Letting your children smoke.

[Squishy22]

My family drank to get drunk. When I drink now, I drink to at least get a buzz.

I think 21 is ridiculous for the drinking age.

Here in OK the alcohol percentage in beer is 3%. I drive about 15 miles to MO and buy beer at %5.

I honestly dont see how smoking is addictive. I know its VERY addictive but when I did try it, it made me choke to death. Its worse than smoking green and you dont get a high from it either. So what is the point really? To look cool?

 

[Laurelin]

Reggin as awful as it is, those are my thoughts as well. If I were to go out and smoke something, I'd want it to be something that at least made me high. Is that terrible? lol

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

I'm in general agreement with the people here. Smoking, hellllll no! But between my asthma and allergies, it was never an option for me anyways. Actually, my dad smoked my whole life until about three years ago when he quit cold turkey to keep his insurance down lol. So the smell of smokes remind me of my dad which is nice even though it makes me cough. But no, I tell anyone I know that smokes to ditch the cancer sticks.

My parents would let me have a wine cooler in the summer or try a jello shooter (Which is not nearly as strong as a shot) at their friends' parties if I went along so there was never anything forbidden about drinking. I guess my brother was just a jerk because he still got drunk when my parents would go out of town (He's younger than me, still only 17) But since I've yelled at him and tell him routinely that alcohol binges will screw college for him, he's back to a more reasonable "social" drinking pattern of once every so often and not to get drunk.

I'll probably be like that with my kid, let them drink a little at home to show it as a social activity rather than a hidden binge habit. Then again, I've lost my taste for alcohol period sooo there probably won't be much in the house!

 

[Squishy22]

Reggin as awful as it is, those are my thoughts as well. If I were to go out and smoke something, I'd want it to be something that at least made me high. Is that terrible? lol

LOL. People look at me weird when I say that. Like I am some kind of drug addict or something. I am not a drug addict, I just dont see the point in smoking something that gives you nothing in return other than stinky breath.

Kids and young adults smoke to feel all growed up. They smoke to fit in and feel cool. Its also a rebellious thing. And then they get addicted and cant stop. They have that one or two cigs when around friends and then they find themselves not being able to go an hour without thinking about smoking.

I tried it out of curiosity. I wanted to see what was so great about it. I hated it.

 

[sparks19]

Reggin as awful as it is, those are my thoughts as well. If I were to go out and smoke something, I'd want it to be something that at least made me high. Is that terrible? lol

Agreed... and something that didn't make me feel the urge to barf immediately afterwards lol

 

[xpaeanx]

From the personal experience of dating a smoker who "kept trying to quit:"

he wouldn't touch a cigarette all weekend when he was with me. Not one. He had no cravings what-so-ever for them, and he always told me Monday he would be grossed out by the taste of them.

So why does he still smoke to this day? It's a social thing. People from his office all take a break from work for 3 minutes or so, gather outside for a "cig," and talk and socialize. People at my office do the same thing. I think they feel without the ciggarette there is no reason to do it, and they actually crave the company during the day that the "cig breaks" bring with them.

Would I let my child smoke? absolutely not, and even when they're 50 they wouldn't be allowed to smoke in my house.

Would I let them drink? to a certain extent yes. If they wanted a glass of wine or beer or something with dinner or when watching tv yes. Would they be allowed to do shots? no. Would they be allowed to drink a lot with dinner? no.

 

[Fran101]

Smoking. as in ciggarettes never lol I still don't smoke them,the smell is horrible and I cant even stand being around that smell

as for smoking other things. I've never tried it but I don't mind the smell and as far as im concerned its much less problematic than many other things lol think of the side effects.. sleepy happy hungry lol I will try it eventually

Hilarious katt williams take on weed: YouTube - Katt Williams - Weed

Drinking, I drank a glass of wine at dinner every night since I was pretty young. champagne at celebrations and things like that. I never drink to get "wasted" really unless its like spring break or something lol

Ive noticed that many of the kids passed out at parties here totally wasted every other night are those whose parents taught them that alcohol was BAD/EVIL so they got to college and went drinking crazy and didn't know their limits

 

[Crowsfeet]

I personally have no qualms about younger folks drinking, provided that it is responsible and not done in a way that projects immature use. Just as well, actually being intoxicated at a younger age probably isn't the best. I definitely want to reiterate the point that if maybe the US desensitized the use of alcohol with younger people in the way it is with some of our farther neighboring countries, it may be much less of a 'thrill' for them. I'm twenty, and these days it's either a glass or two of wine, or the beer has to be a good one.

