In this Issue

 With options available to parents, choosing the right time to vaccinate can be a challenge. Our guest contributor, Dr. Robert W. Sears discusses the current vaccine schedule for children as well as an alternative schedule parents can choose in The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child. Dr. Sears offers an alternative schedule for Canadian children.

To make informed decisions, parents need to have an understanding of each of the diseases that require immunization. In Vaccine Awareness: A Parental Responsibility, we include a list of questions parents should ask when deciding whether to vaccinate their child. The decision to vaccinate your child becomes easier to make when you have all of the facts available at your disposal.

Knowing how important vaccines can be in helping eradicate many childhood diseases, one parent shares her personal family experience in The Needle Room: Why I’ll Continue to Vaccinate My Children. Read how her family members were affected when they did not receive immunizations as a child.

We have also included suggestions for helping children overcome the fear of needles in Needle Phobia. See page 8 for tips for parents.

Read the touching poem on p. 21 by Temple Bailey: A Mother’s Love. Remember mom on her special day, Sunday, May 13, 2012.

We have also summarized an immunization schedule recommended by Health Canada and hope it will be helpful to some who are in the process of making decisions for their first child

Lesson Plans includes activities for spring most children enjoy. Also, to celebrate Earth Day, we have added a colouring picture for children to enjoy. Happy Spring!

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