I heard this on the news the other day and was at a loss for words. I mean, I realize that there are some dumb parents out there, but this just blows so far past the line of simple, common sense that even someone like ME, who's often deficient in the common sense department, has a hard time fathoming this level of ignorance and stupidity. The little Indonesian boy in the picture, Ardi, is two years old, and he smokes somewhere around two packs of cigarettes a day (click here for the full article). His dad gave him his first cigarette when he was 18 months old, and now he's hooked. Mom and Dad refuse to kick Ardi's habit, because he throws temper tantrums when he is denied a cigarette (um, really? You'd rather turn your kids' lungs black than hear him scream for a little while?).There are so many problems with this story, I don't even know where to start. I cant even imagine why the Dad would ever in a million years give his baby a cigarette in the first place. The only theory I can come up with is that Dad thought it was funny to see his baby puffing on a cigarette, in the same way some people feel amused to see their dog lapping up a bottle of beer at a barbecue. Perhaps stupid, immature Dad never realized that this so-called funny display would actually lead to an addiction. But now that the toddler is hooked, why on earth do the parents keep supplying him the cigarettes? The government even offered to give the family a brand new car if they quit giving Ardi cigarettes, and they refused. Apparently having shiny new transportation isn't worth the family having to endure Ardi's temper tantrums when he is denied his next cigarette. I almost wonder if, in some sick twisted way, the family is enjoying the attention from the media. They didn't seem too shy about offering up a video proudly exploiting their toddler's smoking habit, and even now, the dad just doesn't seem overly concerned about his son's health.
At any rate, these parents are seriously disturbed, and it's a shame that Indonesia doesn't consider this child abuse. The whole thing is just sick.
I agree. When I watched this on the news, I couldn't get over how he held and smoked the dang thing just like an adult. What a shocker. It is unreal what goes on in the world!
ReplyDeleteHey, Jodi, I made another blog. Originally I just wanted t add a page called Weight Challenge, but I couldn't figure out how to post more entries after the first. I then created a new blog (still suffering in the creativity department when it comes to the tech world). Check it out - www.niecy-weightyissues.blogspot.com and wish me luck.
Tomorrow morning at 9:30am - Zumba at 24 Hour Fitness. It really looks fun.
Oh, and I got on Twitter, although I don't text and won't right now. I need a better phone and unlimited texting before I get into it any deeper. I am listed as dlafavorite. I'll look for you.
Day one of vacation - success!
I'll definitely check out your new blog, Niecy, and you know I'm always cheering for you! And I'm going to add you to my Twitter right now. You can add me simply by clicking on the "DailyPerk" link in that yellow box right here on this blog. Yeah, I love Twitter so far (although I wish more of my friends were on it), but it's really only worth it if you text, or else you're stuck going online to yet another social networking site on a daily basis. I do all my tweets from my phone, so that makes it quick and non-committal (sp?).
ReplyDeleteI saw this story too on Fox News. Shocking. That poor kid's health is being sabotaged before he even has a mature enough mind to try and control it. They are killing their child. Sickening.
ReplyDeleteHold on, my spidy-sense just went off. That 2 year old is handling a cig with dexerity i dont remember 2 year olds having. plus, it took me quite some time to be able to inhale the smoke from a cigerette as an adult. Now i'm sure this kid might be real, the human brain and body is capable of much more than we give it credit for so either flying to the moon or living in flavor country at 2 i'm sure its possible.
ReplyDeleteI just do it to look cool.
I don't think it's a hoax Perry, because they have it on video as well (check it out on YouTube), showing the kid actally smoking the cig like a pro. Plus since this was portrayed on major news' networks, I'm sure they checked the viability of the story before airing it. Who knows though--anything's possible.
ReplyDeleteI agree Shannon; it's one thing if an ADULT chooses to undermine his or her own health, but taking that decision away from another human being is just disgusting.
My husband smokes and I think it's a terrible habit, but at least he's an adult --or at least he is now, not so much when he started at 12 years old. This child is too young to decide for himself what he wants to do and I can't help thinking that it'll be easier for him to kick the habit as a child than when he's 30 and has been smoking 28 years. I know what it's like when Matt's tried quitting... not easy and he throws tantrums too, of course he's not been successful at quitting yet, so I guess we give into his tantrum's too. Still, we're adults, this is a baby for cryin' outloud!
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I think if someone offered him a new car, he'd find a way to quit.
Kristyn, I remember reading on your hubby's blog a long time ago that he was going to quit, "for real" this time--I take it that never panned out?
ReplyDeleteMy mom smokes, and she has tried SO hard to quit, but nothing seems to work. It breaks my heart because I want her to live a long, healthy life. The irony is she's an R.N., so she sees first-hand how smoking effects a person's health. I honestly feel sorry for smokers. I would never want to be a slave to something like that.
Except for you Perry, because it makes you "look cool." *rolling eyes* ;-)
[laughs for 5 minutes]
ReplyDelete