Would You Make Your Kid Sick on Purpose???

This was the norm when I was a kid too, we didn't have vaccines. I was born in Dec 1954 just before the last really bad polio epidemic. My Mom kept us home and away from crowds. The vaccine came out a few years later.
My Mom was in her late 20's or early 30's when she got mumps from her neice and she was really sick with them. A few of her siblings got the childhood diseases from their kids.
I don't understand not vaccinating but then I remember kids who went blind or deaf from measels or scarlet fever. I would rather vaccinate.

hey i saw the same news story lol. or at least i saw the teaser for it, last night. i am a mom who vaccinates, and i am also a mom who has mixed feelings - i VERY much think that we are making things worse, not better, by sanitizing everything (i rarely use sanitizer) and innoculating against everything, etc....but no, i would absolutely not ever deliberately set out to get my kid sick. i wish i had caught the entire story. i would really be interested to see if there is any grain of reason to their argument....

no - I would not - if you are going to expose them to the sickness, you might as well just vaccinate them. just my opinion.....

I find the "Germ Parties" to be very, very irresponsible. These illnesses are nothing to sneeze at (please pardon the pun). Chicken pox, measles, mumps, rubella, and other illnesses can actually cause some pretty serious damage. One of my nieces had a varicella pock on the iris of her eye and basically has a hole in her iris because of it. She has to wear glasses because there's nothing that can be done to repair it. Varicella (chicken pox) can also cause severe damage to inner organs and even be found coating the inside of the throat making it difficult to breath. That's just one example.

It's far more dangerous not to vaccinate than to vaccinate unless there's a legitimate medical reason not to. Some people have severe egg allergies and can't have the vaccines with an egg white base to them. Some people are allergic or compromised in other ways and simply can't take the vaccines, and thus rely on the vast majority of people who do vaccinate for their own health and safety.

Luckily it's been scientifically proven repeatedly that Andrew Wakefield was a fraud and released 100% inaccurate information on such a scale as to be considered a worldwide fraud with his supposed "link" and "causation" to Autism Spectrum Disorder. Hopefully the world and parenting communities will recover from the damage that hack did and those who refuse to vaccinate will reconsider at least vaccinating on a staggered schedule (which many, many pediatricians recommend and enact on their own anyway).

Edited to add: Mercury is no longer used in vaccinations. Thimiserol (sp?) has been phased out (or is being phased out), and vaccines that had it were only in trace amounts that could not be considered harmful. I trust the vaccines. And yes, I have a daughter with Autism. She showed signs of Autism at birth before ever receiving a single vaccine and in fact her behavior in the womb is much like it is today (shying away from touch, noise, too much stimuli, etc).

I feel sad that so many people on here are so mis-informed about the relationship of chicken pox and shingles. They are both caused by the SAME VIRUS. WHen you are exposed to the varicella zoster virus, you develop chicken pox as a child. Your immune system fights the virus and it will eventually go dormant in THE CELLS OF YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM!! Once infected, the virus is in your body forever. Then when you get older or if you end up with a compromised immune system (like if you get HIV or are on immunosuppressants) the virus can re-activate and manifest as shingles. So, PREVENTING infection with the varicella virus in the first place is the only way to prevent shingles. Hence, we have developed the vaccine. Getting infected with the varicella virus INCREASES your chance of shingles. You can't prevent shingles by giving someone chicken pox!!!

I'm 63, and when I was a child, chicken pox and measles parties were fairly common as a way to build immunity early in childhood, while those illnesses tended to have milder symptoms. Many modern vaccines were not yet available, and I'm guessing this also happened more often among families who were not financially able to provide medical care for their families, and among people who were less educated about the advantages of vaccines.

My little sisters and I were exposed to chicken pox and mumps deliberately. My mother was divorced and struggling to make ends meet, and needed us to all be sick at the same time so she wouldn't have to miss as much work. All of us came through okay, but I would not be inclined to expose my own child in this way.

I've watched the vaccine debates for years now, and done plenty of research on the claims on both sides. I'm pretty convinced that vaccines are considerably safer, and often less scarring or subject to secondary effects than illness. Lots of kids became very seriously ill from common childhood diseases when I was little, some ended up in hospitals, and some probably died, more than likely at a much higher rate than happens with vaccines today.

Vaccines are not guaranteed to stimulate antibody protection for every recipient – some people simply don't produce antibodies at a level needed to ward off that disease in the future. But the actual illnesses probably won't stimulate any better protection, plus the child has the discomforts and dangers of the illness to deal with. In general, vaccines are much safer than getting sick, and in general, they do protect most recipients for a good, long time.

