A Pox on My Child: Cool!

"I am very glad for people who have chickenpox parties," she said. "A little playing, some conversation and some passing of the pox to the next family. I am glad there are still enough of us who see the benefit and have these play dates."

In an AAP survey published in May, 70 percent of responding physicians reported that at least one parent had refused an immunization for a child in the past 12 months. The chickenpox vaccine was the second most refused immunization, trailing only the shot that combines measles, mumps and rubella.

For those in favor of pox play dates, finding each other has become much easier through the Internet, where parents can post e-mails on message groups seeking the pox or offering their homes for a party.

Many parents who don't vaccinate their children or who use vaccines sparingly worry that ingredients in the shots could cause autism or other disorders, although no connection between vaccines and these disorders has been proven.

When Laura Eisen wanted to expose her son before he started preschool this year, she posted messages on Mothering.com and two message boards. Eisen, who lives in Bethesda, asked friends and her pediatrician to also point her toward any leads. She heard about a child attending summer camp at a local school who had caught the pox and contacted the child's family through the camp nurse. The parents rejected Eisen's suggestion that they sponsor a pox party, saying they thought sharing the pox might be a legal liability.

"That's when I knew I lived in Washington," Eisen said.

This summer, Eisen and her son both caught chickenpox, though she's not sure where. Eisen, who came down with it first, immediately called a friend who also was searching for the pox, who brought her son over.

"I hugged him, coughed on him, let him touch the pox," said Eisen.

The same friend a few years ago had brought her younger child over to catch the pox from Eisen's youngest. "It's like the old days," said Eisen of the growing chickenpox party network. She remembers pox parties being part of her own childhood.

Mind of Its Own

While chickenpox is sometimes extremely contagious, parents are also finding it's not always easy to contract. That child who touched Eisen's pox is, a few weeks later, still perfectly healthy. Sally Holdener of Nokesville has been trying to infect her youngest three children (her older two have already had the disease) with no luck.

She's been to a chickenpox party. And she went to a play group where one of the kids had recently contracted the pox ("prime time" in chickenpox party vernacular) and stayed five hours. Part of the problem is that children are most contagious just before the pox show up, although they can still pass the disease until the scabs heal over, a window of about five to 10 days. Holdener will keep trying, because her family embraces a lifestyle that includes eating mainly whole foods and not using any vaccines.

Mothering, the Magazine for Natural Family Living, published a story last year celebrating the exposure method. The story suggests asking pediatricians to contact you when a child comes down with the illness. "Pass a whistle from the infected child to the other children at the party," it recommends.