Hello everyone
So I’d like to preface this by saying that my D18 is not at all promiscuous or anything, but should I get her the HPV vaccine before she attends Princeton??? I know that this isn’t as “Safe for work” as the other threads here, but I am genuinely wondering if its a good call. I worry about my D18.
sincerely,
Concerned Mother,
Patti
My son and daughter both had the HPV, long before we were worried about sexual activity. I would have gotten for her years ago.
It doesn’t matter that she is going to Princeton…why would the college matter?
My kid had it.
It’s HER choice.
This is a decision that she should make in consultation with her doctor. Because she is a legal adult, you should allow her to have this discussion without you present, if she feels more comfortable with that.
Talk to her Pediatrician. We had the kids get it when they were in middle school.
It depends whether she wants to get the only anti-cancer vaccine that exists.
Promiscuity has nothing to do with it. You can get HPV from a long-term boyfriend who got it from someone else. And how do you know the extent of her sexual activity – now or in the future – anyway?
My daughter had three doses (the then recommended protocol) in middle school with no negative effects. It’s been found to be more effective if it’s initiated before sexual activity starts. Cervical cancer rates have been cut in at least half since the introduction of the vaccine. People always talk about wanting a “cure” for cancer. Well, this is something that actually prevents cancer. So, yes, I’d encourage her to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
We got the vaccine for our daughter as soon as our pediatrician recommended it. Even if she’s not promiscuous, she could end up with a partner who has HPV. Why take a chance?
I am not sure how this conversation didn’t come up years ago at the pediatricians office. They should have it before they are sexually active. My girls and boys got it. Everyone knows the benefits to girls, but it also prevents certain cancers in men and it also protects their future partners.
Personal choice btw, but you should have been aware of it before now, but still time!
This is a decision for you to make with your daughter and her physician based on medical history. One of my kiddos does not get the same vaccinations as the others after a reaction to a vaccination in the past, so even within families the decision may vary.
Yes. Every teenager, boy or girl, should get it. It is preventive toward a potentially deadly cancer. If she does become involved with a boy and they become sexual active, she should made sure he’s had it.
HPV is a virus that can lead to cancer. It doesn’t discriminate. Why would anyone not want to protect their child? Our boys and daughter all got the 3-shot sequence in their early teens.
Kudos to the OP for thinking of this. Hopefully it doesn’t come too late for the daughter.
However, this sentence really caught my attention. This is the crux of the problem with much of the parental resistance to this vaccine.
I still remember my shock and sadness when my choir teacher died of cervical cancer. I was 12 years old at that time, and she was 28 years old when she died.
The HPV vaccine helps prevent cancer. My D got the HPV vaccine when she was 14 years old, and I’m very glad she is protected.
Yes, please get her the vaccination. Better late than never! 
Both my kids got it - boy and girl.
Also, use this time to make sure she is well versed on proper birth control. Most college students will be sexually active at some point even if they aren’t now. Provide her with condoms as well as considering other forms of birth control. If she or you don’t feel comfortable talking about it together, her physician or gynecologist is a very good source of information.
You can also make sure she understands resources on campus that are available to her - health center, counseling center, other resources, as well as go over her health insurance/prescription cards with and such. These are skills all our kids learn to do as they “adult”. It seems obvious to us but isn’t always obvious to a teen who has relied on a parent to arrange such things.
Good luck to your daughter at Princeton!
p.s. Go to https://www.dangelomarket.com/default.aspx when in town.
Yes, seems that there may be the belief that one’s kid will certainly stay virgin until entering a mutually monogamous relationship with someone who also stays virgin until then.
She should get it – it prevents cancer – and visit a gynecologist if she plans to be sexually active in college.
Our pediatrician said It is so unfortunate when patients contract genital warts that could have been prevented from the vaccine.
Of course she should get it. It prevents cancer. And she’s several years behind schedule in getting it.
She probably also needs other immunizations before college, but she should schedule an appointment with her doctor NOW to start on the HPV because it’s a series of three shots.
Also, if she’s 18, she no longer needs your approval for medical things. If she hasn’t been accustomed to seeing doctors alone, the visits for the HPV vaccine would be a good time to start getting used to it. Some kids are overly dependent on their parents to communicate with doctors – a skill that takes some time to develop. They need every opportunity to practice.
YES
For anyone else reading this thread, please get your children vaccinated as soon as the doc allows. HPV doesn’t just infect people engaged in consensual sex. It doesn’t just affect people who have sex at all. A study a few years ago showed that about 1 in 10 “virgin” girls have hpv.