Kind of scared to take Ashley out

MommyToAshley wrote: with everything that is going on. Yup, you guessed it, this is going to be another one of my paranoid mommy posts.

First of all, Columbus (where someone is shooting cars on the highway) is only about 45 minutes from Dayton, where I live. How scary!

Second, I heard on the news that they are afraid of a SARS outbreak here in the US. I know Canada has been dealing with it quite some time, I don't know how you Canadians handled that so well.

And finally, I just heard that another little kid died from that bad flu that is going around.

I am becoming afraid to take Ashley out again. I know I can't be like that...but this all sounds so scary!

MomToMany replied: I don't blame you a bit for not wanting to take her out. I feel the same way about Hannah, since she gets sick SO easily. Our area hasn't gotten the flu bug yet, and I'm hoping it stays that way (yeah right). I don't let anyone touch her either, but she did get her picture taken with Santa. He was wearing his white gloves, so I figured it couldn't be too bad. It was only a Polaroid, and I don't think it would scan well, otherwise I would show you.

jcc64 replied: Well, as far as that Ohio shooting goes, I would be paranoid too.
But I would take all the media hype about the killer flu with a grain of salt. As you may know by now, my brother is a pediatrician in a major teaching hospital, and whenever a disease becomes a media darling, it drives him nuts. He says that the media is incredibly irresponsible about leaving critical parts of the story out in order to create hysteria and sell newspapers, ad space, etc. Most of those children in Colorado had pre-existing conditions or mitigating circumstances. He also thinks the hysteria surrounding SARS is greatly out of proportion to the actual threat.
I know as a mom your impulse is to keep your child safe. At Ashley's age, it's still relatively easy. But as your kids grow, you have to come to terms with your insecurlty b/c she will be interacting with the rest of the world, like it or not, and it's a germy, dangerous world out there. But we can't hermetically seal off our kids so we don't have to worry about anything. My other brother (not the dr) was very paranoid when his son was young, and hovered over him, agonized about his health, and saw other kids as nothing but germ carriers ready to contaminate his pristine child. As years went on, his social skills lagged as a result,and the child seemed repressed and unable to enjoy himself with other kids. Didn't have a clue about what to do at a playground. Yes he was safe. But is that the kind of life you want for your kid? I know I don't . You do the best you can, but mostly you just cross your fingers and hope and then send them out in the world.

mummy2girls replied: im the same way..but more so because jenna catchs a cold if someone says the word to her... She is so suseptible to germs... Just try not to be so nervous and just enjoy the outdorrs with her... its too cold out here...BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Kirstenmumof3 replied: I'm the same way too. I don't like to watch the news anymore, it just brings me down and then I don't want to take the kids out and do things with them. I would be affraid with a someone shooting cars.

A&A'smommy replied: yeah im worried about that flue too!!!

aspenblue1 replied: I worry about that also especially the shooting since I live in OH also.

momma2jenna replied: I'm w/ you! So paranoid about bacteria & viruses I don't want to take Jenna Cate ANYWHERE! We went to Dillards w/ the in-laws and the employee put her hands out to hold Jenna~she just stared at the lady and I said- "Well, she's kinda shy" I wanted to say "get away from my Baby!"

kimberley replied: ur not alone. i take jade out as little as possible too. that shooting is enough to scare anyone under their bed for weeks but SARS and the killer flu is even worse. Jamie's mom keeps bugging me to bring Jade up to her work so her office mates can see her, but i just can't do it and she doesn't understand why i don't want anyone i don't know touching her in case they are coming down with something. ::sigh:: until she gets bigger i guess i will just be the bad DIL

sending you hugs and understanding

3xsthefun replied: I don't blame you a bit. I'm scared also. I don't even want to take Kaitlynn or Maegan out. Kaitlynn has hardly ever been sick.

And I know it has to be scary with them shootings going on. I think I'd hide in my house for along time. I wouldn't wanna go out at all.

DansMom replied: I'm feeling paranoid too. I have employees who are workaholics and they come to work hacking and sneezing and such. I used to be that way, but now I have a new perspective. I'm announcing at the department meeting on Wednesday that people better stay home this year if they are sick. And I'll follow my own advice.

