mmm...chicken pox lollies

gag.
that should be the end of this post. i should just hit publish from here.

mmm....wanna lick?

im really big on not judging other moms.
really big.
how you raise your family or what parenting decisions you make are none of my biz.
i believe in supporting and sharing over judging and casting.
now, if i see you blowing second hand smoke in your babies face, i will judge. so when i start to carry on here in the next few moments about the dangers of ordering chicken pox infested lollipops in the mail, please know it comes from a place of concern and it's just my opinion that i would never, could never, do this.
have i said "gag" yet?

i have been hearing all about parents holding chicken pox parties and/or ordering chicken pox lollipops in the mail. facebook actually use to have a "find your pox party" page until it was removed after a child died from receiving a lollipop and a CBS affiliate reported a story on it. however, parents were signing up (in surprisingly large numbers) to attend a party or to have another parent with an infected child, send infected pops and clothing through the mail so they could give it to their child. basically that whole "don't ever take candy from strangers thing" went out the window. parents were paying up to $50 bucks for a nasty stranger licked pop!

thanks mom for taking me to this party!

let's imagine for one moment that you decide you would like for your child, the one you go to great lengths to keep safe and healthy, to be infected with the pox viral infection through this channel.
let's say you feel it's better for them to get it this way and fight it off naturally rather than get it as an adult or receive the vaccine. maybe you are against vaccines for your children. fine. no problem.

so, you find a facebook page, or you go to craigslist or you can even google and find a random page where a complete stranger has set up a magical party for you to bring your healthy baby to.
oh, and instead of leaving with a party favor you get to leave with a disease that your child can enjoy for weeks to come. so fun!
cant find a party in the area or your schedule is too busy to attend? that's ok,  just order up a germ pop and it arrives in the mail, all licked and sucked and ready for you to simply pop in your kids mouth.
i mean, whatever is most convienient really.
when your pop arrives in the mail i wonder if you could you do it? i wonder what kind of parent could do it? yep, i am judging those parents right now.

okay, i do have quite an imagination. yes this is true. so, my thoughts go straight to safety.
not the obvious safety that its a federal offense to mail a contagion. duh!
not the realization of what happens if your kid has to be hospitalized but the thought of where this pop or vial of spit (yep, parents have ordered vials of spit) or wet clothing have actually come from?
do you know for a fact that you are *just* giving your kid chicken pox? furthermore, (hold on my let me hoist myself up on my soapbox here) do you understand that you are knowingly giving your child a disease that can be deadly?

im gonna get real dramatic.
there is absolutely NO way for you to not believe that some weirdo freak isn't sitting at home infecting lollipops and clothing and spitting in vials infecting your child with god knows what! you could be infecting your child with absolutely anything and everything! who is held accountable if thngs should go terribly wrong? the dude you ordered the pop from? you? why would one take that chance?
not everyone in this world has good intentions. not everyone would try their best to keep children safe. some people are sick. some people want to hurt kids. some people are not right in the head.
uh, who trusts a stranger to give your child candy anyway? sure as hell not me!

im not gonna go into all the statistics or why it is better to get the pox vaccine over allowing infection to take place naturally. that's not what this is about for me. i don't wanna debate that coz it's your choice.

i know of some parents, who back in the day, sent their kids on play dates with other kids because they knew they had the pox and wanted their children to get it. im really not talking about those parents. i know some of those parents and they are fantastic parents. back then they didn't know what they know now. back then we didn't know about second hand smoke or seat belts. now we do.

it is definitely better for your kid to get the pox when they are younger, this we know.
i just cannot get on board with ordering up an airborne disease for my kids period. i don't care what it is. i think i will just stick to ordering clothing online. ohh, or shoes- have you ever checked out zappo's? great site, free shipping both ways and nobody gets sick!!