Do you think a parent who smokes ciggarettes is a bad parent?

Question

After watching the news this evening, Britney Spears is back in the news for smoking in front of her son (of all things). In a photo he was grabbing at a lighter and her ciggarette pack. I understand that's not good. Those should be placed out of his reach obviously. But do you think this is abuse? I mean come on, my mother smoked and it didnt set a bad example for us five kids. Only 1 out of the 5 of us now smokes as an adult (not me). And she only started after she turned 21. So how bad of an example could it have been. Whats next for the courts and govt to attack on parents. What point is too far for them to go in deciding what is right or wrong in my home, your home, or anyones home for that matter. Any opinions are appreciated. (Also, I do not approve of smoking as I watched my mom die of lung cancer, which is why i don't smoke, but i do approve of a persons right to choose. I also think that God did not put me here to judge the ppl that do).

Answer 1

They are only saying that because she's Britney Spears and they are constantly looking for ways to bash her parenting skills. I feel bad for her. In my opinion it does not make you a bad parent. It's an addiction that has nothing to do with how much you love or care for your child. I do think that parents should try to avoid smoking around their kids just so they don't pass on second hand smoke. My mother smokes, but I don't and my sis occasionally does. So just like your situation, I don't think it affects parenting skills.

Answer 2

No way, both of my parents smoked, and they were great parents. My husband's dad smoked, and he was a great parents.

Just because someone smokes doesn't make them a bad parents. And it's NOT abuse to be a smoker AND a parent. I don't agree with smoking either, but I'm not going to call all smokers bad parents.

Now leaving a toddler in a room where everyone is smoking is VERY irresponsible! That's completely different than someone who goes outdoors to smoke.

Britney Spears has other issues besides smoking, why aren't you asking if parents that go out and party are bad parents?!

Answer 3

I agree with you 100%, my mother died too of lung cancer from smoking.  She smoked when we were kids, it was the norm then (the 70's).  I have asthma now, and partially blame it on that.  My father also recently had a malignant tumour removed from his lung.  Probably from living with a smoker for 25 years.

Anyway, although I think smoking around children is wrong and incredibly stupid (how can anyone claim they don't know the effect cigarette smoke has on children?), I also think that the government is going too far.

In Canada recently, a 12 year old girl sued her father because he disciplined her for going on an inappropriate website and posting questionable pictures of herself, after he specifically told her not to.  The punsihment was not being allowed to go on her school field trip.  The sad thing?  She won the case.  Talk about the government having too much control!

Answer 4

i know that having a parent that smokes increases your chances of smoking..but no it doesnt make you a bad parent, my mom smokes and shes the best mom in the world, i wish she would quit so she can continue to be my mom for many many years

Answer 5

I don't think smoking makes you a bad parent, but I don't agree with the people that drive around smoking with their kid(s) in the car (especially if the windows are all the way up!). And I think once you are a parent with a baby/kid in the house, it's a good idea to take it outside. It's your kids-why not do what's best for them? However, it's not my baby girl, so I have no right to complain i suppose

Answer 6

Smoking around your kids or where the kids usually are, like the car or inside the house would make you a bad parent.

Answer 7

I saw that story and I think Britney is a highly irresponsible person and she is not the model parent for sure, so it didn't surprise me to see what she did with allowing her son to play with a lighter.  The lights are not all on upstairs for her.

However, smoking does not make you a bad parent.  I think it's irresponsible to do, especially in front of the kids, but I know many other parents that smoke and are top notch people and as sweet as can be.  I still believe that no one, not even a parent, should smoke around their child or any one else's child.  Children have the right to breathe clean air, not second hand smoke.

Answer 8

There are millions of parents who smoke.  Britney Spears is a very high profile person, so everything she does is scrutinized closely under a microscope, whether it's something every other American is doing or not.  I don't think smoking is right, but I don't think that a parent is a bad parent if they smoke.  I think the whole issue with Britney Spears is very sad.  How would you like your life to be in the light like that, with everyone watching and judging your every move and every mistake.  Hey, we all make mistakes.  Most of ours aren't publicized for the whole world to see, though.

Answer 9

As someone already said, smoking does not automatically make someone a bad parent. However, it does not set a good example to kids. The parent should be aware that smoking is a bad habit, and get help to try and change that way of life.

Smoking in the presence of the children would not be a good idea either.

Answer 10

No, smoking does not make a person a bad parent. Things are getting really crazy when people start saying things like that.

