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Children today live a more privileged life than those a hundred or even fifty years before them did. They have the benefit of technology and scientific advancements. Children today take a lot more for granted than their grandparents or even parents did. Chief amongst this is health. Children today consider good health to be a given. They do not stop to consider that disease could be potentially harmful or even life threatening. There was a time when health was precious and easily hampered by any number of infections and diseases - be it small pox or influenza. But now, with the advent and acceptance of vaccinations, children are protected against almost all harmful diseases. Vaccinating children has become routine activity for parents, school and healthcare professionals. In fact, for any parent, vaccinating children is on the highest priority before anything else can be thought of. Vaccinating children is important because due to their less developed immune systems children are easy targets for the many virus and bacteria that are floating around. Also since children spend a lot of time with other children, the chances of picking up infections is higher. This makes vaccinating children to avoid them picking up infectious
diseases that can be potentially harmful. When parents think about vaccinating children, several questions arise, including which vaccinations to give the children. For this, there are several schedules for vaccinating children that are available. These include a list of the vaccines along with the times and doses. The common vaccines that are used in vaccinating children cover almost all the major diseases. Developed countries like the US regularly update vaccination schedules to include newly developed vaccines like hepatitis B vaccine. When vaccinating children it is important to remember to give the child the basic vaccinations that are considered necessary to protect it. These include Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Meningitis C, Polio, Hib, Varicella, etc. When vaccinating children, parents should remember that if their child has a fever, the vaccination should be postponed Many parents worry about vaccinating children due to the side effects. Side effects for children who are vaccinated include soreness at the point of injection, slight fever, rash etc. However, it is important to remember that vaccinating children has more benefits as opposed to the side effects. Vaccinating children is important because the vaccines all have long term effects especially polio and meningitis C. Others like tetanus need booster shots every 10 years or so. This ensures that children are safe from the diseases that can be harmful to them and to others if they are the contagious type. Childhood Vaccination
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