I'm not convinced that they increase the likelihood of kids getting autism, because all studies show that unvaccinated kids get autism at the same rate as vaccinated kids do. There's an unfortunate association, both because of some falsified reserch that has since been discounted, and because many vaccines are given at the same time in early childhood development that autism is noticed and diagnosed. But there is so much uproar on the internet over the supposed connection, and many parents have been scared out of giving their children vaccines.

Twisted thinking. Plain & simple.

Fools. That is completely, utterly stupid. It angers me.
Seriously, this post chapped my hide. Not the poster, but thinking about those stupid parties. I remember in TX when they had the big swine flu scare, scared people could die from it with little warning because it looked like well, a cold......there were parents hosting swine flu parties too. Just beyond stupid. I promise I would call CPS on anyone that was involved in a party like that. I don't know what the law or their rights are, but I would call anyway. And (referencing one of the replies here), if someone was my "friend" and wasn't going to tell me about being involved in one and was going to come to my house, with my kids, without talking to me about it, that could very well become a physical altercation because they are putting my children's physical wellbeing at risk. They would never be considered friends again.
For the people that say the vaccine doesn't work: how many people do you see running around with pox now, compared to 50 years ago? Don't be stupid. And my husband just got over bell's palsy (he looked like a stroke victim! it affected his work, self esteem, caused stress in the family, his ear and head hurt really bad, his face was PARALYZED for crying out loud)----this is BECAUSE OF THE CHICKENPOX he had as a kid. Shingles caused the palsy, because his immune system was weakened from stress at work and being tired. Well guess what, that's life. At some point, we will be tired and stressed. So giving your child a live virus not only causes pain and misery while they're sick with pox, but decades later, it's still there and comes out in other ways. (The chicken pox virus, once caught, never leaves your system, could possibly turn into shingles, which in my husband's case caused bell's palsy as well). At least the vaccine is DEAD and won't make them sick. There may be some freak chance that someone might have a reaction to it, but look at the t h o u s a n d s of us that get the vaccine, and how many of us don't get pox, don't get shingles, don't have freak side effects. Thank goodness for the vaccine. Another one: polio. My old roommate's mother has polio because her mother didn't feel "the need" to give it to her. She has a freaking crippling disease! She can walk with those canes that strap to your arms, on a GOOD day. A disease that has been nearly wiped out in our part of the world because of the vaccine---who sees polio anymore? But she has suffered for 30 years because of a stupid decision her mother made to not give her a shot. Please.
For the record, I understand the decision to refrain from the hpv vaccine because it's a std and preventable...whatever. But for things you can't prevent or control?

wish my mother had taken me to a chicken pox party when I was little, but instead me and my sister's got in in our teens and nearly died from the severity of the symptoms. (to my mother's credit she actually did try to expose us, but we didn't catch it). FIY most mothers of our mother's generation did try and expose us so we got it out of the way while young. They just didn't call it a "party" Its ancient wisdom renamed and its not new. Obviously, we are talking about chicken pox not polio here people. If chicken pox is in your future, better to get a light case when young than a bad case when an adult.

The idea of immunization is to do a controlled exposure to a virus in order to trigger immunity and provide long-term protection from dangerous diseases. Chickenpox parties and chickenpox vaccination are both ways to do this. Each has different risks and advantages.

Vaccination: intentionally exposing your child to a weakened virus via injection. It is quick, easy, and has a lower risk of complications. However, it often does not produce lifetime immunity, which means children will be vulnerable to chickenpox as adults. Chickenpox in adults is a very serious illness.

Chickenpox party: intentionally exposing your healthy child to a known virus via ingestion/inhalation. It is not quick or easy, and requires a long commitment to quarantine *before* spots erupt. A single exposure to chickenpox generally results in a mild case in healthy children, though there are occasionally complications. However, almost all children who have a case of chickenpox in childhood are immune for life.

My analysis:
If your primary concern is keeping your child from being uncomfortable right now and you have minimal concerns about the vaccine, the chickenpox vaccine is the way to go. It is also excellent for people at high risk for chickenpox complications. You should know, though, that your child will be at increased risk of chickenpox as an adult.

If your child is healthy and strong and you are willing to practice quarantine, a chickenpox party will give your child a lifetime of protection. Assuming they catch it, that is. I have friends who have tried three times, with no luck. Chickenpox parties are not appropriate for anyone taking steroid medication, has any form of immunosuppression, or is not prepared to keep careful quarantine.

Chickenpox is a mild disease in children and a serious disease in adults. I am not worried about my children getting chickenpox as kids. I am terrified that they will get it as adults.

