First off, let me be clear from the beginning that this is not an opinion piece about whether you should get vaccinations for your children. I’ll tell you where I stand on the topic here shortly, but it’s more for a point of reference so you understand where I’m coming from on the subject; however, anymore when I see people having a debate about childhood vaccinations on Facebook, even though I have kids, I just keep my mouth shut. And you should too, especially if you don’t have kids.
Before I explain my reasoning, let me tell you where I’m coming from. I used to be an anti-vaxxer, at least as far as flu shots were concerned. Not because I had done any research, but just because I was distrustful of the government and thought if I got the flu, I’d get through it. I don’t remember if I had any opinion on childhood vaccinations, but probably not. These were pre-Facebook days, so I doubt the topic even presented itself since I didn’t have children of my own, but if I were to guess, I probably would’ve had a harder time with this one than the flu vaccine. After all, vaccines had pretty much eliminated things like polio and smallpox, right? And I came out okay after getting my own childhood vaccinations. But again, there was that whole “distrustful of the government” thing. However, is being distrustful of the government reason enough to oppose childhood vaccinations? I’ll come back to that.
So that’s where I stood on the issue of vaccinations when I was footloose and fancy free.
Then I had kids. My two beautiful children. That changes the story.
And it also leads me to why I say that regardless of your stance on vaccines, you shouldn’t bother debating other parents about childhood vaccinations. Or at least you shouldn’t waste your energy trying to convince them. Most parents have done their own research and come to their own conclusions about the controversy surrounding childhood vaccinations. There is a world of information out there from any number of varying sources, and parents decide which ones they trust and then make a decision.
It’s a decision made out of love and concern for their children, and most parents are pretty passionate about their stance for that very reason. Unless you have some seriously good information just released by, oh, I dunno, God maybe (or if a parent hasn’t actually done their own research, in which case, for shame), you’re not going to convince most parents to change their minds.
And if you don’t even have children, why are you even trying? Yet so many jump into the debate anyway, which I believe is the modern day equivalent of walking up to two or more people in the midst of a conversation and interrupting with your opinion when no one asked for it.
As with many of the things I would perceive to be social ills, I largely blame Facebook for this phenomenon. To go back to my earlier scenario, back in the days when I didn’t have kids, the question of childhood vaccinations simply wasn’t even on my radar, and although I might have chimed in with an opinion had someone asked, it probably would’ve been followed by, “but it doesn’t really matter what I think because I don’t have kids.”
Such is not the case these days.
I’ve tried to think what the justification might be for this behavior of someone chiming into a debate—often vehemently—with their opinion about childhood vaccinations.
“Well, I may not have children,” some might say, “but I’m just looking out for them.”
Oh, c’mon. I see what you’re writing and the articles you’re linking to, and I’ve seen what you’ve talked about in the past. And I get it, because I see some of my own past in your current behavior. What many of you are talking about isn’t your concern for the children, it’s your conspiracy theories about the government. It’s all a ploy. Or a pharmaceutical plot. They’re just trying to get our money. Well, you don’t have kids; it’s not your money. Problem solved.
“Yeah, but the flu shot is recommended for everyone.”
So don’t get one. But spare me the sentiments. In my former life as a teacher, I worked with—for all intents and purposes, practically lived among—more than 400 kids. In the winter, they are walking factories of contagion. Again, if I didn’t have my own children, I might have taken my chances with my own immune system. But just because you don’t necessarily display symptoms of illness doesn’t mean you’re not a carrier … as in, carrying illness home to your children who still have developing immune systems.
So I got the flu shot. I know it’s not a catch-all, but if it’s going to catch some of the strains—some which might have otherwise been caught by my kids—I’ll do it. Here you go, pharmaceutical companies. Here’s my money. It will be worth the sleep I might have otherwise missed out on with a sick child even if I happened to be completely healthy. If you don’t have a kid, you don’t know.
I realize that even though I said this wasn’t going to be a debate about whether childhood vaccinations were a good thing or not, it’s kind of coming off that way. But I think that’s because it’s more often the anti-vaxxers who will chime in where they’re not asked. You don’t see a lot of Facebook posts by people without kids who are promoting childhood vaccinations. But think about how many times you see anti-vax posts.
I appreciate that you’re trying to look out for all of our best interests by keeping an eye on the government and all, but this is only really about you in a very peripheral sense. So next time you see a childhood vaccinations debate going on, if you don’t have a child, remember this key phrase: “It doesn’t really matter what I think because I don’t have kids.” And move on.
Then come back when you have them. And you can tell me if you chose to get them vaccinated. And even though I may not agree, I won’t debate too much. I will just hope that you at least did your own research and came to an educated decision because you love your kids. And that’s what it’s all about.
