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Stephanie Brown
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Study that Linked Autism to Vaccines Retracted by Medical Journal

Friday February 5, 2010

A study published in the late '90s by the British medical journal, the Lancet, was possibly the starting point for much controversy surrounding the Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and autism. Still today, the debate rages on and concerned parents avoid or delay giving their children the vaccine in order to avoid possibly exposing their child to any risk of autism. Now, however, the Lancet has retracted the study as flawed after an independent council investigated and reported on several of the researchers involved. According to the Wall Street Journal, "The General Medical Council's report on three of the researchers, including Dr. Wakefield, found evidence that some of their actions were conducted for experimental purposes, not clinical care, and without ethics approval. The report also found that Dr. Wakefield drew blood for research purposes from children at his son's birthday party, paying each child £5 (about $8)."

Toddlers on track with the recommended schedule of immunizations can have the MMR between 12-15 months of age with a second dose around 4 years of age. Are you following this schedule with your child or has the scare of autism exposure altered your plans? And now, does this retraction change your mind or do you still feel there's a link?

Learn more about vaccines, autism and the study's retraction:

Connecting Through Parenting Blogs

Friday February 5, 2010

_{Our Everyday Things is one of
my favorite parenting blogs}_{Photo © Leonny}

Every morning when I can steal a moment of quiet with my coffee or tea, I like to sit down and see what's going on in the lives of other parents. I remember my mom doing this with a telephone or by sitting down at the dining room table and writing letters. Though she's passed on, I still have boxes of her letters from friends and family members, most of them parents. When I read those, I realize that though the technology has changed, it's the same principle of sharing. Katie finally got her training wheels taken off. Thank God David finally finished potty training. I can't believe Elizabeth stayed out past her curfew again! The trials and joys of parenting look the same on paper as they do posted to Facebook or Twitter or shared on a blog. I shudder to think how much time my mom would spend on Facebook or blogging. It's just the type of thing she loved to do. She loved to feel connected. And even though her letters were more personal conversations with individual folks she knew, I know if she could have found a way to share her thoughts and experiences with a larger audience she would have done it in a minute.

If you like reading about other people's lives, you can check out some of my favorite parenting blogs here. If you have a favorite that you think is missing from that list, just drop me a line and I'll check it out. Even better, if you are a parenting blogger yourself, we'd all like to know more about it. I invite you to share the story of how you got started and what you love about blogging on family matters. You can even share a picture of your family or a screenshot and leave tips for other parents who might be thinking about starting a blog of their own.