Answer 11

Just because someone smokes doesnt make them a bad parent, but they shouldnt smoke in front of their kids either. I am an ex smoker, and my husband still smokes, but we will not smoke in front of our children. My parents smoke and they never smoked in front of us. The only thing that disturbs me is when I see a parent with their child in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

Answer 12

My opinion is more about smoking indoors or inside a car with a child.  The smoke stays in the air, forcing the child to breath it.

My mom and the rest of my family smoked indoors around me for as long as I can remember.  I started smoking when I was 13.  Now, to be honest, I started smoking out of peer pressure, not because my family did.  But see my family smoke made me think that it wasnt really such a bad thing.

I got caught tons of times and would get in trouble, and every time I would have to sit through a lecture about how bad smoking is...   the whole time watching my mom smoke.

And then, I was diagnosed with cancer at 21.  My cancer is leukekemia, which many people try to say is not smoking related.  But benzene is one of the chemicals in cig smoke and is a direct link to my type of leukemia, aml.

It is my cancer that gives me my strong feelings about smoking.  And as I said earlier, I would rather throw a fit over smoking inside a house or car with a child, rather than just the child seeing the parent smoke.  Lets work on one thing at a time.

I do believe its a person's right to choose to smoke or not.  But when does their right to smoke impose on others, in this case their own children's right to be healthy?

Answer 13

Smoking cigarettes does not automatically make you a bad parent.  However, letting your children get ahold of your smoking paraphernalia is not great.  Its not "abuse" though.  Far from it.  The things should obviously been out of their reach.  That being said, my kids occasionally get ahold of things that they shouldn't have.  Accidents happen.  If cameras followed you around 24/7 I'm sure there would be a few photos taken that made you look awful and neglectful.  I don't exactly look to Britney for parenting advice, so I couldn't care less what she does.  Same goes for people that I don't even know.

Answer 14

Engaging in activity that will kill you and effect the health of those around you is "bad parenting".  I know that sounds judgemental but if you die and leave your kids for someone else to raise well, that's not ideal.

Answer 15

I think exposing a child to smoke is irresponsible parenting, period! I don't believe parents should be allowed to smoke anywhere in the vicinity of their kids. People have thee right to damage their own health if they so choose, but they have no right to damage the health of others.

Answer 16

I definitely don't think that a smoking parent makes them a bad parent.  My husband is a smoker, and has been for as long as I've known him.  We now have a 2 year old son, and he still smokes, but never in the same room (or any room), he makes sure to do it outside or away from the house, and I think by him doing that, it makes him a good parent.  He is an incredible dad and my son loves him to death, and just because he smokes doesn't mean that he's any less of a person.  Plus, my husband is working towards quitting, and that's the most I can ask from him.  As for Brinteny Spears, she is a celebrity and is always in the public eye, so yes, whenever she is doing anything that people can judge and criticize, they will.  She's only human.  She has made many mistakes, but who are we to judge her?  So in my opinion, a smoker does not automatically mean they are bad examples or any less of a parent.  There are worst things out there that people can do to tarnish their reputations.

Answer 17

Are my own parents now in their 60's bad parents because they smoked around my sibling and I?  No, they just about turned out to be as good parents as any I know besides them.  A parent that smokes is not bad unless they are not careful of how they handle smoking around their kids.  I think people tend to take some things a bit far...there are worse things out there than smoking to be a bad parent.

Answer 18

A bad parent is someone who abuses there children. Just because a parent smokes it does not mean he/ she is bad.

Answer 19

smoking does not reflect on what kind of parent you are. as long as you care for your child. you have to always be there for them and understand them....and most importantly, you have to love them. i mean, think about it, almost every single guy in china smokes but that doesn't mean that almost every single man in china is a bad parent.

Answer 20

smoking next to your kids is bad..

my mom always smokes right beside me..all that funk rolling makes me wanna take the cigarette and throw it somewhere..shed just ***** if i did though

Answer 21

Oh, come on.  

People need to lay the EFF OFF.  Now, they're just looking for things to bash her.

Toddlers grab everything.  And she was right there to take it from him.  It happens to everyone, whether it be a lighter, nail clippers, sharp pencil, chokeable toy, etc etc.  are all these people abusive??

Here's something to ponder:  We all know (well SHOULD know) that breast milk lowers your child's risk of getting certain cancers.  Some people in here are saying "a child should choose if they want their heath damaged or not", so by that I'd also assume they think people who choose not to breast feed are abusing their child as well?