Thursday, August 7, 2008

Do YOU know what your kids are doing at the bus stop?

Upon walking my kids to the bus stop this morning, I was horrified to find a group of middle school kids smoking! I kid you not..smoking.. lighting him.. passing the cigerettes around like they were gold.

Now...Questions I want to know...
1. Who bought them?
2. Does their parents know?
3. Why are these young kids not being checked up on by their parents.

Parents...I strongly suggest that you make surprise vists to the bus stop. I want to share a article with you from this site.

http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Children-Of-Smokers-Start-Smoking-Early---5060-1/

The children of smokers are likely to begin smoking between 13 and 21 years of age - earlier than those whose parents don't smoke, says a new study. Researchers at the University of Washington tracked the development of positive and antisocial behaviours among 808 individuals.

They originally were recruited as fifth-grade students from elementary schools in high-crime Seattle neighbourhoods, reports science portal EurekAlert. "Keeping children from smoking starts with parents and their behaviour.

Some parents say they disapprove of teenage smoking, but continue to smoke themselves," said Karl Hill, director of the University of Washington's Seattle Social Development Project and an associate research professor of social work. "

The evidence is clear from this study that if parents don't want their children to start smoking, it is important for them to stop or reduce their own smoking," Hill said. Children whose parents smoked are twice as likely to begin smoking between 13 and 21.

Twelve-year-olds, whose parents smoked, were more than two times as likely to begin smoking cigarettes on a daily basis between the ages of 13 and 21 than children, whose parents didn't use tobacco, the study concludes. The researchers interviewed individuals at ages 13, 14, 15, 16, 18 and 21. The group was nearly equally divided among males and females. Forty-six percent were white, 24 percent were black, 21 percent were Asian Americans, 6 percent were American Indians and three percent were from other ethnic backgrounds.

The study found differences in daily smoking rates both by gender and racial background. Over all, 37 percent of the individuals reported daily smoking by age 21, of which 42 percent were males and 32 percent females, according to the study. Whites (43 percent) were more likely to have begun regular smoking by 21 than blacks (35 percent) and Asian Americans (24 percent


To me, this is serious.. as kids as young as 13 years old start smoking. I really hope all of you as Parents will begin checking up on your kids at the bus stop.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know, I think parents expect others to watch their kids at the bus stops and take responsibily for them, then when no one will they wonder why their kids are in so much trouble.

As for the smoking, I thing this DARE is a joke. They sugar coat everything. I remember when I was a kid they had a program called SOS "Stamp out stupidity" This was a dramatic group. They used to bring out the recovering drug addicts and let them tell their stories. Showed them pics of what they looked like on drugs. It really made a difference in a lot of kids' lives. That is why I never tried drugs. It literally scared the HELL out of me.

Unknown said...

Common occurence, still wholeheartedly WRONG. I agree with you on this completely. Parents, watch your children and know what they are doing. Talk to your kids about smoking and let them know the dangers of it. In the end, loving parents showing they care are the best preventative medicine as quite readilly apparent. The community's security crew aren't going to do it for you.

Kudos!

God's Peace

Dr. Raven