Flu Vaccination or Not??!?

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e-Maternity

Registered User
Flu season is coming up again. I have a 2.5 year old at home who goes to school and a 1 year old. Some mothers say I should give my older son the flu vaccination to prevent him from picking up nasty viruses from school and giving it to his younger brother. Is that true? Do the pros out weigh the cons???
 
You can give the vaccination to the 1 year old as well if you're worried about him. The vaccine is suitable for that age too.

I've never bothered with the flu vaccine before, but my 3 month old has some breathing difficulties and as she is too young to be vaccinated, I'm making sure my whole family is being vaccinated in order to protect her. It does work like that - particularly for babies. They're most likely to catch something from their family since they don't do much socialising of their own ;)

I personally think that the pros outweigh the cons - I've had influenza before (the real influenza, not just a mild cold) and it is a nasty thing to have. I'd hate for my kids to have to get that!! Particularly my baby. And while I haven't gotten it before now, I think I'm going to start. I want to do it every year now - at least til my kids are older and stronger...
 
We're a family against the flu vaccination.

Our child is 4.5 and has been going to playgroups since he was 1. We've had no major dramas nor any regular onset of the flu. He does take Vit C capsules, gets lots of sleep and runs in the sun (at least 10 minutes a day) for his Vit D. And, he gets lots of exercise and lots of fruits and vegetables in his diet too. His doctor says that his immune system is pretty darn good as even when he caught HFMD, he had a mild reaction. In general, he is quick to recover from any flu/cold he gets.

We have a newborn and when I was down with the flu (last week), she showed no signs of it either. Her immune system seems to be fine and when her brother had HFMD, she didn't catch it either. So we'll be going down that same road - No flu vaccinations.

We made an informed decision (looked at the ingredients and didn't like it, read up on side effects and also, my own personal reaction to the flu vaccination) and decided that it's best for our children to build their own immune system. We do not leave it to chance as we do ensure that their diet and lifestyle are healthy with lots of Vit D and Vit C!

Good Luck with your decision!
 
Just wanted to add - it's not one or the other (vaccination OR building up your immune system) - you can do both. We're a pretty healthy family - except my husband's having a pretty bad year with illnesses one after the other - but USUALLY we never get sick, never anything more than a mild cold. In fact, even without the flu vaccine, I've never caught the "real" flu more than just that one time.

I think there's a lot of "hoo ha" about the negatives of the flu vaccine (and vaccinations in general) - but you've gotta look into it for yourself and make your own decision. But whatever you do, it's always a good thing to try and naturally build up your immune system and that of your kids. Make sure you all get enough sleep and that you eat healthy. That's the best way to build up your immune system :)
 
Thanks for all your helpful advice. My kids are often sick for some reason I haven't figured out why. They eat well and run around alot too. They sleep relatively well too. So, that's why I'm considering the flu shot (despite the cons attached to it). I've also been giving my older kid vitamin gummy bears and my younger son vitamin drops in his water. But, it still hasn't boosted up their immune system.

The Quasimother, you mentioned that you give your kids Vit C capsules. Where do u get those for kids? My older son in 2.5 yo.
 
e-Maternity

I agree with Nic. You could do both :-)

When he was little, we didn't give him Vit C capsules.
We started with Scotts Emulsion (the Orange version) which is Cod's Liver Oil with Vit C. When he turned 4, we used Redoxon - two tablets once a day.
 
Our whole family, including our domestic helper, gets flu shots every year. They still pick up the occasional bug, but with 5 adults and soon-to-be three children in our extended household, they don't pass them to each other as much.
 
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