I do agree with Jeanne that the media really manipulates us to feel afraid. I'm going to do what I can to keep Daniel away from people who are obviously sick, but will try to keep doing normal things with him. I hope we don't get the flu, but if we do I hope we get through it quickly.

I would definitely not drive on the highway in Ohio until they figure that one out. I had friends in DC when those shootings were happening, and I was terrified for them.

Kaitlin'smom replied: I am with you Dee Dee I am suppose to go to Columbus next Sunday for a christmas party at the base and the only way I know to get there is on 270 right where its been going on! I really dont think I will go, I am not willing to risk it. I know FIL will be dissapointed but Kaitlin is way to precious to risk it.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I was watching the news last night and there has been a horrible outbreak of the flu. This is the worst it has been in years. The ERs are turning people away b/c they are full and lots of people have been hospitalized. I was just thinking that I wanted to keep Maddie out of school b/c they catch so much stuff at school. I won't keep her out, but I decided to do all my shopping while she is at school so I don't have to take her into the stores and put her in the shopping carts.

I completely understand your paranoia. (((HUGS)))

jen replied: It is so awful to be afraid of something you can't see. The shooter and the flu both. Just live life to the fullest where you can, that is my advice. I can't imagine how my views are going to change when Maddy is born but we live out in the boonies! ha ha in Willis, TX. I commute to Houston to work! I feel so safe in my little hick town, it is just full of old people and really nothing to do! ha ha

jcc64 replied: Guys, guys, guys, c'mon. It's not THAT bad:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?t...storyID=3957699
You all need to turn off the news for awhile and just chill out.
I know that politically I'm way out in left field compared to most of you, but I saw a movie last year that had some relevance to this discussion. It was called "Bowling for Columbine" and it was written and directed by Michael Moore. Some of you may be remember him as the guy who criticized Bush during his Academy Award speech. Anyway, the whole point of this movie was that we Americans live in a constant state of fear. Fear of terrorists, fear of crime, fear of our kids being stolen, shot, molested, now fear of disease. It's why, even though Canadians own more guns than we do here in the States, that we have an exponentially higher murder rate. We're all jacked up on fear. I'm not saying awful things don't happen all the time. And that we shouldn't be prudent and take reasonable precautions. But we need to critically examine this culture of fear and look a little deeper at what's going on in the news. If someone locked you in a room and repeated, "Be very afraid, something terrible's about to happen"10,000 times, you'd start to believe it as the truth. It doesn't mean it is. Yes 6 kids died.(They also had pre existing conditions, contrary to popular belief ) But how many millions didn't die? But that story doesn't entice viewers.
I don't mean to go off, but this type of thread seems to come up often. It makes me sad to think so many people are so freaked out all over the place. Enjoy your kids today, they get big soooooo fast!

jen replied:
I saw that. It is true. That guy showed how meticulously the media has it out to scare the public. That is where the stories are. Just like every night at 6:00 you don't hear about anything but who got murdered, what burned down and where there were accidents. It is awful.. Focus on the good, if the media did that we would all be what "too comfortable"..........I don't get it but as far as that documentary goes she is right on, I saw it too. I hope you find some relief in that, read the fact and don't trust everything you see on TV as written in stone. I know the flu epidemic is out there but it always has been this time of year it is bound to be worse and there was bound to be a new strain but most people get over the flu it is just horrible to have it. I wish everyone their health through the flu season .

Jamison'smama replied: Well M2A, I know how you feel, we live in Columbus and I was seeing a client just the other night about 1/2 mile from one of the shootings--YIKES! Hadn't heard about the SARS but we are going to be doing a lot of traveling for Christmas--Oklahoma and Texas by way of airplane so I am a little concerned about the flu--My DH's mom has cancer so if Jamison gets the flu we will not be able to visit so I am really thinking about getting a flu shot for her. You know, I think it is pretty natural for us to be concerned about our precious babies--I am sure we will all get better about this eventually but Jamison is only 14 months, depends on me to protect her, doesn't undertand why she is feeling bad when she is sick, so for now, I will do my best--I do take her everywhere but we do a LOT of handwashing!

