When you find out kids are unvaccinated,

[snipsnsnails]

...how vigilant are you at keeping your kids away? This is assuming your kids don't have a compromised immune system from some other factor.

I just found out some friends are not vaccinating and while I know my kids probably interact routinely with non-vaccinated kids, I have such a block about it. I don't want my kids around it, but I have no idea how rational this is.

Also, what do you do about settings like the church nursery or gym care, if you know those kids go there? Not partake?

[snipsnsnails]

Nope, not flameful, I couldn't believe they were non-vaxxers! It made me think they were a bit kooky or, at the very least, not possessing the greatest judgment.

[Kristinmo]

Jul 25, 2014 12:39:45 GMT -5 snipsnsnails said:

Nope, not flameful, I couldn't believe they were non-vaxxers! It made me think they were a bit kooky or, at the very least, not possessing the greatest judgment.

Is it possible they're not fully informed? I remember that I heard scary things when I was pregnant but then when I did actual research I became EXTREMELY pro-vax.

[bab]

I honestly have not come across this. I don't ask people if their children are vaccinated. I assume most children are. I guess the antivax trend is not big here.

[bab]

Also, my kids ARE vaccinated. Shouldn't this protect them from vaccine preventable disease? I see no reason to shield them from others

[Kristinmo]

Jul 25, 2014 12:51:51 GMT -5 bab said:

Also, my kids ARE vaccinated. Shouldn't this protect them from vaccine preventable disease? I see no reason to shield them from others

There is an expected failure rate.  You can have their blood tested to look for antibodies but short of that there is no way to know if they are actually immune.

[EmilieMadison]

Jul 25, 2014 12:51:51 GMT -5 bab said:

Also, my kids ARE vaccinated. Shouldn't this protect them from vaccine preventable disease? I see no reason to shield them from others

SHOULD it protect them? Yes, that is the hope. But since vaccines are not 100% effective for a variety of reasons, this is one of the reasons that it's so important for everyone to vaccinate. Even immunized children can contract these diseases.

[wavepool]

We don't intentionally spend time with non vax kids. Our pedi advises against it.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using proboards

[snipsnsnails]

Jul 25, 2014 12:42:11 GMT -5 Kristinmo said:

Jul 25, 2014 12:39:45 GMT -5 snipsnsnails said:

Nope, not flameful, I couldn't believe they were non-vaxxers! It made me think they were a bit kooky or, at the very least, not possessing the greatest judgment.

Is it possible they're not fully informed? I remember that I heard scary things when I was pregnant but then when I did actual research I became EXTREMELY pro-vax.

Nah, one half of the couple has definitely looked at all of the research and decided not to vaccinate. Which hacks me off even more than if it were just a case of being under-informed.

[sonrisa]

I don't.

We live in an area with low vaccine compliance. I keep my babies away from everyone (since a vaccinated kid can be a carrier of something vaccines don't address or the vaccine may not have taken). I ask my family to get boosters. I can't control the preschool and playground environments. All I can do is encourage friends who bring up the topic to vaccinate. Luckily I'm fairly granola over all and DH is a doctor so I have a bit of cred with some friends. I pull up local infection rates and talk about keeping my kid safe by vaccinating them. I talk about family members with polio, mumps, rubella, pertussis and the consequences they've suffered. I've swayed a few people so that is good. 

(Our church has a hard time getting families with itty bitty kids so DD is often the only one in the nursery with the nursery worker's daughter. I keep the baby in a carrier with me).

[circa1978]

When my son was going through repeated bouts of pneumonia, I got to the point of asking his daycare to make sure that he wasn't in a classroom with unvaxed kids and we didn't see my cousin who doesn't have her child get anything beyond the very bare minimum. Now that he's been healthy for a year or so and is over the age of 3, I don't worry as much.

[ginger]

M isn't immune compromised, so I don't really shield her, but I'm also just not drawn to the unvaxed world of super-over-the-top crunchy people.

If she was immune compromised, I'd definitely make great strides to protect her.

[malibu]

Whooping cough went around DD's daycare this winter. It started in and continued through a group of vaccinated kids (older, who were further out from their last Tdaps, which apparently makes a difference - none of the younger kids got it, who were within a year or two of their last booster). So while much more unlikely, it's possible for vaccinated kids to still get stuff, I'm way more hesitant to let my kid interact with unvaccinated kids.

