School age children who aren't vaccinated
I have an almost 5 year old who would be ready for kindergarten this fall and she was never vaccinate. My question is this: what paperwork or route does a parent have to go to enroll a child who wasn't vaccinate? What questions will the school want answered? And no, I'm not vaccinating my child just to get her into school (I would assume there is a way around that). Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Benesch on -
Hi. It's Jennifer from the single parents forum! My baby is great the birth was amazing! Thanks for asking!! As for your ? I really think the rules with school depend on what state you are in. I'm in NY and I know the only way to exempt your child from vaccinations is to say for religious reasons you chose not to vaccinate. I have a client who had done just that for all three of her children and from what I understand it's a bit of a pain in the butt. I think she was actually working with a lawyer who helps with this particular issue. A letter needs to be written to state government and I guess they are very picky and the letter needs to include certain things to receive approval. I can ask her further info if you are in NY, if not you'll have to look into the laws of the state where you reside.
Good luck!!!!
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Permalink Reply by Tammy Miller on -
Vaccination Liberation has a great website with alot of helpful information, per state.
Good luck. I will be heading down that road in a few years myself.
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Permalink Reply by Annalena on -
A great big thanks to all of you for your advice! I'm glad I'm not alone in this issue and I appreciate all other parents who stand up for their child's health and well being.
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Permalink Reply by Juliet Martinez on -
Here in Illinois there is only a religious exemption. As my religion (Baha'i) in no way prohibits vaccination, I submitted a letter to my daughter's school explaining that our family has chosen not to vaccinate and that we are guided in this personal choice by the Baha'i teachings. I have no interest in misrepresenting Baha'i teachings, and I want to make sure my daughter can attend school, hence the wording. I included a number of references that touched on the importance of hygiene, good diet and sanitation to prevent disease; the imperative for parents to educate themselves fully on child development and health; the injunction to "seek a physician" when ill and that we rely on a Chinese master herbalist for our daughter's health care. So far we've had no challenges to this letter.
Good luck finding out more about your state's vaccination rules. One potentially helpful source: www.homefirst.com, a family practice here in Illinois that supports a whole lot of non-vaxxing families. They host regular webinars on vaccinations, especially now with the discussions around H1N1 vaccines.
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Permalink Reply by Nicole Reimers on -
Hi Annalena~
In the same response as others have written, I too have only needed to sign a waiver. My children have not been vaccinated in 13 years. My oldest son (who is 19) had a reaction to his DPT when he was an infant and had to be hospitalized. Back then they blamed my case on Meningitis. Clearly not the case since the same thing occurred with my second son when he was an infant (he too had seizure like reactions, high fever, and inconsolable screaming, etc) to his vaccines as well. My second son is now 13. I read everything I could get my hands on about vaccines after that one dose and was shocked over how many children have to suffer in the name of prevention. Luckily my son is fine and has never had another dose since. My third child was born at home ( vbac water birth) and never vaccinated she is almost 10 and ridiculously healthy!
My children went to a public charter Montessori School and I had no problems with administration or the school district in my area.
I wish you the best and know this type of issue can be a little tricky with the school districts. However, its doable and simple (depending on your state I assume) keep following your heart and know you are not alone and if you ever need reassurance or just to chat feel free to send me a message anytime =)
All the best,
Nicole
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Permalink Reply by Annalena on
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That is heavy, thanks for sharing your kids' stories. I can't really say 100% why I don't vaccinate my children, but it's stories like yours and also my brother's who vaccinated his two sons and for some reason those boys are sick ALL the time, that remind me that it's probably better not to vaccinate. I'm sure there are many speculative reasons why something happens after a child is vaccinated, but I always feel like there's no need to add more risks. I'm also one who is leery of anything that is marketed by the pharmaceuticals as the best thing for your child (or yourself) and if you don't do it, you're a horrible parent not worthy of your parental status. I'd love to keep in touch, always, with other mom's so thank you for the offer. Oh yea, congrats on having a vbac, I've heard so much about it good vs. bad and I'm always amazed when women are able to go beyond the standard horror rhetoric and just believe in their bodies own abilities and what she is meant to do. By the way, as I was writing this, I was thinking about a question that I may post for others to give their opinion, so I'll put it to you. Do you feel that waiting to vaccinate children until they are much older (not right after birth), say between 5 and 10, would get better results because their immune systems have had a chance to mature?! Just something I've thought about recently that marketing it to older children vs. newborns may make people less antsy.
Take care!
Annalena
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