I’m a registered nurse. My focus is on preconception, pregnancy, newborns and infants. I’ve done my fair share of reading about the risks and benefits of vaccinations. I would never willingly do anything or recommend anything that I thought was harmful or risky for my own or your little ones.

For me, it’s a no-brainer. My daughter has been given all the routine vaccinations including the flu shot, and my next child will too. There isn’t even a shadow of a doubt for me.

A recent study surprised many of us in the healthcare community. Even when given undeniable evidence that vaccines are safe and effective, parents in the study who were against vaccination did not change their minds about vaccinating their kids. We already know scare tactics don’t work. What appears to be effective however, is hearing that others DO vaccinate their kids. Hearing their family doctor vaccinated their own kids. Hearing their best friend, their neighbour, the dad at the playground all vaccinated their kids. It’s time for the pro-vaccination parents to speak up!

Why should we care whether your kid’s friend Sophie was vaccinated or not? Vaccines work best when everyone is vaccinated. While I do take comfort in knowing my daughter is vaccinated, I find myself worrying about her being exposed to children who haven’t been vaccinated. I’d much rather have vaccine-preventable diseases out of Canada and far, far away from my daughter. Plus, if we are all vaccinated then the disease will stay away from those who have a weakened immune system (cancer patients, pregnant women, etc.) and infants who haven’t yet received all their vaccinations.

The vast majority of parents do vaccinate their kids. It’s National Immunization Awareness Week and it’s time we got vocal about it! Say it with me: “I vaccinate my kids!” Make this your next Tweet, your next Facebook post, your next blog post.

Let us know how it goes! Share your stories with us:

• Leave us a comment below
• Tweet with us @haltonparents
• Email us at haltonparents@halton.ca
• Call the HaltonParents line for parenting information or to speak directly to a Public Health Nurse (every Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) Simply dial 311 or 905-825-6000.