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New Idea covers vaccination!

Doctor
 
From left - Annie (17), Rebecca (12), Matthew (19), James (17) with Meryl and Ken

Hi All,

This week's New Idea magazine has a short piece by Antonia Kidman (herself a mother of four) on me and my family and our decision not to vaccinate. Unfortunately, there is no information there about the AVN or the fact that this organisation even exists, but I have to hand it to her, she really didn't inject any pro-vax stuff in there. Please read below and if you think that this is good and there should be more information like this in mainstream magazines, please write to New Idea or call them and say so. Their website is www.newidea.com.au, the hotline number is 1800 809 346  or you can fax them on 02 9464 3203. You can also email them at [email protected]. Please do it sooner rather than later and we may actually see some more stories like this appearing.

MY OWN WAY

A mum's decision not to vaccinate opened up a whole new world

When it comes to raising children, choosing the road less travelled is bound to attract interest and judgement from others. While many alternative methods eventually become so popular they no longer sti outside the mainstream, taking the initial step requires a certain degree of courage and conviction.

Meryl Dorey is a mum of four kids ranging in age from 12 to 19 years old. She and her husband Ken made an informed decision early on not to vaccinate their children.

"It's very important both parties are supportive of the decisioin," Meryl says. "The choices we make as parents should be informed"

When their first child, Matthew, was born, Ken and Meryl did vaccinate him. However, they stopped when he was 18 months, because of the effect the injections were having on him.

"He's experienced reactions to the vaccines," Meryl explains. "So I researched the information I needed to conquer my fears.

"Medicine tells you to vaccinate. But the chances of contracting the diseases is fairly small and vaccination doesn't necessarily prevent you from contracting them. My kids never had colds or took antibiotics."

Making the decision not to vaccinate is an extremely difficult one for parents. "As parents, we want to keep our children safe and healthy", Meryl says. "You want them to be happy. I had to ask how do I accomplish that?"

Interestingly, the impact from this decision triggered change in other areas of their lives.

"It seemed to set us on a journey. We started to make changes to our lifestyle". Meryl says. "We eat only 100 per cent organic food, we follow attachment parenting and our children are educated through the Steiner system".

Living outside the mainstream is not without challenge. When it comes to standing strong in the face of cynics or sceptics, knowing how to defend your decision is worthwhile.

"Vaccination is not compulsory. Neither my child nor I can be discriminated against because of our choice," Meryl states. "Vaccination is so ingrained, it's difficult for people to question it."


End of article

Please note - it says that next week, Antonia Kidman's article is going to be about home births and they are having a series of articles on 'alternative' parenting methods so please keep writing and read New Idea to get the information on this series. I will be buying and typing in the features for those who can't access them at the newsagents.

Take care,
Meryl

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