Oh and specifically about the MMR: I think it's a good and useful vaccine, best given *around* age 1 with a booster to follow. (If you wait to give the vaccine until the child's immune system is able to respond, you don't need as many shots.) The Mumps vaccine doesn't seem so important, but Rubella can cause birth defects and is worth keeping to a minimum in our population via maintaining herd immunity. As is measles, just because it is a severe illness with a high complication rate.