Plus, I don't feel like hanging around the parents, who, unless their kid(s) has a medical reason for not being vaccinated, I will assume are complete idiots.  

In essence, I agree fully with @smace.

[cinnamoncox]

Jul 25, 2014 12:46:17 GMT -5 bab said:

I honestly have not come across this. I don't ask people if their children are vaccinated. I assume most children are. I guess the antivax trend is not big here.

Me too. Either I'm oblivious or it just isn't big here, to not vax.
I don't even know how it would come up, no one has ever asked if my kids have their vaccinations and I've certainly not asked other parents.
I suppose I would just see how I liked them otherwise. If they seemed ok I would hang around with them still.
If their crazy kept showing, I'd distance myself.

[junebug]

We have close friends that don't vaccinate and it's something that I really struggle with. I love them otherwise and their reasons for not vaccinating are more uninformed and (in my opinion) lazy. They just seem to put it off and not really think about it. They recently had a scare with measles (turned out to be HFM) and mentioned getting them vaccinated, but I don't know if they'll follow through.

In all honesty, it makes us see them less. I think its irresponsible on their part, and I just don't want to risk exposing DD to anything unnecessarily. I do try to keep in mind that DD IS vaccinated, and that I cant control all the children that she is around all the time, but it really bothers me that they would risk it.

[daisybuchannan]

I haven't been in this situation yet, but it would definitely make me not pursue a friendship. Connor had a lot of breathing problems his first year, so knowingly exposing him isn't something I would do.

Honestly, I don't know of anyone that doesn't vaccinate, but I don't think it's a trend around here. I wouldn't think its a trend in your area either though, so I'm sure I'm just being naive. Don't public schools (across the board) require current vaccination records? I taught at a catholic school and we required it.

[rooster222]

My kids' best friends are not vaccinated. It gave me pause at first but I don't worry too much about it because I assume a lot of kids they are around (school, extracurriculars) may not be vaccinated.

As for the parents, they have explained their reasoning, and while I don't agree, I respect that they have the right to choose and they are otherwise wonderful people.

My kids are also school age, I may be more hesitant if they were very young.

[trixiedicksnatch]

I avoid as much as possible. Cricket is delayed vax becsuse of how sick she was when she was born. So not only does her respiratory distress syndrome put her in a higher risk of some infections diseases I have to vax her 1-2 months after the typical schedule.

It definitely helps my neurotic-ness. :/

[nerdicorn]

I was vaccinated for mumps but still contracted it, and for that reason I am skittish about regularly allowing my kid to be around non-vaccinated kids. I chose a pedi that won't take voluntarily unvaccinated kids, and I plan on finding a preschool that does similar. Your risk is low if you've been vaccinated, but as I learned with catching mumps, vaccines can fail and when they do we rely on herd immunity. I grew up in an area with a big population of religious non-vaxxers and thus was a casualty of that epidemic. I want my kid to be a regular part of the most vaccinated "herd" possible.

I luckily don't have any anti-vax friends, but for me it's a deal breaker. I think not vaccinating isn't just stupid but incredibly negligent and is an anti-social thing. It's one of the few "parenting choices" where I do think it shouldn't even be a choice.

[AdaraMarie]

I would love to keep my kids away from the kids I know are unvaccinated, but it's their cousins and I don't want to start a war with my inlaws

[bab]

Jul 25, 2014 12:56:13 GMT -5 EmilieMadison said:

Jul 25, 2014 12:51:51 GMT -5 bab said:

Also, my kids ARE vaccinated. Shouldn't this protect them from vaccine preventable disease? I see no reason to shield them from others

SHOULD it protect them? Yes, that is the hope. But since vaccines are not 100% effective for a variety of reasons, this is one of the reasons that it's so important for everyone to vaccinate. Even immunized children can contract these diseases.

I understand this. By the same logic, they could be at risk hanging out with a child who was vaccinated but it did not take. I just operate under the assumption that I've done everything in my control to protect them. You never really know who is vaccinated an who isn't when going through your daily life.

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2014 16:19:22 GMT -5 AdaraMarie said:

I would love to keep my kids away from the kids I know are unvaccinated, but it's their cousins and I don't want to start a war with my inlaws

I would think doing what's right for your kid's health would FAR outweigh any fear of a family war.