Need Advice- Awkward Smoking Situation

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by Phimuteach

Chances are, the parents would get offended if the teacher were to say something as well. It's not the teacher's job to settle other people's social problems. If the parents are possibly on drugs, chances are the teacher has a lot more to worry about than smoky clothes.

ETA: I don't mean to sound harsh, but if someone contacted me to handle a problem they had with another parent outside of school, I wouldn't be too receptive. If it's a problem at school, the teacher will handle it.

I think she was referring to this part of the post:

Originally Posted by WLFEO

So anyway, here's the awkward situation..... Marsha smells like smoke so badly when she comes over now. When she first moved in, it was in the summer and she played outside a lot and her parents smoked outside a lot. Now that it's colder, everyone has moved indoors and the poor child REEKS of smoke. She says she doesn't have a lot of friends at school and I'm pretty sure it's because nobody can breathe around her. When we go pick her up, I stand on the porch, and the second the door opens I start gagging b/c of the horrible smoke smell coming from the house.

If a child reeks so bad at school no one can stand to be around them (be it smoke or body odor or whatever), I think the teacher has a right to say something to the parents...or at least send a note home.

[Phimuteach]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

If a child reeks so bad at school no one can stand to be around them (be it smoke or body odor or whatever), I think the teacher has a right to say something to the parents...or at least send a note home.

Of course, which is why I said this :

Originally Posted by Phimuteach

If it's a problem at school, the teacher will handle it.

[WLFEO]

Thanks for the good ideas. I like the idea of having a change of clothes handy (although I think her hair and pores are pretty saturated- but that might make it tolerable) and I could think of a way to pull off the Febreeze spray-down.

My son actually does have breathing problems- he had RSV as a baby and every winter he ends up on breathing treatments again. So I might work that into the convo if I get up enough nerve to talk to her mom.

They don't go to the same school- my daughter is in private school and Marsha goes to the public school, so the teacher idea is out.

And good point about the 3rd hand smoke, AlphaFrog.

Thanks guys. Keep the suggestions coming if you have more.