Mental health at stake when parents disagree over vaccinating children
As major producers continue COVID-19 vaccine trials on children younger than age 12, some families are experiencing parental disagreement over whether to have their children immunized.
Psychologist Syras Derksen told CTV Morning Live that like any issue on which parents may differ, if handled carelessly, the vaccination question can lead to negative mental health outcomes for all involved, especially the children themselves. He said parents must work through the disagreement and come to some united front before they address the issue with kids.
“Children do really well in a secure environment, when they feel they can know what to expect and that their parents are on the same side. When parents disagree strongly, it creates anxiety. For mental health, for anxiety, for depression, for good behaviour, for being able to trust future relationships, it’s good to model discussion and potentially disagreement, but not strong disagreements, poor behaviour or fighting,” Derksen said.
Derksen advocates using some familiar conflict resolution strategies for working through whether children should get the COVID shot. He said being a good listener and trying to keep an open mind are proven pathways to meaningful discussion.
“What that entails is listening to an opinion you don’t like and being patient with it, repeating it back to the other person and making them really feel that you’re trying to understand them,” said Derksen.
Derksen also suggested that waiting until the other person has had time to process your position before entering discussions might be productive. He acknowledged that when it comes to the COVID vaccine, as the start of school looms in September, the decision whether to vaccinate takes on an urgency, but with time can also come a new perspective.
“One thing you can expect is that disagreement or different opinions about vaccinations in July, this month, will be a different reality in September, that’ll be a different thing if people are disagreeing, then it will be different again in December. Sometimes agreement will come from just waiting,” Derksen said.
Derksen said it may be valuable to bring the child’s physician into the discussion and that people often consult professionals when they’re in trouble or when they can’t agree. Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for Manitoba’s vaccine implementation task force, is one professional who has been addressing concerns about vaccines in her public statements and community outreach efforts.
“They (COVID-19 vaccines) were approved, and they were shown to be safe and effective. In the same way as other vaccines, the science behind these vaccines is solid,” Reimer said in a news conference Wednesday.
Reimer said both Pfizer and Moderna are now working on trials for children aged six months to eleven years. She said results for the five to eleven-year-old age group may come out in September and that based on those results, manufacturers would then seek Health Canada approval. Reimer also said while an exact date is not yet available, Health Canada imay approve a second vaccine, Moderna, for the 12 to 17 age group before the start of the school year.
Derksen said disagreements are part of life, but before becoming stuck in them, people should ask themselves whether they’re worth disrupting or potentially destroying a relationship.
“People get into arguments, they become closed and defensive and they’re not generally open to changing their opinion. You want to create an environment that’s creative and cooperative.
Hopefully, that will create a discussion where you can kind of talk about what your feelings are,” Derksen said.
-With files from CTV’s Nicole Dubé and Kayla Rosen
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.