Parenting in the Time of Measles
Last Wednesday at midnight, Rockland County, N.Y., did something no local government had ever done. It barred anyone under age 18 who has not received the measles vaccine from going to libraries, gyms, supermarkets — any public place where they could expose others to the virus. The state of emergency came as a desperate, final effort to stop the spread of the largest measles outbreak in America.Other communities might soon be taking similar measures: The number of measles cases across the country this year is at its second highest since the disease was eradicated in 2000 — and we’re only in April.Many Americans are shocked at the growth of the anti-vaccine movement. Alas, I’m not one of them. As a mother who has traveled in home-schooling circles since the birth of my first child in 2013, I have watched as hostility toward vaccines has blossomed.The decision to home-school came easily for me and my husband. For the cost of my missed income — which was less than what we would have paid for private school for all of our children — we can tailor-make our children’s education. Our children have different educational needs, and thanks to our extremely small class size of three, they can be met much more easily.