Smoking Around Kids
At the end of the “trampoline” conversation last week, one reader’s question got lost. And it’s one that resonates not just in terms of the issue mentioned, smoking, but also of other child-raising disputes:
I am curious if anyone has had issues with family members or with friends’ parents when it comes to your kids being around smoke — secondhand or thirdhand, and if so, how it played out.
Did you take a stand, and was your decision respected, especially if it involved you not visiting someone’s home? Have more seasoned parents softened their positions on the issue as their kids got older? Just curious, as I am involved in a family dispute right now over this, where my decision to keep my baby away from thirdhand smoke is being ridiculed — Holmes1
Regular commenter Whacky Weasel brought smoking and kids back up in Friday’s beer drinking blog:
I’ve seen some comments where people say it’s OK to model “responsible” drinking in front of their kids. It seems ridiculous to me though, other than through complete abstinence, to model “responsible” smoking.
Which prompts me to ask out of curiosity, does anybody know if it’s unlawful to light up at an outdoor school sporting event such as a football or softball game?
I’ve been to many games and have sometimes noticed that people were smoking. I would think it would be against the law, but I’ve never heard of anybody getting arrested for it.
As we’ve discussed before, I’ve got a zero tolerance policy around smoking. Not only am I super sensitive to the smell from years of living with a mom who smoked, but my 5-year-old is asthmatic. Still, even with my strong biases, it doesn’t stop us from an annual visit to a family household where one person smokes outside and in the garage. I just do my best to keep us all away from those areas. Before my mother-in-law quit her smoking habit, we wouldn’t visit her house; rather, we’d stay in a nearby hotel and get together in other places.
In truth, though, our family seems the most understanding of all. Out in the “real” world, at sporting events or the park, smokers don’t seem to notice this crazy mama doing all she can to avoid the stench and steer the kids clear of it. Still, a tiny smell of cigarettes is all it takes for some kids to realize it’s a habit they never want to start. So, maybe one tiny sniff in a lifetime isn’t all bad. As for Holmes1′s question about whether I’ve softened my stance as the kids have gotten older, my answer is not in 7 1/2 years. And I don’t see that changing.
How do you handle this smoking gun, both with family and out and about?
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