Has anyone else had friendships with parents who aren't vaccinating end/become super strained because of all the news coverage/social debate about vaccines and measles currently?
I'm very AP, breastfed both of my kids well into toddlerhood, and my children attend Waldorf, which tends to have a high vaccine exemption rate... so my kids have a fair number of friends whose parents choose not to vaccinate. While my own kids are fully vaccinated, I've tried to (at least publicly) keep a very neutral attitude on the topic to avoid hurting the feelings of my friends who aren't vaccinating since it seemed like their choice mainly impacted their own children. Witnessing the very real fears of my friends who are pregnant, have babies/young toddlers, and children with immune disorders recently, however, has made it harder for me to keep quiet about why I feel vaccinating is a better/more socially responsible choice.
Recently I made a fairly neutral comment on a Facebook friend's public pro-vaccine post and one of my friends who doesn't vax saw it and commented with anti-vax research and got in a huge debate with the OP, despite not knowing the person whose Facebook account it was on, which put a strain on our friendship. Yesterday I decided to finally publicly share my views on my own Facebook and link to Roald Dahl's letter begging parents to vaccinate; I'm pretty sure that was the end of that friendship, but another friend whose children have a primary immuno deficiency thanked me for making the post.
Just curious if anyone else has experienced anything similar. It makes me sad to lose friends who have shared so many of the same parenting values as me (i.e. extended breastfeeding, gentle discipline), but I'm also finding it really hard to ignore what's turning out to be such a profound philosophical disagreement that now is having practical consequences in the form of herd immunity dropping and diseases gaining traction. They think I'm brainwashed/toeing the government line, and I'm worried that their choices could hurt other children who are too young/sick to be vaccinated. It kind of majorly sucks, though, since we do share so much in common that this issue is proving to be so divisive.
I'm very AP, breastfed both of my kids well into toddlerhood, and my children attend Waldorf, which tends to have a high vaccine exemption rate... so my kids have a fair number of friends whose parents choose not to vaccinate. While my own kids are fully vaccinated, I've tried to (at least publicly) keep a very neutral attitude on the topic to avoid hurting the feelings of my friends who aren't vaccinating since it seemed like their choice mainly impacted their own children. Witnessing the very real fears of my friends who are pregnant, have babies/young toddlers, and children with immune disorders recently, however, has made it harder for me to keep quiet about why I feel vaccinating is a better/more socially responsible choice.
Recently I made a fairly neutral comment on a Facebook friend's public pro-vaccine post and one of my friends who doesn't vax saw it and commented with anti-vax research and got in a huge debate with the OP, despite not knowing the person whose Facebook account it was on, which put a strain on our friendship. Yesterday I decided to finally publicly share my views on my own Facebook and link to Roald Dahl's letter begging parents to vaccinate; I'm pretty sure that was the end of that friendship, but another friend whose children have a primary immuno deficiency thanked me for making the post.
Just curious if anyone else has experienced anything similar. It makes me sad to lose friends who have shared so many of the same parenting values as me (i.e. extended breastfeeding, gentle discipline), but I'm also finding it really hard to ignore what's turning out to be such a profound philosophical disagreement that now is having practical consequences in the form of herd immunity dropping and diseases gaining traction. They think I'm brainwashed/toeing the government line, and I'm worried that their choices could hurt other children who are too young/sick to be vaccinated. It kind of majorly sucks, though, since we do share so much in common that this issue is proving to be so divisive.