Smoking cigarettes is a different story, sure.

 

[Squishy22]

People even socially chew. Yuck.

 

[Fran27]

I really hope my kids won't smoke. It's one of those things that is probably going to be hard though, I mean you can try all you want to prevent them from doing it, sometimes it doesn't help... hopefully by then it's more common not to smoke so the temptation won't be there.

 

[Squishy22]

My parents were chain smokers. My dad would have KILLED me if he found me smoking. I guess I learned from watching them. All their money went to it. The house was always full of smoke, it was hard for me to breath. Teachers at school accused me of smoking because I wreaked of it. I always knew that I didnt want my kids to go through the same thing.

Second hand smoke is a huge issue. Part of my family will step outside to smoke when the baby is around. My family out here in Oklahoma will light one up while they are holding her. I FUME!!

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

My dad had to go outside to smoke because my mom never would have been with him otherwise. That and he grew up out in the country and loved any excuse to be outside. No second hand smoke for me but his coat always smelled like smoke. At least he was always considerate about his bad habit.

 

[CaliTerp07]

I really don't buy the whole argument of not being allowed to drink at home makes someone a binge drinker.

I was never allowed to drink at home. I went to college, and didn't drink until I was just a couple months shy of 21, just before I graduated (and even then it was just a couple beers). Why? Because my parents instilled values into me about drinking that stuck, long after I left the house.

The kids who partied hard in high school did so because their parents gave them alcohol and told them they could have friends over (don't get me started on that!) Those are the same kids who partied hard in college.

There were a few hardcore "straight edge" or whatever you want to call it kids who went wild upon getting to college and having freedoms...but I really don't think it was the majority. Not amongst my friends at least. The ones who drank freshman & sophomore year of college (whether 1 beer or 21 beers!) were the ones who drank in high school as well.

 

[sparks19]

I don't think it's all one way or the other. I'm sure there are many who drank underage who are crazy drinkers now and ones who don't reallyd rink at all now and vice versa.

I drank when I was in highschool but I didn't go out to parties and get smashed and I NEVER would DREAM of throwing a party at home while my parents were out lol but I knew kids both who were allowed to drink and home and those who weren't who threw parties while their parents were away all the time. I never really understood that.

Now I didn't hold drinking parties or anything but if I wanted to have a party at my house I just had to ask and my parents were home. But I was never embarassed of my parents either so I didn't mind my parents being around my friends like some people do. So I never felt the need to throw a party behind their backs... not saying that if you weren't allowed to have parties that you woudl throw one behind yoru parents back.

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

Binge trends depend strongly on the college atmosphere at least in NC. There are party schools like ECU then there are more straight-edge schools like Meredith.

Some kids will take any inch of freedom to the extreme, no matter how hard their parents try to teach them better. In some universities, the population is more weighted to one end or the other of the drinking spectrum. There will always been drinkers and about any school (Probably NOT at Pensacola lol) but there are some more conducive to binging/parties.

No one said not being allowed to drink at home makes one a binge drinker upon getting freedom. They just said that getting a teen used to drinking as a social habit helps show healthy ways to handle alcohol. Just because one side of something is true (like letting a kid drink a glass of wine with dinner gets them used to it), doesn't mean the converse will be true too (not letting kids drink won't necessarily turn them into binge drinkers.).

Overall, people are people and there are a million different ways to handle family values or a lack thereof so what may be true for one family could be completely backwards to another.

 

[Giny]

No smoking or drinking underage at our house.

My husband is a lot more strict on the drinking rule then I. I grew up with being allowed a sip of wine or beer from my parents glass every now and then. With my husband who grew up with an alcoholic dad, his views on it are different then mine, no way is Shawn allowed a tiny bit of a sip, and I'm glad that we keep that rule.