I will intentionally expose my child to uncomfortable situations in order to protect his *lifelong* health and well being. In the case of tetanus, that means dealing with injections and a few days of a sore arm. In the case of chickenpox, that means dealing with a few days of itchy spots.

Both of these are responsible decisions.

I just want to chime in on the whole "actually getting chicken pox as a child gives you immunity from shingles as an adult" fallacy. WRONG WRONG WRONG.

Shingles is the EXACT SAME virus that is expressed differently after having been hiding in the nervous system for years. If you get chicken pox, you are potentially getting shingles as an adult. My brother did. My aunt did. My friend did. My husband's friend did. Three of those four were not past the age of 42 when they had shingles. And the aunt had them twice. None of these were vaccinated, but all had chicken pox as children.

Chicken pox parties happen... it actually makes since. Pretty much exaclty what Kathleen said,

"If you get the chicken pox vaccine, it only gives you immunity until adulthood. If you then get the chicken pox as an adult, it is much more dangerous and can become life threatening, and you can also easily contract shingles.
If you do NOT immunize your child for chicken pox and they get the disease, it gives them lifelong immunity to both chicken pox and shingles. BUT, since the vaccine is so regularly administered now, it is hard to find a child who hasn't had it, therefore how will your child be naturally exposed? So, these parents seek out the disease to give their child the immunity, and to make sure it happens in childhood when it is not life threatening rather than risk them getting it as an adult when they could die from it. "

I have heard of this and I personally think it's borderline abusive

We, as a society, need to vaccinate our children and we ourselves need to be vaccinated. For example, individuals who choose not to vaccinate themselves and their children from the whooping cough are putting other people at risk. Why chance it? Why put yourself or other people at risk? It's not worth it.

In response to one of the other writers comments, vaccinations have been around for over 200 years.

People can have adverse reactions to vaccinations, but most people don't. The bigger risk, in my opinion, is allowing viruses and diseases to spread, unnecessarily.

Why wouldn't this be considered child endangerment? Seriously! Our job as parents is to protect our kids. Making them sick for the sake of convenience is just disgusting.

It makes sense to me to purposefully get a child sick if it has serious ramifications if caught during adulthood - chicken pox is a perfect example.

This is what people used to do all the time for chicken pox before the vaccine was available, since having the disease can give you immunity and chicken pox can be deadly to an adult. That said, I see no reason for my kid to suffer the itchiness and fever, nor the scars that the pox can cause when I can just get them the vaccine.

if you don't get the chicken pox's vaccine, for example, then you do want your kid to get the chicken pox's when they are young because when they reach their teens and adulthood it is much worse for the kids/adults and can have many more complications. So really if a person decides they will never vaccinate against it then yes the parties make sense to me when they are young.

I have never heard of this, but if I ever do I will be sure that CPS crashes that party. That is horrendous! Don't expose your child to a deadly virus, people. Vaccinate them instead. End of story.
A.

I am shocked at the responses! OMG, do you all actually believe that getting chicken pox once or doing the vaccine truly ends it all?

NOPE, my son is 14 & has had 2!! full-blown rounds of chicken pox! The 1st was when he was 4 & the 2nd at age 13. These events are both diagnosed & confirmed by the dr & our local health dept. We also believe he's had 2 other rounds in between. The vaccine is not a full 100% answer. Your child can still get it - & you can't depend on it being a mild case!

In both of the "bad" cases, he was SICK! & developed a secondary staph infection....even tho' we followed all precautions. & I want you to know that he is a very healthy, active child. His body simply does not maintain the levels of antibodies required to ward off this bug. We have been advised to consider the shingles vaccine for him at an early adult age....even though it's normally used for older adults. We have also been told that there will be no guarantees with the vaccine.

As for the deliberate exposure to disease.....let's expose those parents to something dreadful & see how they like it! Shame, shame, shame!

Excellent question......

I have never heard of this and I'm with you: appalling!

It's because people don't understand basic immunology.

Well if you are specifically talking about chicken pox, here's the other side of the debate. If you get the chicken pox vaccine, it only gives you immunity until adulthood. If you then get the chicken pox as an adult, it is much more dangerous and can become life threatening, and you can also easily contract shingles.
If you do NOT immunize your child for chicken pox and they get the disease, it gives them lifelong immunity to both chicken pox and shingles. BUT, since the vaccine is so regularly administered now, it is hard to find a child who hasn't had it, therefore how will your child be naturally exposed? So, these parents seek out the disease to give their child the immunity, and to make sure it happens in childhood when it is not life threatening rather than risk them getting it as an adult when they could die from it.

Back in the day when my older two were little I considered this with chicken pox. Then the vaccine came out and that was that.

No one should have chicken pox as an adult, ya know?

