Moms Talk: Your Kids and Secondhand Smoke

Moms Talk is a new feature on Germantown Patch that is part of a new initiative on our Patch sites to reach out to moms and families.

Germantown Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in Germantown.

Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms and dads take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.

Moms Talk will also be the place to drop in for a talk about the latest parenting hot topic. Do you know of local moms raising their children in the Tiger Mother's way and is it the best way? Where can we get information on local flu shot clinics for children? How do we talk to our children about the conflict in the Middle East? How can we help our children's schools weather their budget cutbacks?

So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today:

The Maryland General Assembly has recently discussed legislation that would forbid adults to smoke inside vehicles where children are present. Do you agree or disagree with this proposed bill? Do you think it is a parent's responsibility to monitor their children's health or is this an appropriate place for the government to step in?

Susan Owens, a local mother, says, "Of course I am concerned about the dangers of second-hand smoke, and I try to keep my child away from it as much as possible.  If someone on the street is smoking, I move to the other side of the sidewalk to insure my son isn’t breathing in the cigarette smoke. I don’t take him to restaurants that allow smoking.

That being said, however, I grew up with a father who smoked in the car.  He always opened the window and did all he could to keep the majority of the smoke away from the kids in the backseat.  I don’t think we suffered any long term effects of his smoking, and our family road trips would have taken much, much, much longer if he had to stop every time he felt the need to have a cigarette. 

Most people who smoke, especially in copious amounts, have an addiction that is enormously hard to overcome.  I’m not saying that they should smoke around their children, or even that it is OK for them to be smoking at all, but it isn’t always as simple as not lighting up because it isn’t a convenient time. 

I think this law would be worthwhile in a general sense, but I think it is callous towards the individual.  Unless there is definite proof that smoking in a car with children present causes direct harm, I don’t think the government should be able to regulate this.  What’s next?  Monitoring the daily nutritional intake of children?  I want to believe that the majority of parents have their children’s best interests at heart and don’t need the government to tell them how to parent."

Susan Burkinshaw, another local mom, said "I believe it is the parents' responsibility to protect their own children in this case. I am the first person to protect my kids from second hand smoke and keep them in a smoke-free environment.

Although second hand smoke can be more dangerous than firsthand smoke, as proven in some studies, there is a fine line between public policy and privacy invasion. The same children who may be protected from second smoke in their parent's cars by this law may still be exposed in their homes.

Although I feel for the children whose parents abuse them with secondhand smoke, I don't believe this legislation is the answer."