The Parenting Thread

I would recommend ‘Find My Phone’. It’s absolutely perfect for keeping track of your kids.

Sadly, it’s quite expensive as it will require you to get him an iphone.

It will also have the fringe benefit of stopping him getting bullied for being a green bubble lamewad

So we've got a referral for the boy, and we're going into school for a chat. The kids seem to be settling in a bit better this week, so hopefully all quiet.

Off to theme park for his birthday on saturday, and with his diagnosis letter get to skip the queues (it's got to be good for something right?)

(UK-centric question) So... whose 12-15 year olds are getting the vaccine then? I spent a bit of time reading up on the benefits and risks yesterday.

My starting assumption was "of course DUH", then a colleague said he's worried about the risk of myocarditis in teens, based on a study from Israel. The study sounds legit, and puts thr risk of problems following the vaccine at a few hundred per million, worse in boys than girls, and worse for double-dose than single dose. And his view was, if only 2 per million die of covid in that age group, why would they risk a hundreds per million chance of heart problems.

But after digging a bit more, it sounds like the risk of unvaccinated teens who have covid (confirmed by PCR) getting long covid is far, far higher than the risk of getting myocarditis following the vaccine. Up to 1 in 7 teens who get covid still have symptoms 15 weeks later. It could be lower due to a selection bias in the teens who opted into the survey, but only as low as 1 in 56 (I think? The BMJ article mentioned this in pure numerical terms but didn't extrapolate out to the proportion).

But then that's offset by the fact that a lot of teens have probably had it and not even realised or got a test, so the long covid odds are probably even lower.

Ultimately I'm still tending towards recommending that my 13yo gets the vaccine once it's offered (ultimately it will be her decision). But it's not as clear cut for her as it was for me.



Edit- BMJ article:
www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2157

Yeah, I read that re myocarditis. I think it does need to be a decision they make after taking on advice. But it is definitely trickier than vaccinating adults. Luckily not an issue for us until next year when more data will be available

Ours will be getting it. The risk of myocardia is lower than the risk of being seriously affected by covid for one dose. For two doses, it's not as clear cut.

There's also long covid to consider. That's got a surprisingly high prevalence and the vaccine reduces this likelihood. I think 3-6 months bedridden would impact my kids massively.

We discussed everything with the kids.

It is a weird one. All vaccines have potential side effects and most have us have already vaccinated our kids against most things already. This is how insidious the anti-vaxx movement is.

It doesnt need to fully convert you to be a raving headbanger but to just be pervasive enough to give you pause for thought and let some of their garbage seep in. I would be lying if I was 100% about her getting it but I do believe wholeheartedly that its the right thing to do.

Anyone here got hypothyroidism?
My daughter does

Cheers Dougs, yeah it seems common enough as have talked to 3 people that I know who have now said they have it. And you'd never know.
Just that her numbers are 'slightly' high which isn't too much bother but she has tested positive for antibodies which means she will develop hypo.
To be honest, I don't know much about it at all. Kind of put it to the back of my mind while it was being tested but now it's here. Don't need to do anything straight away, but it's a shame for the little one as she has so much to deal with already.

Endocrine diseases can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms often overlap, and are nebulous things like "tiredness/fatigue" which can also be down to any number of non-medical causes. I can get on a bit of a soapboax about it, due to traumatic experiences and a late diagnosis suffered by Mrs. hedben a few years back, but now isn't the time.

Suffice to say nexus6 - Mrs. hedben has hyperthyroidism (among other endocrine issues), and it's now completely and safely managed with prescription drugs.

I mean, its a number game, innit? Always has been. The MMR jab has a chance to cause quite serious seizures and people arent wetting their pants about that.

Cheers HB. How often do the drugs go in?

is this you or a kiddiewink?

This is exactly what we’ve had for over a week. The 2 year old throwing up every half hour for 1 night then she was fine for a day then repeat that again. She was then ok for a few days before the 5 year old threw up at breakfast club yesterday, luckily she’s been fine since then but it never stops.

How parents who can’t work from home and with no relatives nearby cope I have no idea.

Oh and we got two emails from the school this week, one about kids with nits on site and cases of impetigo in our daughter’s class.

Just had a confirmed appointment with the ophthalmologist for our 3 year old.


He has a very slight squint that only really appears under certain conditions. First noticed when he was in the car seat when his head was straight but he was looking at me side on and one of the eyes didn't quite look right.

Best to make sure there's no underlying issues, I'm interested to see how the doctor copes with my lad and asking him to sit still whilst he checks his eyes. Let's just say he's very 'spirited'. Unfortunately I'm at work so my other half will have to deal with him!

Anyone had experience with this and know what to expect?