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Original poster

Would you expose your child to chicken pox deliberately?

70 replies

Yorkiegirl · 08/12/2004 08:38

Chicken pox is going round near me now. DD1 had it when she was 8 months and sailed through it. DD2 is now 8 months, and if she could get through it as easily as DD1 did I would like her to have it now!
WOuld I be a really bad mother if I exposed her to it now? Is she too young?
She's still bf so her immunity may stop her from getting it anyway!
Please don't judge me if you think I'm awful....

OP posts:
JoolsTide · 08/12/2004 08:39

No - I know quite a few people who have done this!

Original poster
Yorkiegirl · 08/12/2004 08:41

So do you think I should expose her then??

OP posts:
JoolsTide · 08/12/2004 08:46

must confess the ones I know - their kids were more 2/3 years - but you have experience of dd1 going through it earlier and being ok so .......

Its really up to you - I wouldn't like you to do it on my say so!!!

it's one of those illnesses thats more or less inevitable though isn't it?

sweetheart · 08/12/2004 08:53

my dd had chicken pox over christmas and it was misserable!!! She was 18 months old so now sure about the age thing but it def spoilt christmas.

I would do it at any other time of the year!!!!

TwasTheNightBeforeXmasOwl · 08/12/2004 08:55

personally i wouldnt but that doesnt mean i think its a bad thing. my ds got it three weeks ago (hes 7) and although i felt sorry for him also felt it was a good age to get it. he did pass it on to his sister though (11 months) who was very miserable. they are such different children anyway and ds has been ill most of his life but copes very well with it. his sister however, is a temperamental, easily upset baby at best and it made me very sad to see her like that. obviously you know your own kids and how they will cope with it so i suppose you have to judge on that.

SantaFio2 · 08/12/2004 08:55

I personally wouldnt do it as most children catch it sooner or later anyway, say at nursery for instance

But my poor husband was 33 when he had it. caught it off our children and boy did he suffer. Not one part of his body didnt have chicken pox on :(:o

katzguk · 08/12/2004 08:59

i wouldn't deliberatly expose DD but then i wouldn't go out of my way to aviod other children with it. So if we had a playdate arranged and the other children had it then i wouldn't cancel. Does that make sense?

aloha · 08/12/2004 09:04

I wouldn't deliberately expose her at 8months - I think that's still very young. Though I wouldn't take elaborate precautions to avoid it either. I certainly don't think you are awful!

MaryChristmas · 08/12/2004 09:09

I don't judge you , I think I would consider it.
As the older you get the worse it can be, I hear.
although timing of the year is a sod.

TwasTheNightBeforeXmasOwl · 08/12/2004 09:20

thats a good point marychristmas, im glad mine got it now in a way so hopefully they will be ok for christmas.

GeorginaAdventCalendar · 08/12/2004 09:22

I personally wouldn't, but then I'm not immune so it would be hell. :(

stringbean · 08/12/2004 09:24

Ds came down with chicken pox a couple of years ago - on Christmas Day (thanks Santa!). Actually it was great, as we had the perfect excuse not to make the rounds of all the relatives, stayed in by the fire, ate Christmas cake, watched terrible Christmas films and spent lots of time cuddling with ds. Don't think you'd be terrible at all for exposing your dd, but no guarantee either that she'd have as easy a time of it as your oldest child.

LIZS · 08/12/2004 09:31

Do you really want to be dealing with it potentially over Christmas/New Year ? tbh I wouldn't consciously have exposed dd at that age but she is now 3 and I'm sure will come across it in time. I'd be less concerned if it were likely that it would cause little inconvenience, but if you plan to socialise over the festive period you might find yourself restricted as a result.