As for smoking, Steve's been trying to quit for a while now, it's been very difficult. He's always been an outside smoker, I don't let anyone smoke in the house or car. Steve's really respectful of others when smoking, he's constantly brushing his teeth and washing his hands...lol. I wonder too if the fact that he grew up in a very smoky house, whether that already made him a bit addicted to smoking. He never smoked before leaving his home, growing up, but as soon as he left he picked up the habit. I've always wondered that.

 

[CaliTerp07]

Binge trends depend strongly on the college atmosphere at least in NC. There are party schools like ECU then there are more straight-edge schools like Meredith.

Yeah, Maryland was a big party school. Most everyone drank.

 

[Doberluv]

I really don't buy the whole argument of not being allowed to drink at home makes someone a binge drinker.

I'm not sure whose post you're referring to or if you mean in general. But let me straighten out any misunderstanding my post may have caused. I do not mean that not being allowed to drink at home makes someone a binge drinker. Not at all. There are loads of contributing possibilities or variables which cause someone to have a problem with drinking. I related my personal experience and how that one variable seemed to strongly influence my habits where alcohol is involved.

Everyone is different; has a different personality, different genes, life experiences, view points....All these things and so many more contribute to what kind of outcome there will be. There is likely no single factor that will determine whether someone drinks heavily or not.

Second hand smoke is a huge issue. Part of my family will step outside to smoke when the baby is around. My family out here in Oklahoma will light one up while they are holding her. I FUME!!

Sounds like you need to stop fuming and lay down the law and stand up for your baby. This is unconscionable! I absolutely wouldn't allow it or allow my baby to be subjected to second hand smoke by anyone. If they aren't willing to go outside when they smoke, stop taking your baby there. No one has the right to ruin a helpless child's health.

 

[Squishy22]

I'm not sure whose post you're referring to or if you mean in general. But let me straighten out any misunderstanding my post may have caused. I do not mean that not being allowed to drink at home makes someone a binge drinker. Not at all. There are loads of contributing possibilities or variables which cause someone to have a problem with drinking. I related my personal experience and how that one variable seemed to strongly influence my habits where alcohol is involved.

Everyone is different; has a different personality, different genes, life experiences, view points....All these things and so many more contribute to what kind of outcome there will be. There is likely no single factor that will determine whether someone drinks heavily or not.



Sounds like you need to stop fuming and lay down the law and stand up for your baby. This is unconscionable! I absolutely wouldn't allow it or allow my baby to be subjected to second hand smoke by anyone. If they aren't willing to go outside when they smoke, stop taking your baby there. No one has the right to ruin a helpless child's health.

Oh trust me I did and wont be going back (to her house). Two households that I wont be visiting ever again.

 

[Beanie]

Oh, no, Doberluv, I just wanted you to know my post wasn't directed at you. I was actually writing it while you were posting. It just so happens we both used "forbidden" in quotes in our posts, LOL.
It's just a common belief. Not just with alcohol, but with sex, too. "Oh, kids in the US have sex at a young age because sex is forbidden!!" You know, to me that argument is about the same as the thread we had on here about the Darwin movie. Sex, forbidden in the US? It's everywhere. In music, on TV, in TV COMMERCIALS... it's not taboo.
And even if it were, I still don't think the argument holds water. I'm the same as CaliTerp, I don't go drinking like crazy because I was raised to understand what alcohol CAN do to somebody... and to me, it's just not attractive to go out and party and drink.
I also happen to be ridiculously fun anyway, I don't need to be drunk to be fun, which it the other "argument." "Oh, if you've had a few you loosen up, relax, and have more fun!" Uhhh... no.

But to some people binge drinking, crazy hangovers, et cetera, that IS attractive. And I don't think it really has anything to do with how they were raised... or at least, not in how they were raised when it comes to if alcohol is okay or not.


Oh, and just for fun, in one of my psych classes there was a study about drunken behaviour and how most of it is learned... fascinating. Really, really fascinating.