Have you given your toddler a flu shot? What are you reasons for giving one or not giving one?

Answer 1

I got a flu shot for my son. I didn't want to take the risk that he would be very sick if he caught the flu, since he is in the 'high-risk' category. Better safe than sorry.
I think it's a good idea. It's better for them to go through a shot now, than to feel terrible during the holidays!

Answer 2

Getting the flu shot does not mean that you will not get the flu. The flu caccination is an educated, researched guess of what strain of flu they believe will occur that year. We did get our 16 mos old son the first dose of the flu shot last month. However he had a reaction to it, getting a temp of 103.5 and threw up. True they say this is a normal side effect however, we weighed the options and have opted not to get the 2nd dose of the shot because of the fact that he's had bad reactions....at 6 months with the first dose he got a temp of 102.5 so we opted not the 2nd dose...so this time around his reaction got worse. Who's not to say that the next time he won't have a worse reaction and how horrible would we feel as parents knowig that he had bad reactions to it.

I personally don't believe in them. I grew up with out ever receiving any flu shots and turned out fine, living through the flu if I got it. Don't get me wrong I know how serious the flu can be, my husband is an RN and he feels the same as I do..that the vaccination should be for medical workers, people who work and engage with sick people on a daily basis. It's my opinion, we are all entitled to it. Some may not agree with it but if their little one were in my son's position they might see things differently.

Neither decision getting the vaccination or not by no means makes one parent better then the other....but it is something to take seriously..the vaccination and the side effects of them.

Answer 3

I've never gotten a flu shot for myself, because I've never gotten a bad bout of flu and figured it was pretty much pointless to do the shot.

However, my 3-year-old son (will be 4 in December) has gotten the flu shot every year since he was 11 months old. He almost died from bronchalities at 7 weeks, and is also severely asthmatic. He is therefor considered high risk for complications if he does get the Flu. Both his pediatrician and pulmonologist are attimate that the flu shot is important in situations such as his, so he gets one.

On the other hand, if he were a normally healthy child, and I didn't have to worry about him sufficating to death if he came down with Flu, we probably wouldn't bother.

Answer 4

we don't routinely give flu shots in australia. Some elderly get it but not young and middle age usually.
But just this past winter season (we are approaching summer here) there was a particularly bad flu going around that killed several people of all ages all around the country. I considered taking the kids to protect them and then decided not to as the flu epidemic seemed to downgrade and the seaon was coming to a close. Next year I will speak to my doctor about whether it will be appropriate as the flu's going around change all the time to accomodate the vaccines. I am due to have a baby in june/july and want to make sure that we are all healthy and don't infect the baby.

Answer 5

I would have got a flu shot for both my kids but the Doctors ran out of them and then there was shortage and they were only giving it to the high risk ones. Both my kids ended up sick with the flu and I was back at the Doctors once a week for a month, then they said my kids should have had the flu shot, grrrr. Bureaucracy.

Answer 6

I will be making an appointment for next week for the flu shot. I am a school teacher, and exposed to the various possibilities out there. My son is exposed to the same thing and he goes to preschool 3 days a week. It's for both of our protection. The flu shot won;t combat head colds, and we can deal with that. The flu can just plow you down. No fun with a sick mommy & kiddo.

Like someone else pointed out, everyone has their own reasons and circumstances. I educated myself about the flu shot before making the decision. Because I chose to vaccinate my child doesn;t make me a bad parent. If someone choses not to vaccinate, it's not being a bad parent. It's just differing parenting styles.

Answer 7

First of all, in regards to the mercury comments: The thought to be link between mercury and autism has been debunked and is no longer being looked at. Three large scale, independent studies have all shown that there is no risk. Most of my families with autistic children still vaccinate their children.
Secondly, there are thimerosal free vaccines all over the place. Infact, most vaccines companies stopped making vaccines with Thimerosal when the research was being done to see if there was a link between autism and thimerosal. It's pretty difficult to find vaccines that still contain it.
Thirdly, the flu vaccine for children under the age of 3 is preservative free.
Fourth, It's your choice whether you vaccinate your child for the flu. Children under 35 months are considered " high risk" simply because the flu hits them harder than it does adults and older children. If you decide not to vaccinate, just be sure to use good hand washing and keep a close eye on them when they get sick.

Answer 8

First of all, it is NOT TRUE that all vaccines have mercury in them. In Massachusetts, all vaccines are preservative - free. If I didn't live in a preservative - free state, I probably wouldn't use vaccines. That said, my three - year - old did get the flu shot. For him, the reason was that he had an underlying health problem as a baby. Getting even a common fever can be very risky for him until he's in the clear. Because he's in preschool this year and surrounded by germs, we thought it best to get him the vaccine to try to prevent the flu. So far, it's passed through the preschool twice and he hasn't caught it.

Answer 9

My daughter is getting the flu shot doctors order she told me it was best, and since last winter when my daughter was only few months old she had a very bad cold, i figuered it would be best to prevent. She will come down with the flu one day but just hopefully not this winter.

Answer 10

No flu shots for my boys.
They get colds every winter, but neither have had the flu yet. They are only 2 years old. Myself or their dad haven't had a shot done ever so we didn't worry about them.