As The Girl approaches Junior Kindergarten I'm facing a decision I didn't have to make with Pie and Dervish.

Should I vaccinate for chicken pox?

On the one hand, most people I know have had chicken pox and survived the same as the rest of us. Up until a few years ago when the chicken pox vaccine became available, it was considered to be one of those things you got as a child. Chicken pox, almost a right of passage!

People even have, or had (I'm sure it's still going on now) chicken pox parties. If you've never heard of a 'chicken pox party', the idea is that when a child you know from school or the neighbourhood contracts chicken pox, you arrange a nice long play date with your child who has never had it and the infected child so that essentially you are 'planning illness'.

This is all well and good, I can understand planning this if you can because it's certainly would be nice to know in advance when your child will be sick - and planning it for the summer is nice (I suppose) because then there is no lost time from school.

The downside is that there are potential complications!

According to this medical conditions information site, in the list of chicken pox symptoms, complications can be;

Complications

• Bacterial infection of the cutaneous lesions are the commonest
• Viral pneumonia is uncommon in adults and rare in children
• Rare complications include thrombocytopenia, acute cerebellitis, meningoencephalitis and purpura fulminans
• Death is rare except in the immunocompromised and neonates with congenital varicella

Ya, ok, so I should have a party to let my child get chicken pox! or... I could have her vaccinated so she doesn't get them. Decisions decisions!

The last time I asked our doctor about the vaccine he was on the fence about it. I haven't checked lately to see what his view is now but I will before I make a decision.

For now I'm weighing in on having her vaccinated.

My reasons are;

• She has exema (said to be a factor increasing the chance of complications)
• The dad has shingles (an after effect of getting chicken pox for some people, very painful and annoying to have) and if she never gets chicken pox she'll never get shingles
• I've met the Dervish with Chicken pox - I have no desire to replay that with The Girl

• Intense children are no picnic when they are sick!!

So, while I will consult the doctor, I think he'll have to have some pretty convincing arguments if I'm to decide against vaccinating The Girl. There are some things you'd love to do again as a parent, there are other things, like chicken pox, ... well... not so much.