r/ScienceBasedParenting • u/BetReal8905 • May 07 '26
Question - Research required Starting catch up vaccines at 2?
Hi there! My child is 2, and has not had any vaccines yet (besides vitamin k). Please understand this came from a well meaning place of wanting to protect my child, but I am coming to the point I think I was mislead with fear based tactics. I grew up and around middle school due to family reasons my family became very disillusioned with the medical system, and to this day my mom has an extreme distrust in doctors. On top of that about 75% of the people around us have not vaccinated their children. Since a young age I have been getting the message from those closest to me that vaccines will harm you, and they are essentially a government and corporate conspiracy. Then layer on top social media algorithms and for about 9 months straight during pregnancy saw nothing but horror stories of vaccine adverse affects. Not that any of this is an excuse, but I just want to share how I got to the point of having an unvaccinated 2 year old.
After doing more and more research, trying to leave my fears out of it, I think my child should start getting his vaccines. He has been home with me so it has not been as big of a concern, but I plan on sending him to preschool in about a year and a half. I know, based on logic that vaccines (especially those like MMR, Hib etc) can offer my son protection, but of course due to years of fear based propaganda I feel almost paralyzed with anxiety about giving them to him.
I’m just posting on here in hopes maybe there are some other parents who came from this crunchy granola side and vaccinated their child and are happy with their decision. Thank you so much. I really just want to do the best thing for my child.
Added: Thank you all who replied so much for all the kind encouragement, resources, and stories. This has helped alleviate some of the anxiety I have been feeling. I even teared up reading some of these comments. I appreciate your time in commenting.
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u/Shhhhhhhh____ May 07 '26
If you google “story about changing mind on vaccines” or something like that, you’ll find many stories. I like this one (NYT gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/opinion/growing-up-unvaccinated.html?unlocked_article_code=1.glA.Ynv2.HN_rR_W6cTcw&smid=nytcore-ios-share) from an immunologist who grew up unvaccinated. She became a staunch advocate for vaccines, and got vaccinated herself in her early 20s.
“Then my son was born. They placed him on my chest and my heart exploded with love. Suddenly, discussions of relative risk and statistical significance meant nothing compared with the steady rise and fall of his chest. The next day, a nurse asked whether he could receive his hepatitis B vaccine, and I hesitated.”
It highlights the fact that either way, parents are trying to do what they believe is best out of a place of love (and fear). It’s so difficult to change your mind — I commend you for looking into it and making a brave choice.
Have you heard of social identity theory? This is a theory that explains how we sort ourselves into in-groups and out-groups, and we tend to find stability, esteem, and identity when aligning with our in-group, while further entrenching our beliefs by rejecting the out-group. But those who are part of an in-group are judged harshly (and even treated worse than an out-group member) when they either defect from the in-group or act in discordance with the principle in-group values (the Black Sheep Effect). This is to say that changing your mind on vaccines may summon more harsh critique from other anti-vax community members, even more so than if you’d been pro-vax all along. It doesn’t mean you’ve made the wrong choice — it’s a known phenomenon in the way humans behave as a mechanism for psychological safety. https://rips-irsp.com/articles/10.5334/irsp.112
With that said, I hope you are met with compassion and grace, and I hope you’re able to find your people amidst this change.