Should I vaccinate my child? Parents share their reasons for vaccinating

We hear a lot of talk in the media about why parents do not vaccinate their children,  but what about reasons why parents DO vaccinate their children. As parents, we all want to do the best for our children, but when it comes to vaccines, it can be a tough one to call. If you’re wondering whether you should go ahead vaccinate your child, and looking to understand the reasons why people do it, then this post featuring the reasons from fellow parenting bloggers could help:

Because its vital to protect our children

“I hate to be the one to say this but I would totally judge a non vaccinating decision. It’s a no brainer and the one parenting decision I could not stay quiet about. Unless there was medical reason of course, it’s vital to protect your kids and in turn others. Sorry if you don’t want to post that though.” – Run Jump Scrap  

Because of seeing the effects of no vaccines

“My older brother, when he was a bright 8 year old, got meningitis via the mumps. I was too young to remember it, but I have been told that he was in hospital on/off for 2 years, died twice, had lots and lots of fits and my parents were told repeatedly that he wouldn’t survive. He did. He’s 55 now, went to a special school as he had to learn to walk, talk, eat, etc all over again, and he has a mental age of 12 now. The MMR wasn’t around then, which would have stopped all this happening to him – so to me it was a no-brainer. My kids have had all the jabs and will carry on having them” – Kidz Cruises  

Because the evidence against it just isn’t strong enough

We actually were family friends of Andrew Wakefield who did the research behind the autism/MMR vaccination. My mum at the time decided not to vaccinate us. But now my brother and I are, as are both my children. Despite having the information first hand, and seeing him removed from the country, I just couldn’t see any evidence that would stop me from vaccinating my children. There is however evidence for why you should, the rise in measles for one!  – Wishes and Wellies 

Because the worry of “what if”?

My eldest is fully vaccinated and my youngest is about to have his last of the set of three. To me there is just no argument about it, I want to protect my babies from the diseases that could be fatal to them. I would never forgive myself if they caught something that I could have prevented. In fact, I now feel guilty that Zach hasn’t had the new meningitis vaccine because Oscar has! – Mumma Scribbles 

Protecting others

“We vaccinate because I have had them myself and want my daughter to be protected in the same way. On the flip side, there are so many vulnerable children and adults whose immune systems are so weak that someone even coughing near them can put them in hospital. I don’t think I could live with myself if we didn’t vaccinate and anyone, whether Willow or a complete stranger, then became ill and their life was in danger.” – Tattooed Tea Lady 

Because of pre-existing conditions

“I vaccinate both my children. Jessica has had extra immunisations because of her heart condition. A normal cold or sick bug could land her in hospital, I wouldn’t want to take any chances with anything that could have more serious effects.” – Little Hearts Big Love 

The benefits outweigh the risks

“I am a person who cannot be vaccinated due to auto immune illness so there was no question in my mind that my son would be vaccinated in order to contribute to the herd immunity for those like me who can’t be vaccinated. The benefits far outweigh the risks. I would also never ever be able to forgive myself if my child was seriously ill or died from an illness I could have vaccinated him against.” – Emma and Family  

Although some do question if it’s worth the risk

“We vaccinated all of our children and yet our daughter had a horrific reaction to the MMR, so bad that she ended up in hospital, unable to walk or speak and was very poorly. The doctors said it was a rare reaction and that it was just a case of waiting to see if she improved – you can imagine how utterly horrendous that wait was. She did improve, thank god, but now we are faced with the decision to have her MMR booster or not – something which we are still undecided on. I am pro-vaccinations ordinarily but in Megan’s case? Is it worth the risk?” – Five Little Doves  

Unless it’s the flu vaccine

“There is only one vaccination I refuse and that is the flu vaccine. Unless there is a medical complication like kidney problems it is a completely pointless vaccine. The vaccine is made purely on a guess to which strain of the flu virus will be prevalent. Given there are 100s of strains and they each evolve there is no way to know for certain if the vaccine you have made is for the correct strain or for the correct evolution path of that particular strain of the flu virus. You could have the vaccine and still get flu because you catch a different strain to the one you were vaccinated against. In some years the vaccine has only been effective in less than 1% of those who had it and in others less than 10%. It isn’t like MMR or meningitis the flu virus mutates and evolves and there are 100s of them so you play guess work on how the virus evolved previously to what it may do in the future in order to make the vaccine.” – This Day I Love 

Because it’s autism or potentially far worse

“Our twins are coming up to 16 so were vaccinated right at the time Andrew Wakefield’s report was blowing up. Lots of other parents chose not to vaccinate or pay privately for separate measles, mumps and rubella jabs. I decided that I would much rather my children be autistic than suffer the horrendous consequences that can happen with these diseases. All five of mine have now been fully vaccinated and only one is on the spectrum.”- Mami 2 Five

Because it shouldn’t be a choice

“I would never even consider not vaccinating my boy or any future little Amphletts. I actually didn’t realise parents do refuse to allow their children to be vaccinated before I became a mama & I can’t understand why you would take that risk. A generation ago these diseases were extremely rare because everyone was vaccinated, now they’re more common, which proves to me the vaccine is effective. I don’t think it should be a choice, if everyone was vaccinated then there is a greater chance that the diseases will be eradicated.” – The Amphletts 

Did you opt to have your children vaccinated? What were your reasons for doing so? Or perhaps you are a parent who is either undecided or has chosen not to? Do leave a comment below.

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16 comments

  1. I absolutely agree vaccinating protects us all with herd immunity, and the risks far out weight the alternative and severity of the diseases that these vaccinations protect against. I wrote some posts on it last year when H had her one year jags. Including one of that Andrew Wakefield research and why it was appalling and not really research in my opinion (http://www.newmummyblog.com/the-mmr-vaccine-and-autism-12-children-is-not-enough/ ).

  2. This is so interesting Talya! We did decide to have Megan’s booster jab in the end. She had it a few weeks ago and it was done in hospital in a controlled environment and touch wood, she has been fine. Thank you for including my comment. xx

  3. Lovely to hear all the reasons: I think protecting your children and others is SOOOOO important. All of mine have/will be vaccinated. Thank you for all the positivity in this post, I hope it reassures and persuades parents who are considering their options.

  4. I don’t have children but I agree that I wouldn’t take the risk and no vaccinate them. I’d rather make the decision to vaccinate and it come from a place where I wanted to do the best for my child, rather than not and something to happen to the child.

  5. All my children have been vaccinated despite my eldest having a horrible reaction to it as a toddler. It is so important to keep these nasty illnesses at bay

  6. That’s really interesting. I think there are dangers but as the above states, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

  7. Both of my children are vaccinated. The positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to vaccinations, so it’s for the greater good, not just for my kids, but the people they come into contact with too.

  8. We opted to vaccinate and I have to admit it never even occurred to me not to. I figure the benefits outweigh the risks xx

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