What is a vaccine? I offer up simple tips for explaining to kids how vaccines work and what it means to get vaccinated for everything from COVID-19 to measles.
Being a mom isn’t easy, especially during this pandemic, where not only are we homeschooling, but many of us are trying to work, as well. Full-time kids can drive you crazy. But I think that’s normal, and okay to feel that way.
My daughter says I often look stressed. (I’m sure I do because I am.) My son comes back with, “you got this.”
I got this.
If I’m honest, what gets me through isn’t in thinking, “they’re only little for this long,” or “a happy home is a messy home,” or whatever that saying is. Sorry to say that it’s not those things.
It’s my passion for something beyond this home. It’s science; it’s education; it’s writing; it’s being able to relate to and help other parents make the informed decision to vaccinate their child or children.
Without passion, a hobby, or a goal, it makes this whole social distancing thing really hard mentally and physically.
As mothers, we tend to feel bad about saying no to getting down and playing. I’m not saying not to get down and play. BUT, sometimes you need to say no. Sometimes you need to let your children know that you need time for your fun, your passion, your hobby, and your goals. It’s great to show them that you’re not just their parent. You’re a whole person doing things you love.
My daughter said just a bit ago, “are you working on vaccine stuff?”
“Well, yes ma’am, I am, and it’s important to me; go play, and I’ll be there in a bit.”
Yesterday I told my son that I’m not doing the puzzle with him because I’m writing something meaningful. He turned around and did it by himself.
I don’t feel sorry about that.
Watch my video on Vaccinate Your Family’s blog: Shot of prevention HERE!
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, BFG, James and the Giant Peach…shall I go on? Some of the greatest books, many turned movies, were written by author Roald Dahl.
What you may not know is that behind all of this great writing, Dahl was suffering through the loss of his eldest daughter, Olivia, to measles.
The author knew nothing else to do but write his feelings out for all to learn from. Dahl’s letter (1986) titled “Measles: A Dangerous Illness,” is reprinted below as found in Newsweek:
Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it. Then one morning, when she was well on the road to recovery, I was sitting on her bed showing her how to fashion little animals out of coloured pipe-cleaners, and when it came to her turn to make one herself, I noticed that her fingers and her mind were not working together and she couldn’t do anything.
‘Are you feeling all right?’ I asked her.
‘I feel all sleepy,’ she said.
In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead.
The measles had turned into a terrible thing called measles encephalitis and there was nothing the doctors could do to save her. That was twenty-four years ago in 1962, but even now, if a child with measles happens to develop the same deadly reaction from measles as Olivia did, there would still be nothing the doctors could do to help her.
On the other hand, there is today something that parents can do to make sure that this sort of tragedy does not happen to a child of theirs. They can insist that their child is immunized against measles. I was unable to do that for Olivia in 1962 because in those days a reliable measles vaccine had not been discovered. Today a good and safe vaccine is available to every family and all you have to do is to ask your doctor to administer it.
It is not yet generally accepted that measles can be a dangerous illness. Believe me, it is. In my opinion parents who now refuse to have their children immunized are putting the lives of those children at risk. In America, where measles immunization is compulsory, measles, like smallpox, has been virtually wiped out.
Here in Britain, because so many parents refuse, either out of obstinacy or ignorance or fear, to allow their children to be immunized, we still have a hundred thousand cases of measles every year. Out of those, more than 10,000 will suffer side effects of one kind or another. At least 10,000 will develop ear or chest infections. About 20 will die.
LET THAT SINK IN.
You can see his beautiful daughter in the photo above holding her kitty. Can you imagine losing a child this way–watching your rash-ridden baby slip away from this terrible disease, knowing there’s nothing you can do?
“I feel sleepy,” she said.
“Let that sink in,” says Dahl in his letter.
Today there’s something you can do to prevent this from happening to your child: Vaccinate your littles with MMR. Do it for all of the lost babies around the world and all the grieving parents.
Vaccines save lives.
Those hesitant about vaccines need to read these true stories. Please pass them on!!
Take just one minute and watch this video on the Newsweek website, that can be found HERE.
Stevie mustache you a question.
Can you put yourself in the shoes of a parent with an immunocompromised child? (That’s a child with a fragile immune system.) This may be a child with an extreme autoimmune disease, cancer, an infant, an HIV-infected child, or so many other diseases I don’t have time to list.
If this isn’t your situation, count your blessings, because there ARE parents on constant high-alert for germs that could potentially kill their weak child. Those germs include vaccine-preventable viruses and bacteria.
Back into that parent’s shoes, your immunocompromised child might not be able to be vaccinated against these diseases, especially with live vaccines such as MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella).
Some of our best vaccines are live attenuated (weakened) vaccines, which contain whole viruses that are so weakened they are unable to cause disease. With this vaccine, as with all vaccines, the body makes immunity to the disease without making you sick.
The problem is that your child with a compromised immune system can’t fight off even a very weakened form of the virus. That means that he could end up sick.
Let’s say the doctor caring for your child doesn’t recommend he get live vaccines, which leaves your child exposed to potentially-deadly germs.
You are thankful because the community that surrounds your child is mostly vaccinated. This means the disease isn’t likely to have a host to enter and pass to other people. We call this community protected by herd immunity.
But what if the herd is dwindling and because other children are left unvaccinated, your child is now left exposed to a disease that could kill him.
America, as well as other countries around the world, were once measles-free. Now, many of these countries have lost their measles-free status due to falling vaccine rates.
You were worried about your child before, but now you’re especially worried about him contracting a disease his body may succumb to.
Back to you, parents of an unvaccinated healthy child. Think real hard about the situation you are putting other parents in. Not only is your unvaccinated child vulnerable, but so are many children who aren’t strong enough to be vaccinated.
You can contribute to the herd, or continue to destroy it. Don’t think your healthy, unvaccinated child is safe. Other parents have bought into the idea that vaccines aren’t safe, and have contributed to the dwindling of the herd.
You have allowed a place for disease to enter your community through your child.
Value the opinions of the experts and the facts. Think twice when the facts go against your beliefs. Stop searching for articles on the internet that support what you believe and that go against what experts are telling you.
You might say you don’t trust big pharma, but think about it. Does a company want a product that’s going to give them a bad reputation, or a product that has a proven safety record?
Vaccines are a product with a proven safety record.
The facts are that vaccines are safe and effective. Choose to be one who values facts over your incorrect opinions. Value the moral responsibility to protect your children and the children of your community.
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