My family was exiting a restaurant the other evening, and upon opening the doors, we were confronted with a wall of smoke from the three guys standing there, cigarettes in hand. Before getting frustrated as usual at this experience, I tried to quickly shuttle the kids past the cough-inducing air. My five year old daughter took the opportunity to say the first thing that came to mind, in the loud shout that seems to be her default setting.
“He’s going to die!”
It appears that we’ve done our job as parents and convinced this kindergartner that smoking is an extremely unhealthy choice. I couldn’t be happier. As a thirty-something year old woman who has never taken as much as one puff, I’m hopeful that my children also choose to eschew the smoking habit. It’s always been my opinion that this type of healthy message needs to start being conveyed when the kids are young.
Now, the issue is more about my daughter’s apparent lack of couth. At this age, I cannot expect her to fully understand the difference between things that are to be said out loud and those best kept to oneself. I know I should have taken the opportunity to point this out at the time.
But you know what? After I laughed a bit under my breath, I simply stated that I agreed that the guys were not making a very healthy choice. Then I got the kids settled into their seats in the car, and I opted to completely let it drop. She didn’t say any more about it, and I started to wonder if perhaps her comment might have done those college guys a favor. I’m positive that they heard what she said, so maybe, just maybe, they thought twice about their next light-up. Who knows? Having a five year old portend your passing just might be the kick in the pants you need to make a change!