Oh not a party just I would turn a blind eye to the fact that pox was running around a friends family.

these used to be the 'norm' when I was growing up...

I have heard of these. I think they are silly. I am a person though that has done vaccines. I am not someone who would feel ok giving my kids any kind of illness unless they come done with it naturally. I think choosing to not vaccine is one thing. To not vaccine and expose you kid to something dangerous is careless. They can become very ill. If you dont get help when they first start showing signs of trouble, it could be too late by the time you do know something is going on. Fevers that linger too long can cause unrepairable damage.

I would never do that. My lil is sick so often as it is I wouldn't do it on purpose. To me that's like letting them get hurt and not trying to help prevent it!

My Mother did this with me (chicken pox) but I made sure my daughter was vaccinated. They've found out within the last decade that if you have HAD chicken pox, you are more likely to get shingles as an adult or elderly adult. Vaccinated adults generally do not get shingles.

What!?! That is OUTRAGEOUS! What is this world coming to, seriously...

I think it's wrong enough not to vaccinate, but I won't get into THAT.

This is just... horrible.

Have you read up on what chickenpox does to an adult? Months of illness and not being able to work vs. 1 week sick with fevers? Um.... 1 week is better. I would be doing this if the vac had not been invented, same with german measles (if a girl is pregnant and gets german measles it causes an miscarriage even in the 9th month...).

I missed this show. But I know who was interviewed. They are a relative of a friend of mine. It's crazy.

My mom didn't dissuade us from going to play when a neighbor girl had chicken pox, but we ultimately got them when they hit the school. It used to be that if one kid got measles, you had them hang out because there was no other option for immunity.

Not for us, personally. I stretched out the vaccines, but I see no reason for my kid to experience measles personally.

I believe in vaccinating in a more spread out manner than the standard schedule, especially not giving too many vaccines at once. But keep in mind medicine has advanced a LOT in the last 75 years. When my grandparents graduated nursing school in about 1940 there were no vaccines and no antibiotics at all (take a moment and think about that!). Before there were vaccines it made sense to have some illnesses as a child because they were less serious than the same illness in an adult (for example Chicken Pox in children is less serious than Shingles in a teen or adult and Rubella is most dangerous for pregnant women).

Also, science is not always exact and some people believe that the immunity from a vaccine is not the same or not as strong as an immunity acquired by having an illness. In addition not all vaccines are the same nor are all diseases. Some of the first vaccines have been around for decades, are well tested and we have a good understanding of how they work (Polio, DPT, MMR) and those tend to be the more serious illnesses. But once those vaccines were new and people sometimes got the disease from the experimental vaccine. So I do have reservations about some of the newer vaccines and how well they have been tested so far. Sometimes you have to look at the whole picture to make the best decision for your child (how new is the vaccine, what are the risks of being exposed to the illness, how serious is the illness, etc.)

First I will say that I never took a child to a disease party. There does seem to be a natural instinct to avoid such things. But, that same instinct should tell us to avoid the dangerous toxins in the vaccines as well. But, so many people make statements about these issues that are not based in factual knowledge. There are a number of beliefs that are popularly expressed with religious fervor. Even congress has admitted that the CDC and IOM studies trying to convince the public of the safety and effectiveness of vaccines were so obviously distorted that the public can no longer trust them. We have truly come to a point at which we must, as responsible parents, take responsibility to be truly educated on the subject. Why would anyone assume that if the virus is introduce via the vaccine, the virus would not be able to lay dormant and awaken later in life as shingles? Wether one has experienced the full immune response to the virus or the distorted response to the virus when introduced through a needle, the virus has been introduced into the body.

From what I have come to understand about the nature of some common early childhood diseases is that they actually help the child to develop the necessary immune functions to keep them healthy throughout their lives. When a virus that should be first introduced by external contact is first presented via common contact, the immune system learns when and how to respond in appropriate stages. Going through the process of developing a full immune response can only happen when the child is allowed to experience the illness. This way the body develops the skills to respond to and negotiate the elimination of the virus.

When a contact disease is introduced as a weakened virus directly into the bloodstream, the body does not have the same opportunity to develop a natural and healthy immune system. Along with the A-typical introduction of the disease agent that induces the body to feverishly created a distorted immune response, the vaccine also introduces several toxic ingredients that also artificially distorts the immune system. These artificial distortions and reactions to toxic ingredients can certainly result in auto-immune disorders, in allergies and environmental sensitivities, or neurological developmental disorders and learning disabilities.

