parents to look into the situation more. I'm happy with my decisions after looking at the risks and talking with my doctor. What is important is that each of you are happy with your own choices.

I didn't mean to make light of the allergies, I was just thinking that some people are so scared of normal childhood diseases and worried about everyone else vaccinating their children, yet they often don't give a thought about other things that they do that could be deemed "socially irresponsible" like not paying attention to allergens that can be very serious for others (e.g. peanut, perfumes, smoking or other things that can trigger asthma).

[Nith1416]

RealThomo Maam,

Pls do email me need your help.
[email protected]

Thanks

[Nith1416]

true vaccinations are important!