While I will never tell someone else what to do with their child, as I would hope no one would do to us, I will share why we’ve chosen to vaccinate our kids.

My wife and I decided very early on, that we were going to vaccinate our kids. We both have had all of our vaccinations growing up, and want to protect our kids as well. We also have a great deal of respect for our children’s pediatrician, and trust her to help us give our kids the best shot at a healthy life. Shot… See what I did there? lol

Aside from the common side effects like fever or redness at the injection site, none of our kids have ever had a problem. I think Elliott’s arm swelled up after one vaccine a few years back, but it was temporary and went away after a couple of days. That’s the worst thing we’ve experienced.

I became a paramedic long before our two youngest were born. I did a great deal of work in the Emergency Room, as well as in the back of an Ambulance. I’ve seen so many things happen that no one ever thought would happen, and it gave me perspective.

Things like measles, whooping cough, and flu are serious diseases that we have the power to protect our kids from. I’ve heard what a child with whooping cough sounds like and it’s the most horrible thing I’ve ever heard in my life. I never want my kids to go through something like that.

If I had to bottom line things in regards to vaccines, it would be this. The idea that there’s some kind of grand conspiracy behind vaccines is ridiculous in my opinion. I’m a firm believer in widely accepted scientific and medical facts. I trust our doctors and know they only have our kids best interest at heart. Doctors don’t make money off of vaccinating kids, they often lose money. They make way more money doing well check or sick kid appointments, where they can spend time with their patients. There comes a point in life where you have to make a decision about where and with whom you place your trust. We chose to trust our doctor, and choose to vaccinate our kids.

We still have a ways to go before our kids will be completely vaccinated because they haven’t reached the right age for some of them. When the time comes, they will receive those vaccines as well. We also make sure our entire family gets the flu shot each year as well.

I’m not telling you what to do with or for your family. I’m simply sharing our experiences with vaccines and the thought processes behind our decision to vaccinate our kids.