Dear Queenie,
My mother tells everyone I am disrespecting her because I won’t let her smoke in my house because one of my children has breathing problems. It’s not just her. I don’t let anyone smoke in my house, I ask them to go outside if they want to smoke. And I won’t let my kids visit her because she won’t promise not to smoke around them when they are at her house.
Queenie, isn’t she the one who is disrespecting me and my children?—Careful parent
Dear Parent,
Of course she is! And you can quote me on that if you want to.
Your mother is the one who is being disrespectful to you and your children.
Everyone (except your mother, apparently) knows that second-hand smoke – the smoke from someone else’s cigarette, cigar or pipe – can be just as harmful to people nearby as it is to the smoker, even if the non-smokers do not have health issues like one of your children.
