Should smokers be prevented from fostering children?

[sp1814]

Another case of the nanny state, or a sensible step to protect kids from passive smoking?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/77212 20.stm

[LoftyLottie]

Show us some examples of this research Doc ;o)

[smudge]

weeal - that's what I was trying to put over.

The two grown men I know, have never smoked - but, are not to be trusted around young girls......and if anyone who knows me on here reads this - tough, because they're true facts!

Yes, I know the Q is about smoking around young children, etc., but there are far worse things for them to face in some foster homes, believe me!

[smudge]

Sorry, but I feel so strongly about my last post, it churns me up inside just thinking about it!

[smudge]

Yes, there should always be strict rules & vetting of potential foster parents, but sadly there are far too many other issues that are overlooked when doing so.

[LoftyLottie]

Nothing as reliable as a Daily Mail article, Doc!. :o)

[CAJ1]

I think they should at least have to go outside to smoke and should discipline the children if they try smoking. I was fostered and my foster parents never told me off once for smoking (as they were smokers too), I ended up smoking for 6 years before I managed to get off them! I believe that if I had been told off for smoking and they hadn't of smoked too I might not have ended up doing it.

[smudge]

DM scare mongering at its best there Doc, but myself & others can speak from personal experience....

[LoftyLottie]

Well, from what I can see at first hand as I have a friend who is being vetted for fostering, not a stone has been left unturned. She has five children of her own and has brought them up beautifully (for several years now on her own). It has taken over a year so far for all the various checks and there are loads of them.

[weeal]

awww smudge thats awful

Yes there are far more serious issues with caring for children, caring for anyone for that matter, than smoking although I agree that smoking is not nice.

I grew up with a chain smoking father, my mother lived with him for 40-odd years until he died - she never smoked and has no smoke-related illnesses. 4 kids and none of us have.

[Ice.Maiden]

Well I don't smoke, although I did in my mid teens. My initial reaction is that NO parent should smoke around their children, whether foster or natural ones, but it doesn't make a person a bad carer if they do. I stopped drinking when I was pregnant, and still don't have much. Would a smoking ban extend to a drinking one, which is, after all, just as injurious to health? Do you think it's right that adults should be drunk in charge of children, or drag them off to the pub with them? I've seen people satggering around with babies in their arms - not good at all, so perhaps both activities should go by the board then?

[CAJ1]

Also, when I was older I sat on the fostering and adoption panel for 3 years. The vetting process is very intense and like LoftyLottie says no stone is left unturned and most of the people who wanted to foster/adopt were lovely people regardless of whether or not they smoked.

[LoftyLottie]

My father smoked 40 a day too for most of his life! A lot of people did back then and they knew no different. He was also in and out of hospital with chest infections and had asthma. Fortunately, I am fine. But personal stories have to be taken out of the equation.

There are a lot of stories of people who are fine even though they are subjected to risks, but equally as many stories of people who are not.

I agree that we need to live our lives without getting too uptight about the rights and wrongs of everything, but authorities who place children can't afford to take this attitude. As soon as something goes wrong, people will blame the authorities. They can't win.

[smudge]

Thanks weeal - same here.

My mother never smoked either - well she only 'pretended' to at Christmas time & it made us all laugh, as she never took it down, bless her!

Old friends of ours (both non-smokers & now divorced), fostered children, as they couldn't have any of their own. Two little girls who they did foster, were so disturbed after being placed with previous foster parents. I can't go into details of what came out of these little girls mouths, but it was absolutely heartbreaking learning of what they'd both been through.

And yes, I do know that not all foster parents are cruel or unkind....

[LoftyLottie]

I think peoples drinking habits are very much taken into consideration too Ice Maiden.

[David Black]

Yes absolutely.

Sadly smokers are drug addicts just like people who drink too much and children need to be protected from these blighting illnesses.

[smudge]

"But personal stories have to be taken out of the equation"?

Then how on earth would the authorities build up cases to then be recorded for future reference?

[LoftyLottie]

I meant our personal stories on this thread, Smudge.

I was not damaged by smoking (hopefully) but this isn't the issue.

Passive smoking is now known to damage children's health. Therefore, to be it is totally logical to not place children into a smoking household.

I agree David Black.

[sp1814]

It's an emotive subject, but on balance, I think that smokers shouldn't actually be banned from fostering, but they should be placed at the bottom of the pile, if you see what I mean.

If you had two families of equal fostering ability, where one had smoking parents, and the others non-smoking, logic dictates that the non-smokers should get preference.

But then again, I'm pretty sure that if I wanted to foster or adopt, and the thing that was standing in the way was ciggies (I'm a smoker), it'd be a really great incentive to give up.