Tennessee, New Bill Would Ban Smoking In Cars With Children. (home, school district)
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Headed down the road towards the liberals' nirvana. Government will control and regulate every aspect of our lives. People are too stupid to be responsible for their lives and actions.
Common sense tells us not to smoke in the presence of our children under any circumstances; you shouldn't and it's wrong.
But it's a very slippery slope to allow the govt to legislate that aspect of our lives. As other posters have mentioned, it's only a matter of time till they move on to the next behavior that the govt feels we must regulate.
Come live in NJ for a month or two and you'll see where you're headed.
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A few years ago, my 10-year old son complained at school about an essay that we made him write explaining the dangers of playing with fire in the woods behind our house. (He and his friend had broken into a neighbor's shed and tried to steal some white camping-stove gas, thank God the neighbor caught them. But later that day they were playing with matches in the woods, lighting leaves on fire, and we caught them).
When he saw he had a captive audience, he also complained that each day (weather permitting) after school, they were sent outside for an hour to play: with each other, the other kids in the neighborhood, ride bikes, or just hang out outdoors. We lived in a neighborhood with tons of kids and very little traffic.
His school counselor called Child Protective Services and we were under investigation for over a month. During that time, my husband (at the time, my live-in boyfriend) wasn't allowed to be alone with my son. They investigated our backgrounds, looked through our house, called our doctors and pediatricians, and interrogated us like you wouldn't believe. We were determined to be innocent of the charges of abuse.
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Two years ago, my husband took my son (14) and had an "emphatic" talk with him, after he was smart-mouthing me and really acting up. He didn't hit him or anything like that but really seethed at him that he'd better clean up his act.
My son went to his dad's house and told his dad that he was afraid to come home because he was afraid of my husband. Once again, we were investigated. Same routine as above. Found innocent, again.
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Last year, my son (now 15) had a babysitting job on about a weekly basis for a couple while they went out drinking. Their 3-year-old son has learning disabilities and slow speech development. After about a year of babysitting, the parents came home hammered and my son (with just his learner's permit) had to drive to our house in their truck because the father was too drunk. The mother called the police because she claimed their son said something that sounded like "jimmy sucked my peepee".
Child services investigated us again, this time for over 3 months. During that time, my son was not permitted to be alone with my 2-year-old under any circumstances. In the meantime, the mother rescinded her story... but the damage was done; the case can't be withdrawn once it's begun. At the end, the authorities found once again, that the claim was unfounded and our record was cleared.
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The disturbing part of this is, we're now in the child protective services records three times. This last time, they came to our house with the forms all filled out because they had all our information from prior "cases".
God forbid something genuinely happens at our house--if my 2-year-old falls down the stairs and breaks his arm, doctors and daycare are required to report it as possible abuse--we will not be given the benefit of the doubt and I wouldn't be surprised if we'd lose custody of him, after all the times we've been reported for our various abuses.
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The really disturbing part of this is, how is it that we're so thoroughly investigated, but there are families of foster children who are starved for years by their foster parents after numerous visits from child services, as well as children who are so brutally beaten that they finally die and are stuffed in rubbermaid bins in their basement, and no one asks a question of those parents?
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/rant off
There will be a day, if we allow these laws for the "good of the children", where the government is raising our children for us.
What about the laws that prohibit restaurants from serving foods with trans fats?
Per-person order limits at fast food restaurants for obese people? (don't remember the details on this one)
What about the kid who was suspended for bringing skittles to school because the school had prohibited candy to prevent unhealthy obesity in children?
The 2nd graders suspended from school because they played cops and robbers with their fingers as guns on the playground?
The law in California prohibiting home schooling by parents unless the parent is a certified teacher?
The pending law in California that will automatically adjust your thermostat in your home according to energy consumption?
The pending law in NJ that makes a bar liable if a drunk person walks into the bar, they don't serve him, and the drunk walks out of the bar and kills someone with his car. Even if he didn't have a single drink at that bar.
For that matter, making bars liable for the actions of drunk drivers at all makes no sense to me.
There are a lot more of these sorts of "nanny" laws in the works and already on the books.
You believe you have a parental right to force your kids to breathe smoke filled air?
A sensible parent wont blow smoke in their kids faces. But a sensible parent also WANTS THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF THEIR BUSINESS!! The City of New York has already said you cant buy foods in the city that contain trans fats. When will it stop? land of the free/ Not anymore!
Most of our laws are reactive, not proactive. In this case, we need to be proactive. I doubt that you will find a single medical professional who will state that the parents' smoking in the house does not injure the children. Worse, it is an injury that can never heal completely.
Yet, parents in the millions smoke in their houses and subject their children to the assault of tobacco smoke. The only way to stop the assault is to make it illegal, just as beating children is illegal. No, it won't stop all of it, but it will help temendously. Is it unfortunate that government has to step in because adults won't do the right thing? You bet it is, but the inevitable result of the government not stepping in is millions more kids with health issues that they never should have had.
And as a reminder, things are a lot different than when I was growing up. Back then, there was still actual debate about whether smoking and second hand smoke were harmful or not. That debate is long over. And there is another difference. Houses today are a lot tighter than they used to be. Indoor air pollution is becoming a real issue, and that's without even considering smoking.
