Hi amethyst,
Your post made me do some thinking on the subject of children and the possibility of withdrawals from second hand smoke. I did some researching and other than the usual facts you see of how second hand smoke can cause low birth weight, SIDS, behavior problems, asthma, inner ear troubles, etc...I wasn't really able to find much on actual withdrawals.
I did read that children, until about the age of 5, have much higher respiratory rates than adults...and young lungs recieve a higher concentration of chemicals when exposed to second hand smoke than older lungs. A child subjected to a heavily smoked filled room can inhale a tremendous amount of toxins...the equivalent of 10 cigarettes... in as little as an hour.
Even if your Emma was intaking some nicotine from second hand smoke, we know that the body has the ability to clear it from our systems in about 3 days. I would think since children's metabolisms are higher and they have the increased respiratory rate, that they could clear it even faster. If her behavior is different beyond that amount of time, I'd say that nicotine withdrawal probably isn't the culprit.
Thankfully, she doesn't have the mental aspect or the stress of quitting to deal with as you do... but... that may very well be what she's sensing... all the emotional changes or stress that you're experiencing as you quit and that could affect her behavior. Otherwise, I'm betting she's just being your typical 6 year old :)
Little ones are soooo resilient.. she'll definitely benefit from not being exposed to smoke, as will you. Your being a wonderful example by quitting. By the time she's older, she may not even recall that you ever smoked... and that to me, would be pretty awesome. You're being a great mom....and doing a great job. Keep it up.
Congratulations on completing hell week :)
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/2/2005
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 547
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 10,951
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1952.79
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 57 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 26 [B]Seconds:[/B] 21
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Quit Meter
$19,702.85
Amount Saved
-
Quit Meter
Days: 740
Hours: 23
Minutes: 58
Seconds: 16
Life Gained
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Quit Meter
5065
Smoke Free Days
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Quit Meter
101,300
Cigarettes Not Smoked