So, to say it simply, kids need to get sick in order to train the immune system so it will respond in a healthy way throughout life. Parents often do this so that their children are strengthened. But, they also do it so that they can have some proof that the child has developed a natural immunity and no one can find any logical reason to try to force the parents to expose the child to another toxic vaccine.

So, these are the 3 wisdoms behind this practice which appears so odd to you and does cause most of us to cringe.

After more than 25 years of studying the reasoning and facts of the practice of vaccination, I am still amazed at how much popular misinformation is so easily accepted by parents who are willing to speak out as if they have actually studied these things and they know. People often speak out with conviction of belief which they cannot explain.

I do not believe the truth is that hard to understand. If we were devoted to the truth on this topic, there would no longer be any controversy. But there is so very much the masses do not actually know. There is much that many doctors who give the vaccines do not actually know about them.

For the sake of our children, I do hope we can decide to dedicate ourselves to finding and completely exposing the truth.

We had our own party back in 1975. I got "chicken pops" in first grade, gave it to my little sister and then she gave it to the middle sister. It was a hot mess for almost six weeks.

I remember sitting at home going thru my Valentine's on my bedroom floor crying and ITCHING. I did get some cupcakes sent home (the REAL kind, made by moms!)

From my understanding adults have a much harder time with chicken pox than kids ... infact when my sister's and I got it my dad left and stayed in a hotel for the whole time since he never had it as a kid... for that reason, I am not against the idea.

I havent heard of the partys in which you speak, but I exposed my kids to chicken pox on purpose when the neighbor kids had them, just to get it over with before they were school age.

This is craziness! Those poor kids what if one of them dies as a result of the illness their parents force them to get..I thought the point of not vaccinating was because it was safer or something? Am I wrong? I vaccinated my kids so I don't usually read up on not vaccinating I have enough to worry about with my own children so I don't have time to think about what other parents are doing or not doing with theirs..but these parties sound disturbing.

Sounds stupid and absurd, with good intentions I assume but bad way to go about it. If they get sick on their own, no problem, but why have a party to MAKE them get sick...what a risk - just my 2 cents

That makes me so sick to my stomach to even think about! How awful for these children. What is wrong with people?

I would not. My niece and her friends did so all the kids would be sick and needy at the same time and then they could move on. Of course, she griped that the hospital expected to be paid for the care they ended up needing.

no I wouldnt. It was common thought to do this with chicken pox, before the vaccine. (that vaccine is still relatively "new", didnt exist with my older girls.) I kind of wish my mother had gotten me exposed to chicken pox, I got it when my oldest brought it home in grade 1. Grrr I was 21 & got very sick.

I have heard of this.

No, I would not participate, per my kids.

I as well believe in vaccinating children when they are do. This doesn't actually mean that your child(ren) will not get what is going around it just means that they have the immunity to fight it off. Nor do I feel that every parent as yourself have their child(ren) vaccinated. That is their choice. What appauls me is why would a parent actually want their child to catch whatever they are not vaccinated for. This is cruel to the child(ren). This is not an action in which they can decide upon themselves'. Putting your child at risk of catching lets' say "chicken pocks". Why would a parent of such introduce their child(ren) to this knowing full well that these child(ren) are going to be much worse off than the child that was vaccinated. Even if your child(ren) have had the vaccine would you just allow them to be with those that are sick. Most parent(s) would keep that child(ren) away from the infected child to avoid being contaminated. When this child learns' later in their lives that "no" my parents didn't vaccinate me, and why didn't they. Why would they expose me to such diseases'. I myself would feel that this child(ren) would be somewhat upset at the fact that their parent(s) did this to them. Do parent(s) not realize that if their child(ren) had the vaccine for prevention again we will bring the topic up of "chicken pocks". This being said if they didn't have this done this child(ren) are suseptable to shingles at a later date. Not something that is pretty nor easy to rid them of it, or even possibly causing death. To myself I would say that they have both mentally and physically abused this child(ren). This is so unfair to them. As mentioned previously they had no say in the matter when they were infants'. How would this parent(s) feel if they lost a child(ren) due to their state of mind and thoughts. To walk your child(ren) into an area that they know that their child(ren) has not been vaccinated for, just to catch it, this is absurd. I understand that yes there are vaccines that you would definetly have some reservations about but to not have any vaccines is wrong. With this parent(s) do they not realize the risks' involved. I'm sorry to have to say that their is something wrong on their part. Even when a child is vaccinated you dont' waltz that child(ren) into a friends' home just to say "oh well" they will get it and it will be over and done with "Wrong". I really dont' understand this new population of parent(s) and why they dont' converse with their Dr's. As well if a child is not vaccinated a school can actually say "sorry" but your child has to have these vaccines in order to attend our School. So in this sense they have to go shopping for a school that will take them. I honestly dont' know where this world is going to. Do these parent(s) tell their children as well that they can do what they want, when they want and learn lifes' lessons' on their own? Again I have to ask, what is happening to our Society now adays'. I guess to each's own but I certainly would not have not had my children vaccinated just to see how hard their poor little systems reacted. I need no comment back, as I said to eachs' own, we need not raise their children, they do!!

