Just a little prick.

The thing with living in the modern world is that it's full of modern things. I don't know why I'm talking like Mary Poppins right now but I've learned to love myself. Another thing I love is science. Always have. Everything about science to me seems like an adventure. There's always something to be discovered, something to be taken apart and put back together, something to be mastered. Science felt good, in fact one of my favorite magazines growing up was Popular Science magazine. Oooh getting warm fuzzy feelings right now.

So anyway, my eldest, is sooooo into planets. He knows all nine planets. And yes, I still count Pluto as a planet because Pluto has learned to love itself too. Team Pluto! Wow this post is just all over the place. Anyway. Ah! There's what I wanted to say - How can science help me be a better parent for my child?

Like any parent, I want to start with the basics and that is first and foremost the health of your child. Of which I know next to zero. Which is ridiculous because I love science and health is all about science. And every time we go to our pediatrician's office I feel like my wife and the doctor are talking in some ancient long forgotten language that only they and Legolas can understand.

So I went to this thing so I wouldn't feel like frikkin' Gimli cupping his ear to hear the tall-people talk.

This is the thing.

I went to an event called P.L.A.Y., a disease awareness campaign organized by Mommy Mundo together with GlaxoSmithKline. The disease in question is Pneumococcal Disease or PD. From what I learned, it's a pretty nasty disease that may lead to death. A particularly disturbing fact is that PD is the #1 reason for deaths in children less than 5 years old worldwide.

PD isn't just one disease, it's actually a combo meal, value pack, buffet, slew of various diseases such as meningitis, sepsis, bacteremia, pneumonia and other common diseases like acute otitis media (middle ear infection).

My reaction to hearing about these diseases. Another thing JLaw and I have in common.

image courtesy of Tumblr, agittated.

Any parent will tell you, the worst thing in the world is seeing your kids sick. It's inevitable though. Kids get sick. We do our best. But when we had our first child, my wife and I really wanted to lessen the amount of drugs and use more organic, holistic medicine for our baby. Our thinking was that drugs are manufactured chemicals that affect our bodies and minds. And since there are viable options now for more organic and natural medicine, why not?

But here's the thing. We live in a modern world full of modern things. And modern diseases require modern medicine. WWII wasn't won with swords and spears. Sometimes you need to bring the big guns. 

The doctor and her big guns.

Even our homeopathic doctor who like us, doesn't want to inject every kind of vaccine into our child, recommends getting the PD vaccine. It's that important.

The best thing is to be aware of these kinds of preventable diseases by researching yourself and asking your doctor what kind of vaccines are available.

One dad living in a moms' world.

Thank you Mommy Mundo for inviting me to this event, while still not Legolas, I do feel less Gimli.