No, Children, the Swine Flu Vaccine Won't Turn You Into Pigs!

The swine flu is obviously serious business. Of course, that's why it is all over the news nowadays. And, why daycares and schools send home notes about hand-washing, and covering your cough, and how to otherwise try and control its spread. And, also why many parents spend a lot of time talking/worrying with one another about it.

Which automatically makes me think about how children perceive the whole discussion, and what they may "hear" when the swine flu is mentioned. Now, I know it's likely that perhaps the only children who think pigs when swine are mentioned are those children living on farms or in areas where farming is major business. But, I also know that many news stories include pictures of pigs while discussing the swine flu, and go into an analysis of how cross-contamination with humans occurred. Plus, I've seen reports of entire countries where even the adults were mistakenly convinced that they could catch the swine flu from pork (really, catching the flu from bacon?). So, it's not too hard to see how what I'm about to say is possible.

Many children, and I'm talking mainly about the 6-ish and under ones, could easily believe that the swine flu will turn them into pigs! Why? The primary reason involves how literal and concrete they are in understanding concepts, and how they tend to see the causes of illness in magical terms. I'm reminded of an article in a pediatrics journal in the early '80s entitled "There's a Demon in Your Belly: Children's Understanding of Illness." What, you might say, is "a demon in your belly"? It's an example of how a young child overheard a physician say "there's edema [that is, swelling] in your belly." But, how terrifying would it be to know even your doctor believes you have a demon in your belly! Of course, the only way to know a child might hear something that way is if they admit it, and not all do so until they've endured an inner terror for a while. That's why we all need to think through how we say what we say about this, keep it simple, and assume that younger children may need to discuss what they think the public health message really is.

Still not convinced how the youngest minds can so easily hear a different message than what we adults hear? Take a look at the book "The King Who Rained" (spelling is correct here and through this paragraph!) by Fred Gwynne. Think about it - what is a "horse throat," what are "foot prince in the snow," and what are "bear feet"? The excellent illustrations in this book are the best example I've seen of this entire "perception" thing. If you get your hands on the book, check out the page where daddy has a "mole on his nose." Looks a lot like Fred Gwynne doesn't it? Without googling his name....who was the most famous character that the actor Fred Gwynne portrayed? Seeing this book, he was clearly a much more intelligent man than that character!

Now, wash your hands and cover your cough. But, don't worry about the pigs!