Hugs

MomofTay&Sam replied: Sammy has had this flu and he didnt go out to get it. It was brought IN. It was torture but he survived, the only way a baby would die from the flu is if you were a nut case and didnt watch the little one like a hawk. There are signs to show when you need some fast doc care. As for going out, I am 15 mins from NYC and that would be enough to scare you inside all the time. We go out we enjoy life and only one person seals our fate, no matter what we would prefer. I say enjoy everyday, never know when it's going to be the last. Make it more exciting, more incredible and more beautiful than the day before.

MommyToAshley replied:
I don't blame you, I probably wouldn't go either. Maybe he can come and visit you and Kaitlin instead.

MommyToAshley replied: Thanks all for another great discussion. I understand both sides, but I can't help but to be a little over-protective. I know that you all understand better than anyone. I still take Ashley out, but if DH can watch her while I run to the grocery during flu season, then I see nothing wrong with being a little cautious.

Brenda, yikes. I didn't realize that you lived in Columbus. I hope they catch and make an example of the person doing this.

Sammy'sMom
What a neat way to look at life.

CantWait replied: Sounds like Ohio isn't having any luck. Here's to hoping things calm down soon

MommyToAshley replied: OK, now I really don't think I am being paranoid. I just heard on the news that a 14-month old died in Columbus, Ohio from the flu.

http://www.nbc4columbus.com/news/2686192/i...?subid=10101341

Shooter replied: No, M2A, you're not being paranoid. There is no reason to expose a child to unnecessary risks if those risks can be avoided. With Jeremy being a preemie, we were on high alert last year and he went NOWHERE during the peak RSV and flu months...and we were getting the RSV shots too!

As I've mentioned, I work at a children's hospital and we are having record patient visits with kids that have confirmed cases of influenza, RSV, and strep throat. And, I'm sorry, but to say that it is not possible for a child to die of the flu is really inaccurate. They may or may not die specifically of the flu, but there are many cases popping up of children with the flu having "piggyback" infections of MRSA (methycillin resistant staph aureus), a drug resistant bacteria which essentially works in tandom with the flu virus. We have seen it here. And even if your child didn't die, do you want to see them spend days or weeks in the ICU on a ventilator? As they say, there is no need to panic, though. Be prudent in where you take your children and what you expose them to, practice good hygeine at home with handwashing, encourage your school-age children to follow that hygeine while they're at school, eat healthy, and keep a close eye on the kids if they DO start to show signs of catching something. And if they do, think twice about immediately running to the ER. We had so many in our ER this weekend that the ER medical director was heard to comment that it was such close quarters that those that didn't come in with the flu probably left with it by the end of the day (wait time was upwards of 6 - 8 hours in a large ER). Check with your primary care physician first. I hope everyone's children stay happy and healthy. I don't like seeing so many of them in here.

jem0622 replied: First, ITA with the post about the media hyping(sp) things up. I live in the Washington DC Metro Area and there was an earthquake here that measured 4.5 on the Richter scale. It was over a hundred miles away from this area, but it became a media blitz to scare people to death. GET REAL.

We live in the area where the sniper shootings took place last year and took many innocent lives. They were arrested in the county that I live in and we were part of their target if they hadn't been caught. I made a decision that I would look around...scope the area when I was out and about...but I wasn't going to stop what I was doing in my life. I couldn't. Fear can paralyze you, and that is exactly what they wanted. Just like the WTC attack. Instead of living in fear we rose up as a nation to support those in need.

As far as illnesses go...just be diligent about handwashing. Did you know that antibacterial soaps, sprays, and sanitizers do more harm than good? Old fashioned soap and water is best. Just wash the face and hands of your little ones after leaving a public area.

There is a point when you are protecting your child and then there is a point when you and the child are miserable with cabin fever. I did tell my eldest DS that we could not go to the mall and play b/c he is sick with a cold and it just isn't good manners to go somewhere and play when you are sick. Once he is better we will be out and about again.

I understand where you are coming from, trust me. But for my sanity, and for the kids...I just keep moving about with daily routines.

HUGS
Julie