How To Prevent Your Smoking From Affecting Your Child Custody Chances
Posted on: 20 September 2017
If you smoke cigarettes and you are gearing up for child custody battle, then expect the court to take your smoking habit into consideration due to the custody determination. However, this doesn't mean that you will automatically lose custody due to your smoking habit. For example, the court may find that your smoking doesn't affect your child's well-being if:
You Don't Smoke In the Car When the Kid Is There
The more confined a place is, the easy it is for secondhand smoke to affect another person. Your car is certainly a confined place, so smoking in the car while your child is there is definitely dangerous for the child. In fact, cracking the window open may not even help because the child will still be exposed to the smoke. The only way to keep your child safe from secondhand smoke is to avoid smoking in the car.
You Don't Smoke In the House
Most people spend most of their time at home. Your child also probably spends most of their time at home. This means you will be exposing the child to considerable secondhand smoke if you regularly smoke in the house. It's best to go outside whenever you want to smoke and stay there for a few more minutes after you are done. If you must smoke in the house, choose one room where you can smoke, don't let the child into the room, and open the windows so that the child's exposure to the smoke is minimized.
You Avoid Taking the Kid to Smoking Areas
As a smoker, you probably frequent other smoking areas such as designated smoking places in restaurants, bars, parties and even smoking areas in parks. Avoid taking your kid to such areas because it may undo the benefit you might have achieved by not smoking in the child's presence. It may also make the court doubt your endeavors of keeping your child safe from the effects of smoking.
You Don't Allow Others to Smoke in the Kid's Presence
It's also possible that you have friends who smoke in your presence because they know you have no objection; after all, you also smoke. Maybe you have no qualms about your grandparents, buddies or grandparents smoking in your presence when they come to visit. Unfortunately, allowing such people to smoke in your kid's presence will undo the benefit you have achieved by not smoking in the child's presence. Therefore, make it a policy not to allow anyone to smoke in your child's presence.
Contact a lawyer like Kenneth J. Molnar for more information and assistance.
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