As we were leaving the grocery store yesterday afternoon, my 4 year old noticed two people standing outside the store smoking. In a most genuine display of admonishiment and judgement that only a preschooler can display without being considered politically incorrect, she says to me wide-eyed, "Look Mom! Those people have SMOKERS!" Smokers, of course, being her term for cigarettes. Being within earshot, they glanced over at her, and we exchanged sheepish grins. I didn't proceed into a long-winded lecture, and I fought back the temptation to follow up her comment with some audible remark about how smoking is very bad for a person's health. No, in that moment, I took the high road, kept my opinions to myself, and let the words of a 4 year old speak for themselves...in the end, probably much more poignant than any disapproving glance or stare from me would have accomplished.
This week, a new study was published in the journal, Pediatrics, that reveals that children who are exposed to second-hand smoke have a 50% increased likelihood of suffering from things like ADHD, learning disabilities, and other neurobehavioral problems. It's not rocket science that smoking is bad for your health, but now we have yet one more reason to back up what we've been saying for years: Adults' smoking is BAD FOR OUR CHILDREN'S HEALTH! Arm yourself and your kids with this news, and feel free to share the endearing comments that your own children deal out to smokers everywhere!
