Their disagreement about whether to vaccinate their kids was not Heather and Norm’s first pandemic dispute, but it was the most alarming to Heather. Earlier, she had heard from her kids that their dad encouraged them not to wear masks. (Norm said he believes that most cloth and surgical masks aren’t effective at preventing transmission of SARS-CoV-2, so unless kids are going to wear N95s, masks are not worth it.) Heather was concerned by this, but also knew co-parenting is an exercise in choosing battles. She was unsettled, but ultimately figured it was behavior she couldn’t influence.

“My bubble isn’t just my four-person household,” she said, referring to her kids and her partner. “It extends to another household that I don’t have much input into or control over.”

The vaccination issue was different though. It felt more fundamental to the kids’ safety and well-being. Heather tried to reason and plead with Norm. She tried analogies. It was like letting them ride in a car without a seatbelt, she argued.

“Let’s wait and let them play in traffic and see if they get hit by a car, not everyone dies from that,” she offered, provocatively.