Originally Posted by marniewon:
I'm really trying not to be offended here, and I know most (if not all) are trying really hard to NOT be offensive, but I guess I really am.
I'm a smoker. I'm also a professional daycare provider. The people making comments about pulling their kids immediately if they knew their provider smoked - what do you think we do? Light up in the playroom during circle time?!? I do not smoke in the house. I never smoke anywhere the kids could see me. I always use a strong mint and wash my hands after. There are no cigarette butts laying around my yard. I never leave the kids unattended, my breaks are only when my "assistants" are here and helping. The care I give my dck's is never compromised because I smoke. I've missed ONE day since starting daycare, and that was from the stomach flu I caught from one of the kids. My dckids are way sicker than I ever am. We take walks, I chase them around outside, I play on the floor occasionally with them. I don't have a problem keeping up with the kids. I would bet that none of my parents know I smoke, and I interact with them and their children every day. If they were to ask me point blank, I would tell them yes. I would not lie, have never lied about it, it has just never come up. I do not smell like smoke, my kids do not go home smelling like smoke.
marniewon, I was not trying to offend - I was just stating my personal opinion about smoking and what I would and wouldn't do when dealing with a provider who smokes or knowingly accepting a child from a smoking household. I personally wouldn't want to deal with either.
I'm not around smokers so I have no idea what smokers do or how they handle their addiction. Some may be able to control themselves enough not to ever smoke around their kids or in their houses or in their cars - but some may not. As a parent I would not have the time nor the desire to try and determine whether my provider was a heavy smoker, or just a social smoker, or only smokes when drinking, etc. All I want to know is if she smokes AT ALL and that would be all I needed to make my decision.
I wasn't trying to attack YOUR professionalism as a smoking provider. I was just throwing a few things out there to consider. As far as being more likely to get sick and having health issues - just take a look at what health insurance premiums are for a smoker versus a nonsmoker. There are plenty of studies out there documenting smoking and it's effects on productivity and absenteeism in the workplace. Even though the studies don't mention specific industries, I would assume that daycare would not be exempt especially since it's a pretty physical job. Even some employment applications now ask whether or not you are a smoker. If you have only had to close one day then you should consider yourself lucky and so should your dc parents. I am asthmatic and even though I haven't had to close, there have been 2 or 3 days where I had to limit my physical activity with the kids because of breathing problems on a certain day. So, any and all health related issues have the potential to affect your performance at work - not just smoking.
Originally Posted by QualiTcare:
if someone doesn't smoke in the home or around their children then their child/belongings wouldn't smell like smoke and certainly couldn't make your house smell.
This may be true. Like i said, I wouldn't
knowingly accept a child into care that comes from a smoking household. If I
unknowingly took a child from a smoking home and the kid or their belongings did not smell of smoke then there wouldn't be a problem. As long as I can't tell (which is unlikely for me) then I guess we can do business together and if the odor ever became an issue then I would look for new clients.
Originally Posted by Daycare_Mama:
I'm a provider and also one of those parents who would pull their kid out immediately if I found out my provider smoked. And it has nothing to do with thinking the person isn't capable of taking care of kids. I would believe them if they said they never smoked during daycare hours, but that doesn't matter one bit.
It's the whole logic of something as basic as the way a person's home smells. Everyone's home has a smell of some sort that is their home, good, bad, neutral. It has some sort of smell unique to that house. You know how you've gone to someone's house before and it smelled bad repeatedly.. animals, or whatever it may be. That person lives in that house everyday and doesn't notice the smell. It's the same for smoking. As a smoker, you can say that you don't smell it on yourself or your stuff, but nonsmokers CAN smell it. It smells in your hair, on your shirt, etc. I've walked into a friend's house for 10-15 minutes at a party where someone was smoking and when I went home later that night, my shirt reeked. Unless, you are smoking, going inside taking off your clothes you were just in, throwing them in the wash right away, showering/washing your hair, and putting on new clothes, you are going to have some smoke smell on you and/or in your home. That's just a fact.
So, while a smoker is perfectly capable of being an excellent care giver of children, I personally would never send my child to one and would pull them out right away if I found out they were a smoker. For one, my daughter was born 3 months early and has bad asthma - I don't want her around any sort of smell of it, even after the cigarette is long gone. That's toxic to her already scarred lungs. But even if my daughter had perfectly normal full term lungs, I still wouldn't send her to a provider who was a smoker. I think that may be hard for a smoker to understand, but it's absolutely nothing personal or offensive.. just a fact that there's no way to get rid of every single lingering smell after someone smokes.
SOOOOOOOOOOOO true. I was thinking all of this but my original post was already too long so I left it out
I am allergic to cigarette smoke and I am also an asthmatic so I am sure that this is probably the root of my repulsion toward smoking. I have a very keen sense of smell. I consider myself one of those people who can smell a smoker a mile away and I haven't been wrong yet.
Regular smokers who think that they are fooling people by only smoking outside, washing hands or eating mints after, etc. are only fooling themselves. It's kind of like putting on perfume or deodorant without taking a shower - we can still smell you. It's in your hair, on your skin, your clothes, your undergarments. The same is true with people who have pets that claim no one would ever be able to tell they have a dog, a cat, a baboon, or whatever. Even if your house doesn't "stink", there is still a distinctive smell that you/your home has - unless maybe you are one of the rare people these days who has an "outside" dog or something.
Smokers and pet owners - please keep in mind that just because someone doesn't mention anything about you having a pet or being a smoker doesn't mean that they cannot smell cigarette smoke or your pet's scent on you.
Question: Do any of you that smoke volunteer this information to parents without them having to ask?