I grew up in a house that didn't even have insulation. We had air infiltration big time. That helped mitigate the second hand smoke somewhat. Today's kids live in houses that are almost hermetically sealed. The consequences of smoking in a tight house are far greater than they used to be. The law needs to deal with it.
1. Is it illegal to smoke in the house when a child is present? Should it be? How should authorities enforce that?
2. Smoke particles remain in clothing for hours after the cigarette is out. How long after a cigarette is extinguished should a person wait to hug their child? Should that be a law also? How should it be enforced?
3. If your house had no insulation, should not the authorities have made sure you were warm enough by conducting surprise inspections of the home and checking the temperature in your bedroom? What if your room was too cold? Should there be a minimum temperature for a child's room? Up to what age? What if the child likes a cool room? Is there a punishment for the child if he likes his room cool?Or for the parent for having a stupid child who doesn't know the proper temperature for sleeping?
Some parents have been doing the wrong thing for as long as humankind has been alive. And they will continue to do so, regardless of what government intervenes into.
I would personally prefer to be hugged by my Dad and his smoke particles than be held by law at arm's length until the smoke particles were gone, and he's moved on to another activity and I'm denied the hug.
That's ultimately more harmful than the smoke, in my opinion.
1. didn't sit in a child car seat in a car and/or rode in the back of a truck?
2. rode a bicycle without a helmet?
3. roller skated without knee pads?
4. ate the "unhealthy" meals in the school cafeteria?
5. weren't drugged when you were fidgety in school?
6. had a job after school which didn't impact your grades negatively?
7. ate peanuts and gave your friends peanuts (did you even know any kids allergic to peanuts if you are now 45 or over?)?
8. had anything remotely resembling a "time-out" when you did something wrong?
9. chose up sides for a team sport as a child without your self-esteem suffering and/or having the need to see a shrink/therapist?
10. played football in school, not soccer, because "getting hurt" was not an issue with your parents?
11. belonged to some kind of team sport where everyone didn't get a trophy?
12. rode in your parent's vehicle that was smaller than the SUV sized bus that took the handicapped kids to school?
13. owned a toy with small edible-sized parts when you were under 5?
14. didn't have some kind of covering on the electrical outlets in your home?
15. didn't suffer emotionally/mentally because the teacher graded your tests/reports with a red pen?
16. ate soap and your parents didn't sue the soap maker, tripped over furniture and your parents didn't sue the furniture maker, fell off a swing and your parents didn't sue the parks department, had a teacher say an unkind word to you and your parents didn't sue the school district?
17. Said the pledge of allegiance, a prayer or had a moment of silence in school and it didn't make you uncomfortable or do damage to your psyche when you were a kid?
How many of you raised your hand for all or most of the above and didn't become an invalid/criminal/patient of a shrink for these chilldhood "risky" behaviors?
1. didn't sit in a child car seat in a car and/or rode in the back of a truck?
2. rode a bicycle without a helmet?
3. roller skated without knee pads?
4. ate the "unhealthy" meals in the school cafeteria?
5. weren't drugged when you were fidgety in school?
6. had a job after school which didn't impact your grades negatively?
7. ate peanuts and gave your friends peanuts (did you even know any kids allergic to peanuts if you are now 45 or over?)?
8. had anything remotely resembling a "time-out" when you did something wrong?
9. chose up sides for a team sport as a child without your self-esteem suffering and/or having the need to see a shrink/therapist?
10. played football in school, not soccer, because "getting hurt" was not an issue with your parents?
11. belonged to some kind of team sport where everyone didn't get a trophy?
12. rode in your parent's vehicle that was smaller than the SUV sized bus that took the handicapped kids to school?
13. owned a toy with small edible-sized parts when you were under 5?
14. didn't have some kind of covering on the electrical outlets in your home?
15. didn't suffer emotionally/mentally because the teacher graded your tests/reports with a red pen?
16. ate soap and your parents didn't sue the soap maker, tripped over furniture and your parents didn't sue the furniture maker, fell off a swing and your parents didn't sue the parks department, had a teacher say an unkind word to you and your parents didn't sue the school district?
17. Said the pledge of allegiance, a prayer or had a moment of silence in school and it didn't make you uncomfortable or do damage to your psyche when you were a kid?
How many of you raised your hand for all or most of the above and didn't become an invalid/criminal/patient of a shrink for these chilldhood "risky" behaviors?
Amen, Amen, Amen!
On the same subject, sorry, but Tobacco smoking of some sort has been around from the dark ages. I personally know many people who lived to past the age of 90 who smoked, smoked in the house or around their kids, ate fat in every meal. They did not die of smoke or food related issues, just old age. None of their children died of cancer either and are living to old ages themselves.
Not saying smoking is healthy, don't get me wrong there. However, how someone lives there life and chooses to raise their children is their business, not the governments. I sill believe those who were raised 30-50 years ago have better work ethics, social skills, physiological health and so forth than the 20 years olds of today by far. And I believe the choice of parenting tacks our parents used and the "there are winners and losers, work harder" thought of the schools worked. This crud of government interference of personal choices has gone WAY to far and having a negative impact on our future and not a positive one.
Such is the result of a world where we teach people what to think instead of how to think.
Yea, they call it comunisum...you know that way of governing that the USA has been working hard at for several generations no to eradicate from the world.
But somehow it is different in them wanting to control their constitutes now?
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Raising Weenies
