To have told six year old what weed is?

[Conoondroom]

Hi,

Took six year old out for a walk (almost seven.) We got to an estate that always stinks of weed and she asked what the smell was. I told her it was weed, and that it’s a flower that people use as medicine for pain from a doctor or that other people use it because it makes them “feel silly, like wine”.

She has smelt it loads during summer. It’s becoming more and more common. I’ve lived in countries where weed is legal and smoked in the street in front of children, so perhaps I’m lax, but AIBU to have said what I said?

I don’t believe in hiding things from children and explain them at an age appropriate level. She knows what alcohol is and I don’t see how me telling her what weed is any different or worse than her knowing what alcohol is and seeing people getting absolutely trashed at Wetherspoons when we’ve walked past on weekend days during the summer. It’s also commonly vaped now (medicinal cannabis) legally, so I also don’t get the stigma as much anymore.

It’s not like I’ve purchased her a bong!

I am asking because my friend has told me I’m insane for telling a six year old what weed is.

She’s obviously smelt it several times but the estate we walk past stinks of it and obviously she’s noticing the smell.

No. Weed is dangerous and I'm so fed up of hearing it's not. I've seen friends and family with serious addictions, that have led to class A drugs, prison, and family breakdown with forcible adoption. I've seen the paranoia and depression it causes. Social media and hearsay have made people believe it's safe and have perpetuated false information about what it does to your body.

I am so fed up of walking down the street and smelling it. I don't want it near me or my kids. Feels like we've escaped cigarettes and now are stuck with this shite.

I was always open and honest with my dd about stuff like this. I'd have told her what it was if she asked.

However, I would have been much more open and honest about the fact that it's illegal, and about the fact that some people think it's harmless even though there is lots of evidence about how it causes poor mental health.

ETA I would also have been open and honest about how antisocial it is to smoke it in public places subjecting everyone to the smell.

I would also have said it can make you ill and so it is illegal to sell it.
I would also move house ....

😂😂😂 that's got nothing to do with weed?

As someone who went through CSA none of the guys who raped me smoked weed most were drunk on alcohol

You do have a point

Agreed, their are lots of people I went to school with who did weed heavily either as teenagers or at uni. Some of them died before they reached their 30s. Others had to drop out of med school because of the psychosis.

Some people might be fine. But it really does ruin lives. I wouldn’t want to take the risk to find out if I’m someone who’s fine with it or if it damages my brain.

Yet I know many people who have smoked it for 40 or 50 years without any of these issues.

Whereas those that are going heroine, spice , ketamine etc seem to

Because eventually it will lead to questions as to "Why ?" and a failure to explain.

My DS was sharp as a tack and pretty soon started asking why other dangerous things were not against the law.

Because it can lead to mental health problems.
Because some doctors think it is bad for people's brains
Because it stops people thinking clearly
Because some people want to take too much and then can't concentrate enough to work

Not hard.

And re other dangerous things:

Because the law isn't always consistent as it gets made by different governments at different times.
Because people who make laws have different views on how harmful things are.

Well it will probably go one of two ways. Hard to predict which.

Oh and also next time you walk past a bunch of miscreants smoking the stuff expect a loud "Mummy that's the weed you were talking about isn't it" with zero volume filter.

I would have said similar but added that it is a drug and that it can make some people poorly.

There’s a really prevalent view that informing children about the realities of life destroys their innocence and spoils their childhood - telling them about sexual reproduction, drug use, divorce, even the correct names for their own anatomy. I don’t accept it. I think it’s shame and secrecy that destroys children’s innocence, and furnishing them with factual information as it arises is a completely healthy and natural way for them to learn.

Just going to leave this here for you -

Y
https://www.ulh.nhs.uk/patients/patient-information-library/cannabis-and-smoking-health/

Key takes:

None of the 7,000+ studies into cannabis have shown it to be safe.
Cannabis contains more than 400 chemicals, including most toxins found in tobacco smoke but often in higher concentrations.
People who smoke cannabis are likely to develop respiratory problems like tobacco smokers – cough, phlegm, chest colds and bronchitis.
Half of regular users have pre-cancerous changes in the cells of the lungs.
The risk of a heart attack is four times higher than usual in the hour after smoking cannabis.
Cannabis is the most common illegal drug in the UK.
Cannabis users are more likely to use other drugs, such as cocaine.
Reaction times for skills such as driving are reduced by 41% after smoking one joint and by 63% after smoking two.

People who claim it is a harmless substance are either fools and/or very good at deceiving themselves.

Most of that is the same as smoking cigarettes

Yanbu.
My dd asked a similar question when she was about five. We live in a large city, she smells it regularly, and it's normal for them to be curious about what this regular stink is. I answered in the same way as you. My exH went mental at me for telling her. I think if sonething affects them, they have a right to know what it it. DD is now eight, and is very disapproving of weed/drugs.

Yeah they'd also be bad for you. What's your point?

Well they are bad for you but legal. So why is weed illegal but not cigarettes

I’ve talked honestly (and age Appropriately) to my kids (now 26 and 23) about drugs for as long as I can remember. I gave talked honestly about why people take them, and what The dangers are. It seemed to work for us.

Is that really the message you want to give a 6yo: it’s not fair that one is illegal and one isn’t. Surely the idea is: don’t do either. Not a nuanced debate about drug laws - not at 6 anyway.

I've no need to be explaining it to a 6 year old but I think the OP did perfectly well. What's the need of saying about illegal?

@Timeforachange26 you were the one debating the illegality of weed v cigarettes on a thread about what to say to a 6yo 🤷‍♀️

I'm a big fan of being honest with kids in a reasonable way.

Why?

Of course it's fine to bring up relevant subjects in child-appropriate ways with your children.

And..?