It happened in the United Kingdom, where laws against tobacco use and child protection have recently been enforced. In the last year the cases in which Social Services have to take care of child custody have increased by 10%, although it seems that this is the first case in which the excess smoke has been taken into account as another factor more when assessing the ability of parents to meet the needs of a baby.
According to the Social Services worker, the atmosphere in the bag was irrespirable, which led them to report the case to the courts with the known outcome: they take custody of the parents of a two-year-old child because of the excess smoke in their home.
Smoke was not the main factor but it was decisive
The reasons why the Social Services withdrew the custody of the two-year-old baby to his parents were several: on the one hand the father's mental state did not allow him to properly take care of his son, also the social services found paraphernalia for drug use in the house, and according to the worker's words, when he arrived at the house there was a cloud of smoke around the father and the baby who slept next to him and who had not felt well for some time.
Recidivism
It was not the first time that Social Services alerted the couple of the unhealthy conditions in which they kept their home and the baby, in fact, a few months ago they had been prescribed inhalers to the child.
According to the sentence, "it is clear that the parents have failed to recognize or appreciate the existing concern for the child's health, nor adapt their behavior." And therefore, in an unprecedented resolution in the country, they believe that the only solution to the problem is the adoption of the baby.
Our responsibility as parents
I think that the vast majority is very clear that having a child is not a decision to take lightly. Our responsibility with them starts already from pregnancy, adapting our habits in case of not being healthy enough and then watching to always give the best that, within our possibilities, is possible.
It is not necessary for our children to live in palaces, but even children living below the poverty line receive the best attention that their parents can give them. A case like this is pure and hard negligence. They cannot excuse themselves in the ignorance, because today we all have very clear that tobacco and drugs are harmful, especially for the little ones. For me, given what the article says, it is clear that these parents have failed in their main and almost only obligation: Take care of your child.
Remove custody of a child
I cannot imagine a judge sentencing me to lose forever the custody of my children, to be handed over to another family because I have not known, nor wanted to fulfill my obligations, although for me it will never be an obligation to care for and ensure those I love I do not understand what goes through the minds of those parents. They say he was mentally unstable, but his mother? How does a mother do nothing either? What has failed in this case? What could we have done to give that baby back the family he deserves? These are the questions I ask myself.
Protect the smallest of harmful environments and bad examples
We have passed in the last years of a society that almost idolized tobacco to point to smokers and reduce, increasingly, the spaces where smoking is allowed.
I was a heavy smoker, one of those who first looked before leaving home was whether they carried the packet of tobacco or not or those who worried before if they had enough tobacco at home before milk or dinner food. I know how to live on the two banks of this river and how difficult it is to leave a habit that until yesterday was synonymous with "getting older". That is why, when my children were born, we started smoking away from them and avoiding going to certain places that we used to frequent, but it still remained a position of conscience every time I went out to smoke or when my oldest son watched me attentively for what he did.
We managed to quit and now we can say that my house is a smoke-free place and that my children, as far as we are concerned, will not have the example of a smoking father and mother as my wife and I had. I think some parents should set an example and be consistent with their behaviors. It was hard to explain to your son that if smoking was so bad, you would keep doing it. There comes a time when you simply stop believing excuses and look the other way.
We must not forget that Spain is the country of the European Union where more parents smoke in front of their children. This is something we should change. I know how difficult it is to quit smoking, but our children deserve the effort.
