Playgroup Debates: Do you vaccinate?
I love my friends. They are so different, yet hip and “crunchy” in their own way.
Some birthed their children in a hospital, others used a birth center or had them at home.
Some cloth diaper, some use disposables. Some use nothing at all.
Some breastfeed their toddlers. Some don’t.
We all make different choices regarding what’s best for our child(ren), and yet we still respect and support each other. None of us are what you would consider “mainstream” in our parenting styles, but as more and more join our circle it becomes easy to forget just how different we are.
Until it comes to vaccination.
Most of us don’t, and those that do usually delay until after the age of two. I had forgotten how uncomfortable it can be to find out you’re on the other side of the debate in the midst of casual mom chat.
Uncomfortable . . . and possibly volatile. Remember the reaction I got when I told a complete stranger that I was still breastfeeding my toddler? That produces shock and possibly disgust, but revealing that I don’t vaccinate made a mom downright angry/indignant today. I get why . . . she has an infant that isn’t old enough to be vaccinated and feels that my choice is putting her daughter at risk. I told her that I had done my research and felt that the risks outweighed any potential benefits, but I know that it probably seemed to her that I was selfishly choosing the good of my child over what’s best for all children.
Worst of all, I am afraid that she will tell all the other moms and that Katie will be ostracized as “unsafe.” Oh well. I am who I am. I pray that every day God will purify me and make me a better wife/mother/friend/neighbor/etc. But I still want to be granola me.
des
It’s such a hard choice… I’ve gone back and forth and read the research and not vaccinated Lyric for a whole year, then have bounced back..
I think the bottom line is you have to have peace about what ever option you choose.
Jon and I felt that since we are planning on traveling extensively all over we needed to get them vaccinated. But we’re doing the European vaccination schedule which isn’t as ridiculous as the American one.
Katie can come play with Courtney and I’s kids whenever she wants! Courtney doesn’t vaccinate either
Des
Probably. And the fact that I get the whole “I know you don’t know me, but I read your blog” stuff a lot. It makes me a bit more conscious about not so much what I write, but how I write.
Oh the joys of parenting… everyone has an opinion. Especially me
Meredith
Keep up the good work, girl! No matter the fight you might get for it. If moms really thought about it and trusted their vaccination, its YOUR child that is at risk, not theirs. Either way, Im proud of the stands you make on parenting and your willingness to share with us all. Miss ya!
Heather
Thanks, Destiny! Your comment is the perfect example of how I WISH my conversation with that mom had gone this morning. You’ve been a mommy blogger for a long time now, and I’m sure sharing your life has opened you up to criticism a time or two. Your writing style has become more and more gracious over the years, and I wonder if that’s part of it.