Medical journal The Lancet Tuesday withdrew a 1998 study linking autism with inoculation

I agree, Russ.  There are already so many nails in the coffin of the supposed link between vaccinations and autism, this is just another one.  The myth will persist, though.

I was just writing about vaccines over at a pregnancy blog I write for - this is a weird coincidence. I'm a vaccine supporter for my own son, but mainly because for me, it's the lesser of two evils. Working in health care I saw some really bad side effects of vaccines, and many of my friends don't believe in them (because of the autism deal or other fears about them not being well tested enough). However, as a parent I have enough to worry about - drowning, broken legs, bike helmets, and all that other safety stuff. I got my son vaccinated because major illnesses are one less worry for me.

I don't think vaccines are totally safe though - it's rare that anything in medicine is 100% safe and I think it should be a parent's choice. There's been a lot of talk about forcing vaccines or making them a legal issue but I think that would open a door we maybe don't want opened. It would make me wonder where it would all end - like would home births and homeschooling be more open to bans, etc.

That's a great link though Russ, I'll have to post it over at the pregnancy/baby blog.

Oh, and here's more info for those who show up here and want it: Vaccine safety websites that meet WHO credibility and content good information practices criteria.

I unschooled Cedar for most of his life, and now he attends a Free school. I'm not on board with public schooling at all. I'm not on board with lazy homeschoolers either, because they make all home/unschoolers look bad. BUT there's no way I'd send Cedar to public school.

The social interaction issues surrounding homeschooling are for the most part total myth in my opinion. Most of the unschoolers and homeschoolers I know hang out with all sorts of people all the time. Schools produce plenty of socially damaged kids or kids who think they need to be like everyone else.

I'd rather Cedar learn early on that all ages and types of folks interact vs. him thinking he should only be interacting with peers who are his exact age. I'd also rather he know that learning can happen 24/7 vs. from 9-3 M-F and that learning can be self-motivated vs. you can only learn on some weird arbitrary schedule (i.e. cursive at age nine, multiplication at age 7, and so on) - that's a false way to learn. People don't become invested in learning when forced. It's sort of like green living - you can't force it.

One day we'll agree on something... maybe not soon granted... 

PS while I don't agree that vaccines should be forced I do think parents should think about the future ramifications of not vaccinating. For example, your child's possible future pregnancies. Some illnesses can cause serious complications for unborn babies and the best time to get vaccinated is BEFORE you conceive. Many vaccines are not considered safe during pregnancy but when given before conception, these vaccines can help ensure a healthy pregnancy. Important vaccines include rubella immunization and the varicella vaccine. If someone is pregnant and not vaccinated against these two illness then get said illnesses while pregnant it can cause a host of health problems for the baby. That's one major reason I believe in vaccines as a good option.