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I as well believe in vaccinating children when they are do. This doesn't actually mean that your child(ren) will not get what is going around it just means that they have the immunity to fight it off. Nor do I feel that every parent as yourself have their child(ren) vaccinated. That is their choice. What appauls me is why would a parent actually want their child to catch whatever they are not vaccinated for. This is cruel to the child(ren). This is not an action in which they can decide upon themselves'. Putting your child at risk of catching lets' say "chicken pocks". Why would a parent of such introduce their child(ren) to this knowing full well that these child(ren) are going to be much worse off than the child that was vaccinated. Even if your child(ren) have had the vaccine would you just allow them to be with those that are sick. Most parent(s) would keep that child(ren) away from the infected child to avoid being contaminated. When this child learns' later in their lives that "no" my parents didn't vaccinate me, and why didn't they. Why would they expose me to such diseases'. I myself would feel that this child(ren) would be somewhat upset at the fact that their parent(s) did this to them. Do parent(s) not realize that if their child(ren) had the vaccine for prevention again we will bring the topic up of "chicken pocks". This being said if they didn't have this done this child(ren) are suseptable to shingles at a later date. Not something that is pretty nor easy to rid them of it, or even possibly causing death. To myself I would say that they have both mentally and physically abused this child(ren). This is so unfair to them. As mentioned previously they had no say in the matter when they were infants'. How would this parent(s) feel if they lost a child(ren) due to their state of mind and thoughts. To walk your child(ren) into an area that they know that their child(ren) has not been vaccinated for, just to catch it, this is absurd. I understand that yes there are vaccines that you would definetly have some reservations about but to not have any vaccines is wrong. With this parent(s) do they not realize the risks' involved. I'm sorry to have to say that their is something wrong on their part. Even when a child is vaccinated you dont' waltz that child(ren) into a friends' home just to say "oh well" they will get it and it will be over and done with "Wrong". I really dont' understand this new population of parent(s) and why they dont' converse with their Dr's. As well if a child is not vaccinated a school can actually say "sorry" but your child has to have these vaccines in order to attend our School. So in this sense they have to go shopping for a school that will take them. I honestly dont' know where this world is going to. Do these parent(s) tell their children as well that they can do what they want, when they want and learn lifes' lessons' on their own? Again I have to ask, what is happening to our Society now adays'. I guess to each's own but I certainly would not have not had my children vaccinated just to see how hard their poor little systems reacted. I need no comment back, as I said to eachs' own, we need not raise their children, they do!!

Updated

I as well believe in vaccinating children when they are do. This doesn't actually mean that your child(ren) will not get what is going around it just means that they have the immunity to fight it off. Nor do I feel that every parent as yourself have their child(ren) vaccinated. That is their choice. What appauls me is why would a parent actually want their child to catch whatever they are not vaccinated for. This is cruel to the child(ren). This is not an action in which they can decide upon themselves'. Putting your child at risk of catching lets' say "chicken pocks". Why would a parent of such introduce their child(ren) to this knowing full well that these child(ren) are going to be much worse off than the child that was vaccinated. Even if your child(ren) have had the vaccine would you just allow them to be with those that are sick. Most parent(s) would keep that child(ren) away from the infected child to avoid being contaminated. When this child learns' later in their lives that "no" my parents didn't vaccinate me, and why didn't they. Why would they expose me to such diseases'. I myself would feel that this child(ren) would be somewhat upset at the fact that their parent(s) did this to them. Do parent(s) not realize that if their child(ren) had the vaccine for prevention again we will bring the topic up of "chicken pocks". This being said if they didn't have this done this child(ren) are suseptable to shingles at a later date. Not something that is pretty nor easy to rid them of it, or even possibly causing death. To myself I would say that they have both mentally and physically abused this child(ren). This is so unfair to them. As mentioned previously they had no say in the matter when they were infants'. How would this parent(s) feel if they lost a child(ren) due to their state of mind and thoughts. To walk your child(ren) into an area that they know that their child(ren) has not been vaccinated for, just to catch it, this is absurd. I understand that yes there are vaccines that you would definetly have some reservations about but to not have any vaccines is wrong. With this parent(s) do they not realize the risks' involved. I'm sorry to have to say that their is something wrong on their part. Even when a child is vaccinated you dont' waltz that child(ren) into a friends' home just to say "oh well" they will get it and it will be over and done with "Wrong". I really dont' understand this new population of parent(s) and why they dont' converse with their Dr's. As well if a child is not vaccinated a school can actually say "sorry" but your child has to have these vaccines in order to attend our School. So in this sense they have to go shopping for a school that will take them. I honestly dont' know where this world is going to. Do these parent(s) tell their children as well that they can do what they want, when they want and learn lifes' lessons' on their own? Again I have to ask, what is happening to our Society now adays'. I guess to each's own but I certainly would not have not had my children vaccinated just to see how hard their poor little systems reacted. I need no comment back, as I said to eachs' own, we need not raise their children, they do!!

