Homeschooling/Immunizations in TX? (Houston, Dallas: high school, college, live)

[Sadie85]

So I guess getting the Pertussis (sp?) vaccine before we move would be a good idea? One more question.. sorry to bother everyone.. I just want as much info as possible. I want to be near the ocean, and I thought Corpus Christi was the best place. But now I'm seeing Portland and Kingsville as being cheaper, but local, options. Are these places "ghetto"? Or decent? Do they have public transportation? Kingsville's chamber of commerce page was laughable, to say the least.

[Spree]

Sadie, I would think you could find something in Corpus Christie, it's a nice city and affordable.

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by Sadie85

So I guess getting the Pertussis (sp?) vaccine before we move would be a good idea? One more question.. sorry to bother everyone.. I just want as much info as possible. I want to be near the ocean, and I thought Corpus Christi was the best place. But now I'm seeing Portland and Kingsville as being cheaper, but local, options. Are these places "ghetto"? Or decent? Do they have public transportation? Kingsville's chamber of commerce page was laughable, to say the least.

Pertussis = whooping cough. It's normally required to send your child to school and it's a good idea to get it anywhere in Texas, but especially the further south you go.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Sadie85

So I guess getting the Pertussis (sp?) vaccine before we move would be a good idea? One more question.. sorry to bother everyone.. I just want as much info as possible. I want to be near the ocean, and I thought Corpus Christi was the best place. But now I'm seeing Portland and Kingsville as being cheaper, but local, options. Are these places "ghetto"? Or decent? Do they have public transportation? Kingsville's chamber of commerce page was laughable, to say the least.

Unless something has changed the pertussis vaccine is not given to ANYONE over the age of 5. It is also NOT required in Texas to enroll in school. When my oldest was born beforehand I researched the dickens out of all of the vaccines. Because of what I researched and discovered we chose not to have her vaccinated w/ it. She did get everything else minus the chickenpox vaccine (that was not out till right at the time she contracted them). She has been enrolled in public school since kindergarten and no problems at all w/ not having the pertussis vaccine. By the time my second child was born the formula had been changed and she did receive it. She also did not get the chickenpox vaccine and instead contracted them. Since they both have had the chickenpox all I had to do was sign saying they had had them and not vaccinated as that IS required. At least now my girls will not have to worry about contracting them as an adult as that can be terrible.

Yes, TB and whooping cough are bad everywhere across the country because of the many people coming into the U.S. from countries that do not vaccinate and not just Mexico. Around border towns it can just be a higher percentage of people that actually carry the disease.

[Marlow]

Portland is just over the harbor bridge from Corpus Christi and feels sort of like Corpus Christi. Kingsville is 45 minutes away and although it is close to Baffin Bay, it has a completely different atmosphere. It's in what's called the Brush Country because it's surrounded by scrub brush. I don't want to get anyone from Kingsville mad at me, but I worked there for a while and to me it just felt hot, dusty and poor.

I don't know where you're moving from, but most people consider Corpus Christi to be very affordable.

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Unless something has changed the pertussis vaccine is not given to ANYONE over the age of 5. It is also NOT required in Texas to enroll in school. When my oldest was born beforehand I researched the dickens out of all of the vaccines. Because of what I researched and discovered we chose not to have her vaccinated w/ it. She did get everything else minus the chickenpox vaccine (that was not out till right at the time she contracted them). She has been enrolled in public school since kindergarten and no problems at all w/ not having the pertussis vaccine. By the time my second child was born the formula had been changed and she did receive it. She also did not get the chickenpox vaccine and instead contracted them. Since they both have had the chickenpox all I had to do was sign saying they had had them and not vaccinated as that IS required. At least now my girls will not have to worry about contracting them as an adult as that can be terrible.

Yes, TB and whooping cough are bad everywhere across the country because of the many people coming into the U.S. from countries that do not vaccinate and not just Mexico. Around border towns it can just be a higher percentage of people that actually carry the disease.

Weird, I could have sworn I had a whooping cough vaccine before starting school.

With all the children of illegal immigrants in Texas schools, I personally wouldn't risk it.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by nativeDallasite

Weird, I could have sworn I had a whooping cough vaccine before starting school.

With all the children of illegal immigrants in Texas schools, I personally wouldn't risk it.

You probably did. It is part of the 3-part vaccine (3 in 1) called DTP. My daughter just got the DT and not the P. It is NOT required but most people do and did get the 3 part vaccine. One thing that got me was that they said it was too dangerous to give to anyone over the age of 5 . I mean......... if it is too bad to give to someone over 5 or an adult how in the world can we safely say it is okay for a newborn???? Since then the formula has changed and it is supposed to be safer but is still not recommended nor given to anyone over the age of 5.

You have to remember back when my oldest was born the whole immigration issue was not an issue. Even those coming legally from Third World Countries were not flooding here like they are now. Nowadays a rapid spreading communicable disease is only a plane ride away from reaching all corners of the globe

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

You have to remember back when my oldest was born the whole immigration issue was not an issue. Even those coming legally from Third World Countries were not flooding here like they are now. Nowadays a rapid spreading communicable disease is only a plane ride away from reaching all corners of the globe

Very true, which is why it's very important to immunize children!

[daisymama]

Hey sadie85,
As far as the homeschool laws, Check out HSLDA.org They have a section that summarizes the laws and breaks them down as far as requirements. Just click on the tab homeschooling and then homeschool laws. Hope this helps!
I know that Texas has wonderful laws for homeschoolers. Low regulations.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by daisymama

I know that Texas has wonderful laws for homeschoolers. Low regulations.

Sadly, this is all to true. I've known people that have no business even having kids that keep them home from school saying they "home school".