MerryMetrobaby · 08/12/2004 09:31

dd (4yo) has it at the moment and she's been miserable with it. Although I'm bf'ing ds (7 months), he's now caught it. I suppose it was inevitable that he'd get it as dd would cough all over him. He's only had it 2 days now so a bit early to tell how he's handling it. Everyone keeps telling me its easier to cope with CP when they are babies though. DH had it in his 20's and really did suffer. I don't think you are mean if you expose your dd, she's bound to get it sooner or later anyway.

strawberry · 08/12/2004 09:34

Very rarely complicatins can occur with CP although they are worse with age. It can be quite nasty in adults and is usually mild in young children. Complicatins do not seem to be nearly as common as with measles.

So younger is better but still that small risk of something going wrong...

Santasluckylittlehelper · 08/12/2004 09:36

I would, if they are well generally.....having had it myself at 26 it's no picnic as an adult. And I was pg at the time and the worry was huge. get it over and done with.

tinyganghq · 08/12/2004 09:40

No, but I know that some do because it's supposed to be better to get it when younger.

My twins had it at 6 months (my older dd caught it unintentionally from pre school). My younger twin dd was extremely unwell and was absolutely covered in it. I suppose I'm glad it's out of the way now, but even though they recovered ok some of the marks took months to fade and were quite unsightly. I think it can be a really nasty thing Sad

strawberry · 08/12/2004 09:40

Not sure how I have managed the same typo twice. Of course it is 'complications'. Blame pregnancy brain.

advocaatofthedevil · 08/12/2004 09:51

In general, yes I would. I may have reservations about doing it at 8 months old though. And this close to Christmas given the incubation period of "up to 3 weeks"

KangaSantaMummy · 08/12/2004 09:51

There is no guarantee of them catching it:

my brother and sister had it when we were children

but I caught it when I was 20 from the children I was a nanny to and it was awful and it was christmas Sad

DS was exposed as a toddler by having friends staying who went home and came down with it, he didn't get it

And then got it when at school years later.

IME So I believe that you get it when your body wants to get it IYSWIM

But I am weird Grin

Slink · 08/12/2004 09:52

I would i have to say my dd is 3.5yrs and most of the children at pre-school have had it and she did not catch it, friends children have had it and she still didn't get it. I too have heard that it is worse when they get older. She starts nursery in Jan i bet you she gets it then....

berries · 08/12/2004 11:34

I did this when dd2 was 18 months old. Bfs kids got it 2months before we were all due to go on our 1st holiday together. Both dds went to nursery & decided if it was doing the rounds they would likely catch it anyway, & wanted to make sure it didn't interfere with our hols! DD2 spent 3 days playing with bfs kids, including sharing drink cups (I am the worlds worst mother) & cam down with it 2 weeks later. Neither of mine were partic. ill with it (dd1 had it at same age) but Dnephew caught it at 8 & was really bad for 2 weeks. Not sure whether I'd do it at 8 months, if you're bf may not work anyway, but don't think it's too bad if you do.

TumbleflumpDancingBum · 08/12/2004 11:43

I can't belive parents will even consider taking their children to catch chickenpox or the like at all, why? ds1 caught them from nursery and passed them onto the twins when they were 2yrs old, we did not deliberately take him or them to catch them, my mother did when I was 9, as I had not had them yet, I was very ill, the chickenpox came out in my throat and eyes, they nearly blinded me.

If they are going to get them, they will, don't take them to get it or anything else on purpose...Sad

FimboCLAUS · 08/12/2004 11:43

My ds caught it when she was 10 mths. I was pleased because she didn't know how to scratch so was not left with any marks and only had a few spots. I had it when I was 17 and was covered from head to toe - in my hair/eyelids/ears/soles of my feet. I still lived at home and my dad had to carry me up and down to the loo because I could not walk! You can imagine how I felt about that at that age. GP told me in "olden" times I would have been sent to the isolation hospital where my parents could only have peeked at me thru a window! I still have "pock" marks on my forehead to this day and near my chin

pinkmama · 08/12/2004 11:44

As others have said, I got mine in my mid 20s and I was so very ill with it I am determined mine will have it young. DD got it at 3.5 when I was pg with ds and we were camping! Cut short that holiday. Have to say she was very poorly with it. DS has happily being exposed to it and so far has failed to get it.

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