Updated

I as well believe in vaccinating children when they are do. This doesn't actually mean that your child(ren) will not get what is going around it just means that they have the immunity to fight it off. Nor do I feel that every parent as yourself have their child(ren) vaccinated. That is their choice. What appauls me is why would a parent actually want their child to catch whatever they are not vaccinated for. This is cruel to the child(ren). This is not an action in which they can decide upon themselves'. Putting your child at risk of catching lets' say "chicken pocks". Why would a parent of such introduce their child(ren) to this knowing full well that these child(ren) are going to be much worse off than the child that was vaccinated. Even if your child(ren) have had the vaccine would you just allow them to be with those that are sick. Most parent(s) would keep that child(ren) away from the infected child to avoid being contaminated. When this child learns' later in their lives that "no" my parents didn't vaccinate me, and why didn't they. Why would they expose me to such diseases'. I myself would feel that this child(ren) would be somewhat upset at the fact that their parent(s) did this to them. Do parent(s) not realize that if their child(ren) had the vaccine for prevention again we will bring the topic up of "chicken pocks". This being said if they didn't have this done this child(ren) are suseptable to shingles at a later date. Not something that is pretty nor easy to rid them of it, or even possibly causing death. To myself I would say that they have both mentally and physically abused this child(ren). This is so unfair to them. As mentioned previously they had no say in the matter when they were infants'. How would this parent(s) feel if they lost a child(ren) due to their state of mind and thoughts. To walk your child(ren) into an area that they know that their child(ren) has not been vaccinated for, just to catch it, this is absurd. I understand that yes there are vaccines that you would definetly have some reservations about but to not have any vaccines is wrong. With this parent(s) do they not realize the risks' involved. I'm sorry to have to say that their is something wrong on their part. Even when a child is vaccinated you dont' waltz that child(ren) into a friends' home just to say "oh well" they will get it and it will be over and done with "Wrong". I really dont' understand this new population of parent(s) and why they dont' converse with their Dr's. As well if a child is not vaccinated a school can actually say "sorry" but your child has to have these vaccines in order to attend our School. So in this sense they have to go shopping for a school that will take them. I honestly dont' know where this world is going to. Do these parent(s) tell their children as well that they can do what they want, when they want and learn lifes' lessons' on their own? Again I have to ask, what is happening to our Society now adays'. I guess to each's own but I certainly would not have not had my children vaccinated just to see how hard their poor little systems reacted. I need no comment back, as I said to eachs' own, we need not raise their children, they do!!

My kids are not vaccinated because the research I did convinced me that they would be healthier without the vaccinations. If you have never researched the topic, you might want to do so. My kids are age 16 through 22 now, and have always been the healthiest kids around. My eldest one had rubeola (measles) as a child, and all of them had chicken pox.

I have never purposely exposed my kids to others who have contracted a childhood disease; however, I completely understand why some families choose that option. Childhood diseases are almost always mild when experienced during childhood, but they can be much more serious when contracted at an older age. Families who choose to take their kids to this type of party are doing what they feel is best for their children. They've looked at the possible dangers of vaccinations and chosen the disease over the vaccination. I'm willing to bet that their children will have much healthier immune systems than their vaccinated friends, and that will pay dividends for the rest of their lives.

Hope that helps you see this in a different light!

I guess everyone has their reasons... although I'm sure I would never understand them in this particular scenario.

I understand not vaccinating, but why put your child at risk for illness? Especially an illness that's not very common anymore?

