How Worried Should We Be About Measles?

TOP OF MIND

Guess who's back, back again?
Measles! Childhood vaccination rates continue to decline nationwide, and because of this, measles are making a comeback.

Nearly 100 people across Texas and New Mexico have contracted measles in the past month. 90 of those cases are spread across seven counties in West Texas. And while 90 cases might not sound like a lot, it was just 14 cases one week ago. Additionally, it's the state's largest outbreak in 30 years.

77 of the 90 cases are in children under 17-years-old. And yes, the vast majority of them were unvaccinated.

Officials believe the outbreak will continue to grow.

The important bits
How worried should we be about all this? The answer is complicated. Globally, it's estimated that measles killed more than 105,000 children in 2023, mostly unvaccinated or undervaccinated children under the age of five.

So, one could argue that if your family is vaccinated, you shouldn't be that worried.

However, some people can't get the vaccine, due to being too young or having a weakened immune system. For those people, it's up to everyone else to get vaccinated, in order to keep the illness at bay.

Pediatric infectious disease specialist, Adam Ratner, told NPR, "Measles thrives on being underestimated … We tend to forget now, looking back, how bad measles was."

If you need a refresher, before the vaccine, the disease killed hundreds of children each year in the United States.

What's it all mean?
This one is pretty simple: get vaccinated. If you're worried about potential risks regarding the vaccine, there’s more info here.

DID YOU HEAR

👀 WTF is FAFO?
It's a new year, and you know what that means: a new parenting trend. 2025 appears to be the year of FAFO parenting, which means F**k Around and Find Out. The parenting style encourages kids to "find out" the natural consequences of behavior they've been warned against. This doesn't mean you should let your kid stick their hand down the garbage disposal. What does it mean? Well, if they refuse to eat, don't give in. Let them feel hunger. If they want to go outside in the cold without a jacket? Let them experience the cold. Click here to dig into the pros and cons of this parenting style.

🤳 Putting down your phone might ease depression
Researchers at UT Austin studied nearly 500 people for a month to determine just how much smartphones/internet access impacts our moods. They found that when the participants blocked internet access on their phones for two weeks, their overall moods improved significantly. In fact, for some people in the study, getting off the internet improved their depression more than antidepressant medications.

🧼 The healthiest way to clean your house
Ever since the pandemic, people have been obsessed with germs. Potent disinfectants have become the standard in house cleaning, but experts say we might want to pull it back a little. They say disinfect only when necessary, noting, "Cleaning should not be synonymous with disinfection." There's a lot of sound advice here, including why you might want to go fragrance-free.

🎨 What amazing scribbles you’ve scribbled!
What do you say when your little one shows you a drawing they made and you have absolutely no idea what it's supposed to be? Well, one art teacher on TikTok claims the worst thing you can do is simply respond, "How pretty!" and then toss it in the trash. Instead, she says you should praise the details of the intricate piece of art.

🏄‍♀️ Did this mom go overboard?
"No color, no noise, be waste-free, and not made of plastic," weren't the only wild demands on this strict birthday party invite. This invitee’s mom says she’s officially "over" all the rules at kids' birthday parties.

DOSE OF GOOD

@barstoolsports

Wait for it 😂 @pardonmytake (via:Tarafreedom_/ig)

BITES WITH KIYAH

It seems that the “Clean Plate Club” debate is still alive and well on Reddit parenting threads.

While I firmly support the points laid out in this article, advocating that you let your kids listen to their hunger and fullness cues over requiring them to clean their plates, I also know that food waste is a real concern (especially in light of our current food prices).

A simple strategy to help reduce food waste is to serve smaller portions, perhaps on a Kizingo plate? 😉 Whether you are deciding how much goes on the plate or your kids are, use small utensils.

This also provides additional practice for you and your kids to talk about how they are feeling (“I can see that you finished your pasta. Are you still hungry? Would you like another serving?”) All of this helps build their skill in listening to those fullness cues.

HERE’S A QUESTION

Last week, we asked you if you'd let your teen get a non-surgical cosmetic procedure, and a little over 70% of you said, "No way!" while "Maybe, depending on the procedure," and "Only if I don't have to pay," came in a distant second and third.