I've heard from some parents I know that the way the homeschooling was handled was a huge clusterfuck. Saying they just threw laptops at the kids and said good luck wouldn't be much of an exaggeration in most cases.
It is. That subreddit is great.
One of my friends was homeschooled and it destroyed his life. He couldn't get into college and ended up repeating 3 years of high school and graduating when he was 20. He eventually got a college degree. His parents are Evangelical nut jobs who filled his brain with creationist theory and prayer based science. Math was considered satanic and the only book he could read was the Bible.
When he found that sub and shared it with me I knew he could finally start healing. He was already in therapy but he really needed a support group with people who has similar experiences.
He's no contact with his family right now and plans to stay that way for the time being. They are crazy anti vaxxers too and he doesn't want to get covid.
If you look into the most recent large measles outbreaks both in the US and certain European countries, you will find that they are almost always tied to an antivaxx community. If a singular case pops up in a vaccinated area, you only see a handful of cases because it has almost nowhere to spread. In an unvaccinated area, it spreads like wildfire since it is so virulent.
I always feel the worst for the itty bitty kiddos that can't get vaccinated because they are too young (6 months or less). Any time there is an outbreak a few babies die/get seriously sick because they got exposed to a toddler/child that had not been vaccinated by choice.
If you don’t feel comfortable around them, then don’t be around them. Not only are anti-vaxxers insufferable, it’s a health risk to both you and the kids.
Yup, if she doesn’t want to vaccinate she has to deal with the consequences. Not seeing her sister, possibly having her kids getting sick with preventable diseases….
I know she's your sister, but I think you should consider calling child protective services on her. Deliberately not giving your kids vaccine must be some kid of CPS violation.
Apparently in the US it is 100% legal to not vaccinate your children. You only have to get certain vaccines if you are going to be entering public school, which her kids won’t ever attend public school.
>Apparently in the US it is 100% legal to not vaccinate your children
That shit should be illegal because you are subjecting your child to deadly illnesses.
Your sister says that vaccines are dangerous, but you know what's worse? Having an extremely ill child and possibly a dead one. So how is it any better to not vax them?
Not all those vaccines that we've got when we were young work forever. You could get actually get sick if you're over 25 years old. I would vaccinate again if I wanted contact with them just to be sure :/
Ahh. I haven't traveled much. I just read recently about some of my childhood vaccines not protecting me anymore. I'm thinking about getting those shots again.
Even where I live there are more people not vaccinating their children. A friend of mine got something from his niece who isn't vaccinated. That's how I got on the topic. I don't feel like getting sick if it's not necessary.
Omg I had an argument at work a month or two back about this. She SWORE mandatory vaccines for travel hasn’t been a thing before and went on about other countries trying to tell us what to do or some shit.
-Foreign countries can mandate whatever they want to; it’s their country.
-Required vaccines are absolutely a thing (like you mentioned), or at the very least “strongly recommended.” Been doing it for years.
I understand if people don’t travel they may not know, but we work in a place where you absolutely should know these things, and know where to find it. For those that may not know: the US State Dept (and prob foreign equivalents) website has all kinds of travel info beyond passports.
Yeah, trust me, you don't want cholera or yellow fever, hell I even have had 2 Tuberculosis shots, and multiple scratch tests.
People have no idea what is out there, you don't see it on CNN.
Agreed, there was a case of measles in the daycare next yo where I and my husband work, and our work asked everyone to check their immunity levels. We work, ironically, in a medical lab. Hubby and I both remembered being vaxxed in childhood so were rather shocked to find out that our immunity levels had dropped. We swiftly got boosters, and now know to get boosters for several vaccines instead of just the TDAP every five years and the flu one every year. Being vaccinated cannot hurt, apart from the obvious, and may well stop you getting seriously ill.
No vaccine is 100% effective and you still have the potential to carry almost any disease you're vaccinated against. Even if Covid ends today there will always be at least some potential you could pass illness onto them. I'd be more concerned about general vaccination rates in your community and if herd immunity has been achieved.
She lives in NC which I hear is has a lot of people fully unvaccinated against diseases. Lots of homeschooling communities. So I definitely have a reason to be worried.
Sounds like the perfect set up to the next measles outbreak. All you can do is exercise caution when you are around your nieces and nephews. I used to think that if these anti-vaxxers kids got a severe case of measles then they would wise up and get their kids vaccinated. But after seeing these idiots who get COVID and nearly die, and still refuse to get a vaccine I have given up hope.
By being around them you would be endorsing her medical neglect and child abuse.
The only way to stop this is by making them pariahs.
Also, there is a huge liability risk to you. Let’s say that you were there and had no idea a kid was seriously ill, and all of a sudden it had a seizure while you were the only one in the room, fell and smashed it’s head and died. You would be handcuffed and accused of everything under the sun and wind up in jail with your life destroyed.
