Parenting Archives - Page 39 of 47


photo by Sanofi Pasteur	via PhotoRee

Today Sky reported that during the first three months of 2011 we had almost as many cases of Measles than we did in the whole of 2010. Worrying figures! The rise is being put down to people not having their children immunised against the disease which can, in cases, be serious enough to cause death.

I am a strong supporter of the Save The Children UK campaign “No Child Is Born To Die“. Campaigners are frantically drumming up support so that vital changes can be made at the Global Immunisation Summit next month. Changes that will literally save millions of lives. Parents in some areas of the world are watching their children die needlessly because vaccinations just aren’t available for them. A sobering thought.

These two cases are world apart and yet my views are conflicted. I firmly believe that children across the globe should have access to these life-saving jabs. I also believe as a parent you have to do what you believe is right for your children. A curious one. The MMR jab became something to be feared after the legendary (and later discredited) paper linking Autism and MMR was published, with some parents opting for single jabs and some deciding not to immunise at all. It was a fraught and worrying time for many parents and in my opinion, the way the whole issue was publicised and poorly handled in some quarters didn’t help. I worked for the National Autistic Society at the time and I can’t tell you the amount of phonecalls we received looking for more information, and in some cases reassurance that parents hadn’t “caused” autism by taking their children to be immunised.

Both of my children have had their jabs, there was never a doubt for me. These potentially life-saving injections are available to my family and we made the decision to follow the NHS program (more info on the NHS program can be found here). This is our choice and the the choice all parents have; but many are now shouting down parents who chose/choose to do differently. Parenting is not cut & dried, and not all choices are easy ones.

This BBC news story may be of interest for anyone who is unaware of what the MMR / Autism debate was about.

It’s a tough one. I campaign for change for those who are crying out for vaccinations, I chose to immunise my boys and support the NHS immunisation scheme, but I am also a Mum and fully understand a parent’s concerns about vaccinations and support their rights to choose what they feel is best. Is there a right answer; a right way forward with this?

A perplexing one for me, so early on a Saturday morning. I’d love to hear your thoughts, did you chose not to vaccinate and are you still happy now with that decision? If you did vaccinate – are you confident now you made the right choice? I’d love to hear your points of view.

*Curly&Candid is about being Candid but not about bullying, please respect other people’s views*

I have two good sleepers. Kieran slept through the night from three and a half weeks, Taylor from seven weeks. When I attended baby clinic when Kieran was small I felt I almost had to hide this fact, as if I’d done something wrong. I remember being asked once, after a group of Mums were talking about how tired they were, what little sleep they were getting, how many times I got during the night. And I lied!! “Usually only once, sometime twice” just rolled off my tongue. It felt mean / potentially dangerous to tell this group of sleep deprived ladies that I’d slept uninterrupted for weeks!

Those I did mention it to, and the same goes now even, usually respond with:

Humph!

Now don’t get me wrong, I am NOT saying you are a bad parent if your child isn’t a good sleeper, far from it. Is it not possible though, perhaps just a little that both of mine have slept well in part due to my being able to work a routine that works well with their natures? No? Ah, clearly flukey then!

Own space. Both Boys went into their own cots, in their own bedrooms from day one. This was partly due to a space issue initially but worked so well with Kieran we did exactly the same with Taylor without thinking about it.

The right environment. Nurseries in our house are simple, unfussy, comfortable & dark! We have blackout blinds so regardless of the time, sleeptime is dark time. Each boy liked some music or a light show on briefly before they nodded off.

Routine. I’m a stickler for routine! I need it for me, and the Boys thrive on it. Our bedtime routine is the same every night, after tea a bath, cuddle, story and down to sleep (awake usually, this meant for mine that they could fall asleep/settle themselves down by themselves if they woke early, without needing to be rocked etc).

Sleepwear. Both were swaddled from birth, securely wrapped, feeling safe and warm. My two wrigglers didn’t wear this for long as soon swaddles were exchanged for sleeping bags, fantastic for babes with active legs that just love to kick the bed covers off!!

Most parent’s do the same, or similar, I’m sure, but these work for us, they compliment the Boys’ easy-going & settled nature. Fluke? Maybe… but I like to think I’m doing what’s right for my lads!

Were/ are yours good sleepers? If a baby is an unsettled sleeper, I’m guessing you can’t “fix” this, but perhaps other “flukey” (yes, this label does annoy me actually!), Mums & Dads have hints and tips that might help?

ADDITION: I’m adding this in because one of the comments left by someone I think a lot of, has struck a chord. It appears I’ve come across as a bit of a snot-bag, I just want to re-iterate that I don’t think in any way that someone whose little ones aren’t good sleepers aren’t cracking parents or not as good as me (trust me on THAT one lol). This is important enough to me, for me to add an addition (which I have never done before). Parenting is hard enough without ever being made to feel you are being told you are wrong or crap. This is partly why I’ve written the post, after being made to feel wrong and crap because my two have slept through (damned if you do, damned if you don’t). x

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Difficult choices. Measles, Immunisations & Those With No Choice.

Good Parenting or Fluke?