Would you send your 1 year old to a nursery where staff smoke during breaks?

[DesignMamma]

I went to see a nursery yesterday, where I am going to enroll my 1 year l old, I noticed staff smoking during their lunch break. I am all for people doing what they want during their breaks, however what I am worried about is smoke still being on clothes etc. Any mums out there with similar experiences with their nurseries? Thanks

I work in a nursery and staff are allowed to smoke on breaks, but they must change their tshirt, and thoroughly wash their hands and freshen up using gum when finished

@LST

You have no idea if the staff smoke at any nursery. You just saw these ones doing it. I used to work at a nursery and as long as we were off site and out of sight you were allowed a fag on your break.

This

I have absolutely no idea what the smoking status was of the staff at my children's nurseries when they attended. I don't know if their school teachers smoke either. And staff change. You could go to another nursery and have no idea whether the staff smoke or not. They could hire someone new who smokes.

My nursery has a no smoking policy, staff are not permitted to smoke before or during working hours. Look up third hand smoke dangers in babies and small children.

When DS was a baby he’d often come home from nursery smelling of someone’s perfume or body spray where he’d been cuddled by a staff member and it had rubbed off onto his clothes. I would not be happy at all if he came home smelling of stale cigarette smoke, I find it disgusting.

It would be off putting.
But I'd take other aspects of the nursery in to consideration too. And also what the alternatives are.

No. I would hate the smell and I think it sets a bad example to (the older) children.

It wouldn't bother me (ex-smoker).

In the care home my mum was in most of the staff smoked outside with their uniforms on their breaks, they would come in and give personal care to the residents.

Staff will smoke at every nursery

It’s a definite no from me.

I don’t know that you’ll find a nursery where no one smokes.

No

No.

I live opposite a nursery and primary school, the staff are always outside smoking on their breaks.

Personally I don't care if the nursery staff smoke in their breaks. They're adults and can do as they want. They shouldn't be doing it in sight of the kids though. They should always act as role models.

It would definitely put me off. I know you can't guarantee it anywhere but equally knowing the to definitely did would put me off. Especially with under two's where there is more physical contact.

@Tlollj

Where were they? Outside out of sight of the children? I wouldn’t like it I have to say, I had ructions with brown owl once. But ask about hand washing policy etc. Like others have said not sure what else you can do.

"I had ructions with brown owl once" is one of my favourite sentences I've read on mumsnet 😄

It would put me off a bit I think but equally, I have no clue if anyone at either of my daughters nurseries smoke. How would I? Particularly at the moment, I don’t go anywhere near them to even get a possible waft! I’d go more on the reputation of the nursery personally. The better & well run the nursery, the more likely they are to have smoking policies mentioned above such as changing clothes etc!

I wouldn't send my child there no

I agree smoking is disgusting and it stinks and the way the staff members were going about it was wrong and should be questioned. And I totally understand and know the consequences of second hand smoke.

But everyone saying “no” is just being plain naive.
The three nurseries I worked in, all of them had at least one working staff member. Just like near enough every place of work in the country.

All my nurseries had firm policy though - no smoking in uniform. Smoking staff members were made to change, and they did at the start of their lunch break and then changed back. Unfortunately you can’t put a ban on smoking across the whole day because nursery staff breaks are unpaid in 99% of cases, meaning you can’t dictate what they do.

In sight of the nursery in uniform was wrong and shouldn’t have happened. But don’t be naive, many nursery workers who look after your children will smoke. Just like doctors and carers and medical staff who look after you.

OP do bring up the policy with the manager though because that wasn’t done well at all

This would definitely put me off and I would choose a different setting. No one in my family or friendship group smokes so I definitely wouldn’t expose my children to this at nursery. I personally chose a childminder who was amazing with both my dc.

if you are choosing a nursery you have to accept that this is something you can’t control. If you hadn’t seen them you wouldn’t know and if you move to another nursery, you would have no idea if their staff smoke either.

This is probably a benefit of a childminder as you’d know if they smoke or don’t and can make your decision accordingly.

For the record, I wouldn’t want anyone looking after my small children who had been smoking, but I’m not sure how you can control it if you don’t know about it.

As others have said when I worked in a nursery smokers had to wear something over their uniform and smoke away from the building. In all honesty, I rarely smelt smoke on my colleagues - they were probably only having one during a lunchbreak as we weren't allowed out of the building for breaks.
You could ask management about their policy.

As a nursery manager my staff can smoke on their break but are asked to walk around the corner out site and our policy states they must leave at least 15 minutes before returning to work and ensure they do not smell of cigarette smoke

No way

Oh my word, I don't know how people manage to get through this parenting lark in a perpetual state of worry about what is surely the most minimal of risks. What even is the risk? I feel sorry for smokers these days, total pariahs and no, I'm not one or even an ex one. There is often too a faint whiff of snobbery about these kind of threads which I find a bit unpleasant. 'Oh these working class oiks working in care settings daring to smoke anywhere within 100 metres of my precious darlings'. Get over yourselves, a lot of the same people in my experience who complain about these kind of things drive big polluting fancy SUVs.