Not defendint it but the reason they do this is contracting Chicken Pox when you are young doesn't have as many possible complications as catching it as an adult for most people and this doesn't naturally happen as much as it did when I was little. As others have stated, it's different per person. When my brother and I were young I had a mild case of it. His was much worse but not as bad as it can be for some. He gets shingles so I don't think having Chicken Pox keeps you from getting Shingles or not for everyone. Also as Dawn mentioned some people can get Chicken Pox more than once and not really have gained an immunity to it the first go 'round. I'd have to check the schedule again but the thing I worry about is a young adults not getting the booster and getting really sick. I was pretty responsible as a young adult but if it interfered with going to class, studying or taking tests I would have procrastinated about it thinking it wasn't that big of a deal. Someone might remember the timing of this as my brain is fried and I don't want to look it up so ;-). Around here Who needs a sick party these days as people tend to work when they are sick, take their kids places but that's a whole other post and rant. Take care all!

welllllllllllll.... each time one of my daughters gets sick I always think to myself (privately, confidentially) that I can relate to mothers with munchausen bc... i mean. seriously!!!! they are SO cute when they're lethargic! (am I right? orrrrr.... am I right?)

Ugh, they snuggle me. They are QUIET. and they're just so sweet.
thought I hate it so much when they have fevers and can't eat and I just want them to feel GOOD, I certainly loooooooove the peaceful snuggle time I get. Ugh... it's definitely an emotional and moral struggle!!! LOL

okay onto your point...
not sure if I have a real opinion on that. I cannot relate to ppl who do not vaccinate so I certainly cannot judge other things they do. I would hope they do these things with good intentions and lots of research and education and practice much safety.

that is my hope.

and I hope this is balanced with good nutrition and safe homes.
yikes, that's all.

No way I would purposely expose my daughter to some illness so she could get it over with. Sick and twisted in my mind.

FYI, my daughter did get the pox vaccine the year it came out. I was a little apprehensive about the vaccine but we approved it and did it. When she turned 10, she got sick and I didn't know what was wrong, no fever, etc. I sent her to school and later that day the school nurse informed me that we just exposed her class to the pox. At that time, they did not know a booster shot was needed 10 yrs later! Since she had a mild case at 10, she does not have to get any boosters.

The only vaccine we have refused is the Guardisil one for HPV. No way am I exposing her to an unknown vaccine like that.

I have never heard of this! Can you post a link with the story?

:)

Any parent exposing their children needlessly to illness are downright sick people!! Sick!

I vaccinate my kids too, but from what I have read they don't really know yet what exactly can happen to a person who has been vaccinated for chicken pox as a child/baby. When that child grows up they do not know if that person will continue to be protected from getting chicken pox or if they can then get it as an adult. I hear it is a terrible thing to get shingles when you are older and can be an awful ordeal for some people. Whereas if you catch chicken pox as a young child, people say it is supposed to be mild. I don't know how true this is but they say you are better protected from getting chicken pox again or getting shingles as an adult if you actually catch chicken pox as opposed to the vaccine. I have NO idea how true this is. But that is my guess for why people have chicken pox parties. That and they distrust doctors, they distrust western medicine and they distrust vaccines and what is in them. That is what I have read...in my own summary.

Sarah S. below me :) My thoughts exactly.

That is totally inhuman..I respect other mom's who do not vaccinate their kids even when I actually don't understand it. I had no idea about these "parties" .It is unbelievable!

my daughter had chicken pox when I was pregnant with my son when she was 2 years old. She then got it again when she was 5 years old (both time confirmed by a dr.). My son was 2 at the time and I was REALLY hoping he would get it also but he didn't. I refuse to have him get the vax for it. He is up to date on all other vax's except for prevnar because he had an allergic reaction to it so he can't finish it. We now just moved to a state where you have to have the vax. There is no waiver (said the schools, but I'm not fully believing that). But, if I have to, I will homeschool him just so he doesn't have to get that 1 vax. It doesn't work and it's a terrible thing to get it as an adult

http://mothering.com/health/chickenpox-party-developing-n...

long article, but there is a lot of science.

My kids are not vaccinated, and I would consider a chicken pox party. I would also consider their age, health status at the time of the party, etc. My eldest has already been exposed to (not intentionally, btw) rotavirus & we managed it at home. My husband and I are both doctors and have educated ourselves on what these illnesses look like, how to treat them at home, and when to seek medical care. FWIW, the majority of parents who choose not to vaccinate, or to vaccinate on an alternate schedule, are highly educated (according to the research), typically middle to upper class. I run in a circle of "alternative-minded" parents, but I have only heard of pox parties. Have not heard of this for other illnesses, whether there are vaccines for them or not.

When I got chicken pox my mother let my sister hang out with me and share a spoon so she'd get it too. Chicken pox as a kid is a simple illness and the immunity is for life. If you get it as an adult it's life threatening. So I think chicken pox is a bad example. Back when I was a kid there was no chicken pox shot that my mother can recall. I got all the rest of my shots but chicken pox was a neighborhood event.

Tuberculosis though now that's not something to bring to a party... ;)