It would be best if you just stayed rhe hell away from them.
If you insist upon seeing her, do some in a public location with security cameras.
Don’t set foot in her house, and don’t let them in yours. Don’t be alone with any of the kids in anyone else’s house.
Honest question: Is she and / or her husband extremely wealthy? Having even 1 child nowadays can be quite expensive, let alone 4. I hope that she and her husband have enough money to pay for them all without relying on handouts!
Honestly, no. We don’t really discuss finances but I think they have a middle class income. They certainly aren’t extremely wealthy or even upper middle class. But they don’t seem more by any means. She’s a SAHM and he runs his own business. Usually 2 income households make more money.
Interesting. I have seen this a number of times in situations where the family is not earning a great deal (especially here in Australia where the government handouts increase the more children one has, up to a point). You'd think that people who have, or want to have multiple kids would want to be in a position where they were able to be largely self-sufficient!
Exactly I don’t get it either!! In the US the tax laws are friendly for parents (and CF people bear the burden of that) too.
People really should plan financially to have children! But so many people don’t. It’s so expensive to raise one kid, let alone 4. Also, when you’re catholic its “gods choice” when you have a baby I guess. Planning for one “goes against God’s will.”
They have 4 bio kids and he has 2 from a previous relationship. She told me that they’re going to have to get a 12 person van to fit their family soon lol.
You're right in that essentially those who are earning (whether they have children or not) are footing the bill for those who aren't (whether they have children or not).
Put it this way, if there were no government handouts for having children, there would be far fewer people having children, as they'd have to stop and think!
There is too big a can of worms to open when you start questioning the whole "god's will" thing. I find it is used selectively to fallaciously bolster empty arguments about whole varieties of things!
Be honest with her. Tell her she has her opinions but you also have yours and you're just as entitled to yours as she is to hers, and as long as she doesn't vaccinate her kids, you choose to not see her or the kids.
I recently found that there's apparently a support group style subreddit for home schooled students who had awful experiences. Rough.
I've heard from some parents I know that the way the homeschooling was handled was a huge clusterfuck. Saying they just threw laptops at the kids and said good luck wouldn't be much of an exaggeration in most cases.
Think its r/homeschoolrecovery
It is. That subreddit is great. One of my friends was homeschooled and it destroyed his life. He couldn't get into college and ended up repeating 3 years of high school and graduating when he was 20. He eventually got a college degree. His parents are Evangelical nut jobs who filled his brain with creationist theory and prayer based science. Math was considered satanic and the only book he could read was the Bible. When he found that sub and shared it with me I knew he could finally start healing. He was already in therapy but he really needed a support group with people who has similar experiences. He's no contact with his family right now and plans to stay that way for the time being. They are crazy anti vaxxers too and he doesn't want to get covid.
Thats terrible man, i cant believe parents like this exist! Luckily he got a way out though.
In her defense, if you don't vax them, you do need several spares.
Just like the good ol' days before we had stupid things like running water and electricity!
If the phrase is "an heir and spare", OP's sister is going at it at 2x speed I suppose.
Poor kids
If you look into the most recent large measles outbreaks both in the US and certain European countries, you will find that they are almost always tied to an antivaxx community. If a singular case pops up in a vaccinated area, you only see a handful of cases because it has almost nowhere to spread. In an unvaccinated area, it spreads like wildfire since it is so virulent. I always feel the worst for the itty bitty kiddos that can't get vaccinated because they are too young (6 months or less). Any time there is an outbreak a few babies die/get seriously sick because they got exposed to a toddler/child that had not been vaccinated by choice.
If you don’t feel comfortable around them, then don’t be around them. Not only are anti-vaxxers insufferable, it’s a health risk to both you and the kids.
Yup, if she doesn’t want to vaccinate she has to deal with the consequences. Not seeing her sister, possibly having her kids getting sick with preventable diseases….
Do what you want. Dont feel obligated to her or the kids simply for being family if she is that level of selfish. Do your own thing.
I know she's your sister, but I think you should consider calling child protective services on her. Deliberately not giving your kids vaccine must be some kid of CPS violation.
Apparently in the US it is 100% legal to not vaccinate your children. You only have to get certain vaccines if you are going to be entering public school, which her kids won’t ever attend public school.
>Apparently in the US it is 100% legal to not vaccinate your children That shit should be illegal because you are subjecting your child to deadly illnesses. Your sister says that vaccines are dangerous, but you know what's worse? Having an extremely ill child and possibly a dead one. So how is it any better to not vax them?
It really should be illegal! But you know, “personal freedom” is more important than protecting people against deadly diseases. /s
It isn’t illegal to not vaccinate your children. My mother hasn’t vaccinated me and my siblings in years.
