Smoking around children??!!

[hellosemra]

I am a smoker myself and my DH but we never smoke next to our DC. But my brother and sister all smoke next to their DC, my sister actually holds her little girls hand while walking on the street and has a cigarette, i am totally against letting children see smoking adults around so my brother lit one fag up next to my child and said he should get used to it 'like his parents don't smoke' which really pissed me off! I can go with days not smoking if i have DC next to me. I can never smoke on the street as i feel very uncomfortable with children passing by. AIBU to not let my DC see parents smoking??

It’s unhealthy, vile and unfair. It looks chavvy too.

'Chavvy' is a dreadful word, but I too hate seeing parents smoking next to their children. YANBU in that respect (and you decide who smokes around your dc, not your brother). But tbh, your brother does have a bit of a point - your children will grow up knowing you smoke, even if you don't ever smoke around them, and smoking yourself is one of the statistically surest ways of raising a future smoker. You're also risking dying young and leaving them without you or leaving them coping with your ill-health when they're barely into adulthood. If you can go for days without smoking if your dc are around you, why not give up altogether?

Surely the thing to focus on is the fact that you and DH should quit because you'll live longer, have more money and set the very best example. It's a bit mad to judge other parents for smoking near DC when you smoke and have DC; your choices and habits will still have an effect on them.

Isn't it something like two hours after your last cigarette you can still pass on the toxins to your DC via your clothes, hair and skin? Third hand smoke is still harmful. I'd worry far more about that.