Enjoying the Summer with My Littles, Before Back To School Is Near: What Parents Need to Know About Vaccinations Before The School Year Begins

#Ad As a parent to two young children, my husband and I collectively made the decision to have both our children receive the recommended vaccines shortly after they were born. To be completely transparent, there were a few vaccines that initially prompted hesitation and concern, so we did our research and ultimately made the decision to do them all, with the exception of the flu vaccine when both of my children were newborns since that’s not available until a baby turns 6 months of age. I am glad that we made this decision for our family, because both my daughter and son have had their share of illnesses, including some pretty scary hospital visits when they both were infants, however, since both of those experiences they both have been healthy, and have experienced very minimal illnesses while staying on track with all of their scheduled vaccinations. 

Due to other health conditions, I did delay several of my sons’ vaccinations. However, he is still up to date on all of his vaccinations, and I can see it’s been helpful to his immune system and overall health. Every child is different and as a parent you have to make the best decision for your child with your doctor.

By now, we all have come to learn that vaccines are safe, effective, and help protect everyone from severe illnesses. Especially for us parents who have to put our children in daycare early on. I’ve had the privilege of being home with my son the last two years, but as he approaches his second birthday this fall, I am preparing to put him in daycare so he can be acclimated to being around other children on a regular basis. With daycare, we already know, comes  germs and illness… it’s inevitable.  So it’s extremely important for us as seasoned parents to do all we can to keep our children as safe and healthy as possible. For a lot of parents, especially new parents, it can be a difficult decision to make, but ultimately as parents of two children with our busy schedules and activities, we feel it’s important to protect our children from illnesses that are out of our control. The best way of doing that is by staying on top of all of their routine vaccinations.

 Because every parent doesn’t choose to have their children vaccinated we want to be sure we keep Lourdes and Chancellor safe from any harmful illnesses. Now of course, vaccines cannot protect our children from ever getting sick, but at least we can do our best to protect them from the illnesses that can be prevented with the proper vaccination. 

Lourdes will be heading back to school this fall, so making sure her routine checkups are out the way annually, and she’s up to date with all of her vaccinations gives me peace of mind. At this point I’ll have both of my babies in school this fall, so taking the necessary steps to ensure they are prepared for back to school is my top priority. Here are five things I’m doing to make sure they are both prepared for this upcoming school year:

1. Making sure physicals for your children are scheduled with their primary care physician, so that they are up to date on all their routine vaccinations and exams!
2. Verifying vaccination schedules are up to date and if any are missing, getting them before the start of the school year
3. Making sure any medications that are needed are refilled before the start of the school year. This includes asthma pumps or medications, eczema ointments and creams, and all basic children’s medications needed for every household like tylenol, benadryl, and any teething ointments. 
4. Of course our favorite thing to do is back to school shopping! Shopping for new school supplies, uniforms for school, and all necessary items needed for a successful school year!
5. And making sure they have an enriching and memorable summer experience so they are excited about the new school year ahead!

I love having the opportunity to be such a present parent for both of my children. 

Being a full-time entrepreneur for the last 5 years, I’ve had the privilege of being home full-time with my daughter when she was young and now with my son, since he was born. So I can completely understand the hesitation some parents may have if they are planning to be full-time stay at home parents. In light of everything we’ve experienced over the last four years, however, we made the decision as a family to at least do our part to keep our children protected. Lowering our children’s risk of illness has been paramount. Especially because Lourdes is older and has been in school for several years now, along with a ton of outside activities. It’s hard to control some of the illness she could potentially bring home, just being around other children on a daily basis.

For several years now, I’ve partnered with the amazing platform IVaccinate.org to help spread awareness on why vaccinations are important for our children. They are an excellent resource for parents that have all the same questions my husband and I had before we made the decision to keep our children on schedule with their routine vaccinations. There are a few things that IVaccinate.org makes a priority in their messaging: 

• Vaccines are safe, effective and help protect everyone.
• Vaccines protect our children and teens from 16 vaccine-preventable diseases—including HPV,which can cause six types of cancer.
• It’s normal to have questions—it makes you a good parent! But make sure you are getting answers from credible sources.
• Talk to your child’s doctor and explore resources like IVaccinate.org.
• The majority of parents DO choose to vaccinate, but the conversation is often framed as a “debate” and may include misinformation about vaccines. That’s why it’s so important for parents to share their own personal stories about why they vaccinate.

I think it is extremely important for people to understand that by the time a vaccine is offered to the public, it has been studied for at least 15 to 20 years in tens of thousands of study participants, by thousands of scientists, statisticians and health care providers. That alone is reassuring for me. I appreciate research and studies that show proven results without harsh side effects. So as a parent, that may also be your approach to vaccinations!  Either way, it’s extremely important to do your own research from science-based sources like I Vaccinate or the CDC, talk to your child’s doctor, and do what’s best for your family. As parents, we weigh the benefits and risks of any decision we make for our children, including choosing to vaccinate. The good news is that vaccinating your child is one of the safest and most effective things you can do to protect them. I hope my story can help someone who may be struggling do what they feel is best for their family. We all need to support each other in whatever decision we choose to make for the betterment and protection of our family. I hope my story helps! I’ve partnered with IVaccinate to share my story and this content is sponsored by IVaccinate.org @ivaccinatemi #sponsored