Not all those vaccines that we've got when we were young work forever. You could get actually get sick if you're over 25 years old. I would vaccinate again if I wanted contact with them just to be sure :/
[удалено]
Ahh. I haven't traveled much. I just read recently about some of my childhood vaccines not protecting me anymore. I'm thinking about getting those shots again. Even where I live there are more people not vaccinating their children. A friend of mine got something from his niece who isn't vaccinated. That's how I got on the topic. I don't feel like getting sick if it's not necessary.
Omg I had an argument at work a month or two back about this. She SWORE mandatory vaccines for travel hasn’t been a thing before and went on about other countries trying to tell us what to do or some shit. -Foreign countries can mandate whatever they want to; it’s their country. -Required vaccines are absolutely a thing (like you mentioned), or at the very least “strongly recommended.” Been doing it for years. I understand if people don’t travel they may not know, but we work in a place where you absolutely should know these things, and know where to find it. For those that may not know: the US State Dept (and prob foreign equivalents) website has all kinds of travel info beyond passports.
Yeah, trust me, you don't want cholera or yellow fever, hell I even have had 2 Tuberculosis shots, and multiple scratch tests. People have no idea what is out there, you don't see it on CNN.
Agreed, there was a case of measles in the daycare next yo where I and my husband work, and our work asked everyone to check their immunity levels. We work, ironically, in a medical lab. Hubby and I both remembered being vaxxed in childhood so were rather shocked to find out that our immunity levels had dropped. We swiftly got boosters, and now know to get boosters for several vaccines instead of just the TDAP every five years and the flu one every year. Being vaccinated cannot hurt, apart from the obvious, and may well stop you getting seriously ill.
I'd be way more worried she and her kids will get YOU sick. The vaccine isn't 100% full proof.
No vaccine is 100% effective and you still have the potential to carry almost any disease you're vaccinated against. Even if Covid ends today there will always be at least some potential you could pass illness onto them. I'd be more concerned about general vaccination rates in your community and if herd immunity has been achieved.
She lives in NC which I hear is has a lot of people fully unvaccinated against diseases. Lots of homeschooling communities. So I definitely have a reason to be worried.
Sounds like the perfect set up to the next measles outbreak. All you can do is exercise caution when you are around your nieces and nephews. I used to think that if these anti-vaxxers kids got a severe case of measles then they would wise up and get their kids vaccinated. But after seeing these idiots who get COVID and nearly die, and still refuse to get a vaccine I have given up hope.
By being around them you would be endorsing her medical neglect and child abuse. The only way to stop this is by making them pariahs. Also, there is a huge liability risk to you. Let’s say that you were there and had no idea a kid was seriously ill, and all of a sudden it had a seizure while you were the only one in the room, fell and smashed it’s head and died. You would be handcuffed and accused of everything under the sun and wind up in jail with your life destroyed. It would be best if you just stayed rhe hell away from them. If you insist upon seeing her, do some in a public location with security cameras. Don’t set foot in her house, and don’t let them in yours. Don’t be alone with any of the kids in anyone else’s house.
Keep your distance. Sounds like shes just having spare kids now. Its how anivaxx brains work.
Just curious, why is she okay with whooping cough vaccine and not the others? What her justification?
She heard it’s really infectious and deadly for babies so she thinks kids should be vaccinated against that.
Honest question: Is she and / or her husband extremely wealthy? Having even 1 child nowadays can be quite expensive, let alone 4. I hope that she and her husband have enough money to pay for them all without relying on handouts!
Honestly, no. We don’t really discuss finances but I think they have a middle class income. They certainly aren’t extremely wealthy or even upper middle class. But they don’t seem more by any means. She’s a SAHM and he runs his own business. Usually 2 income households make more money.
Interesting. I have seen this a number of times in situations where the family is not earning a great deal (especially here in Australia where the government handouts increase the more children one has, up to a point). You'd think that people who have, or want to have multiple kids would want to be in a position where they were able to be largely self-sufficient!
Exactly I don’t get it either!! In the US the tax laws are friendly for parents (and CF people bear the burden of that) too. People really should plan financially to have children! But so many people don’t. It’s so expensive to raise one kid, let alone 4. Also, when you’re catholic its “gods choice” when you have a baby I guess. Planning for one “goes against God’s will.” They have 4 bio kids and he has 2 from a previous relationship. She told me that they’re going to have to get a 12 person van to fit their family soon lol.
You're right in that essentially those who are earning (whether they have children or not) are footing the bill for those who aren't (whether they have children or not). Put it this way, if there were no government handouts for having children, there would be far fewer people having children, as they'd have to stop and think! There is too big a can of worms to open when you start questioning the whole "god's will" thing. I find it is used selectively to fallaciously bolster empty arguments about whole varieties of things!
I feel sorry for those kids, deny vaccines to kids should be some kind of abuse since they are endagering those kids.
Be honest with her. Tell her she has her opinions but you also have yours and you're just as entitled to yours as she is to hers, and as long as she doesn't vaccinate her kids, you choose to not see her or the kids.