If one of your children has the chickenpox, is it cruel/abusive to make sure your other children catch it as well?

They will get it anyway.

There is a chicken pox vaccine now. I still have scars from the chicken pox as an adult.

yes, (why did i pick no)

vaccinate them!

It wasn't at the time but now there is a vaccine. My brother had it and they made me stay home but I didn't think I really had it. Well, fast forward 45 years later and I got shingles. You can't get shingles if you never had chicken pox so it's best to get the vaccine and never have chicken pox. So, I don't think you should intentionally give your child chicken pox for that reason alone.

They are better off having the virus than the mercury in the vaccine,

Getting it over with quicker is good.

"go give your brother a big kiss"

Sanity. You know they'll catch it = why not deal with it all at once?

Cruel/abuse has nothing to do with it, if you're in the same house as someone with Chickenpox and you have never had Chickenpox, guess what, you're getting Chickenpox.

From the Illinois department of health:

How is chickenpox spread?

Chickenpox is one of the most readily communicable diseases. It can be spread from person to person by direct contact with fluid from the blisters or with secretions from the respiratory tract or by handling an infected person's clothing or bedding. Airborne transmission is possible through sneezing and coughing. Susceptibility to chickenpox is universal among those not previously infected. The greatest number of cases occur in the winter and early spring.

Funny story time:
My brother got Chicken Pox over Christmas break one year, he had it the whole time we were home from school, which was two weeks. The night before we were to go back to school, my brother was better. Guess who got another two weeks off from school due to the chicken pox, yep, this guy.

Haha, I remember it took 3 weeks after my sister got over it for me to catch it, two weeks of no school was pretty awesome...but at that age (8), I just got bored being around the house after 5 days.

Yeah, true. The first couple of days with Chicken Pox are kind of bad, but after about a week you're just covered in Pox, but still infectious so you really can't leave the house.

Not at all. Much better to have it when you are young and then develop the natural immunity.

The problem with having chicken pox is shingles when you get older. I never thought I had it but I had shingles so I guess I did. That is far worse than mere chicken pox, I promise.

Sure it may be annoying and all but it's better than attracting the virus at an older age.