Please don't lie to me and tell me that you heard there were terrible side effects so you don't want to immunize your teenager. There have been great studies recently showing that Gardasil definitely causes a sore arm and some people pass out after they get it (we are talking teen age girls getting shots here). It is no more harmful than any of the other vaccines which you have already quite willing given your child.
But what message are you giving your child by vaccinating against a sexually transmitted infection? I get it - you don't want your child to have sex until they are married. Guess what? I don't want your child to have sex until she is married either - and I told her that during our visit. So if you vaccinate your child for an STI are you telling her that you think she might have sex with multiple partners anyway?
Let me tell you what I am likely to tell your child.
I don't think you should have sex until you get married. A lot of people may try to pressure you to do things, and the choice is yours, but please don't let anyone pressure you into doing something that you don't want to do. If you choose not to have sex until you get married you protect yourself 100% from getting a sexually transmitted infection before marriage. However, what if the person you choose to marry did not wait to have sex until marriage? They could be a wonderful person who repented and is fully worthy - and they could also have HPV. Better to protect yourself.
That is what you can say to your child too. Getting the HPV vaccine is not a signal that you think your child will have premarital sex. It is a way of protecting your child from the potential consequences of someone else's bad choice.
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