Is it possible to take care of a child when high?

[off to a new life]

My sister is pregnant, smoking pot, and is adamant that she is going to keep smoking pot even after the baby is born. When she told me that, I felt like crying, but then I realized I don't even know what it's like to be high. Maybe it's not as bad as I am picturing in my head.

Do you think a person can adequately care for a child after taking pot? Would seeing a parent high harm a child in any way?

[EmisaurusRex]

I don't think someone can adequately care for a child while high. It effects you in a lot of different ways and can really hinder your judgment.
Also, she should definitely not be smoking pot while pregnant. That can harm the baby and make her more likely to have complications.
On down the line, if a child sees a parent high, I think it could probably do harm psychologically. When a parent is constantly under the influence of drugs, it makes the home an unstable environment. A parent that is constantly high is not providing structure in the home and is probably not going to be spending a lot of time with the child either, therefore making the child feel unloved, unimportant and confused.
Basically--your sister needs to stop smoking pot. It isn't healthy for her baby, and it isn't going to lead to anything good.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

If she is pregnant and smoking marijuana, although results are mixed, there is a fairly strong view that it will cause neurodevelopment deficits, impaired motor activity, attention, delinquency and hyperactivity, then later with impaired visual problem solving. It's not guarunteed to do this because results are conflicting on the exact impairments. http://www.motherisk.org/prof/update...content_id=336

As for caring for the child, there are mixed results but the general view is that marijuana smoke is harmful. Some studies show it's worse than tobacco smoke, some show the opposite. Either way, it's harmful especially to a young child's lungs and heart.

Whether smoking marijuana will affect her ability to care for the child, I suppose there is a risk of it but given the fact the child will be inhaling the smoke, I wouldn't say it's proper caring. There may be some social issues with how often she sees the child but that's hypothetical. The child would be too young to learn that smoking marijuana is good or that the child should do it. I suppose one potential problem is the child may have a smell of weed or the mother will also and it's possible teachers or other parents may pick up on that.

[taylalatbh.]

If she is smoking weed while actually pregnant. She is doing a lot of harm to that unborn child. So more fool her for doing that to that poor baby.

I don't see why you can't take care of a child after having a spliff. But, saying that, you definitely shouldn't do it. And, if social services find out that she's taking care of a child while being under the influence I think the chances are high that she will lose that child.

And if she is smoking while pregnant, and while taking care of the child, then that's probably the best thing for the child.

[SimplyComplex]

Taking care of a child while high is completely different than having a baby in your womb and smoking pot. Personally, I think anyone having a baby should be sober and eating healthy the whole time. For their baby. So, she should not be continuing to smoke pot with a baby. No. She should quit now. Before the baby suffers the effects. This is a new baby, a new life, it doesn't deserve the defects of pot. However,I think being high and taking care of your baby aren't related. As long as you're not doing too much. I mean, I can't see it effecting you awful much?

[Kitty.]

Smoking pot while pregnant is a very bad idea. It can potentially cause problems in the baby's development.
However, smoking pot while she's taking care of the baby is really not a good idea. The smoke is quite unhealthy for the baby and if social services finds out, she will probably lose her baby.

[ChaosControl]

It's not a good idea. There are worse drugs to take but even so, drugs do not make a suitable environment for a child to grow up in. That's not to mention what it might do to the baby if she smokes while she's pregnant.

I don't know if she'll be convinced to quit but if she's found out she's very likely to have the baby taken away. Quitting is hard but she's putting so much at risk with that sort of lifestyle. I just hope her child will be OK.

[Gaia]

I've known people who have children to have the occasional joint. One in particular is a fantastic father and it doesn't affect his care for his child at all. Though this will not be true for all people, and will determine on how much is smoked.
I don't think it's the best idea to do, and I'm not saying she should, but one can care for a child after having smoked.
There is a huge difference to smoking pot in front of the child, and the majority of the time to having a joint when they are not around and not doing it all the time.

[Nostalgia]

i work in a preschool and if i turned up to work high / doped up on weed i would be out of the door of where i work before i could even say hi to my boss. the answer is no you cannot properly care for a child while doped up / high on weed. apart from the fact that i strongly belive that children should not be around people when they are high on drugs, its wrong, and can be damaging for the child, even smoking it while pregnant with the child is dangerous taking drugs when pregnant can cause the child brain damage and can also give the child servere learning difficulties. i think you should look up the dangers of smoking drugs when pregnant and give them to your sister. sorry if this sounds harsh but its true.

[mIssIng:nO]

She's dumb as complete fuck for smoking while she's pregnant

yes you can take care of a kid while high, but its incredibly irresponsible if you do it all the time while taking care of the child

Originally Posted by SquidPid

i work in a preschool and if i turned up to work high / doped up on weed i would be out of the door of where i work before i could even say hi to my boss. the answer is no you cannot properly care for a child while doped up / high on weed. apart from the fact that i strongly belive that children should not be around people when they are high on drugs, its wrong, and can be damaging for the child, even smoking it while pregnant with the child is dangerous taking drugs when pregnant can cause the child brain damage and can also give the child servere learning difficulties. i think you should look up the dangers of smoking drugs when pregnant and give them to your sister. sorry if this sounds harsh but its true.

you loose all credibility , doped up on weed? dope is heroin, not marijuana [Edited by La Roux: Completely unnecessary rudeness.]

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by mIssIng:nO

She's dumb as complete fuck for smoking while she's pregnant

yes you can take care of a kid while high, but its incredibly irresponsible if you do it all the time while taking care of the child




you loose all credibility , doped up on weed? dope is heroin, not marijuana [Edited by La Roux: Completely unnecessary rudeness.]

it doesnt mean that you cannot be doped up on weed - doped up here is just another word for high. either way smoking weed around children is not a good idea, i know i made a thread about weed, and such like but thats only because im considering it and will most likely not try weed. but smoking weed while pregenant can really harm the baby. and smoking weed around the baby once its been born is not a good idea either. the baby will grow up thinking weed is a normal thing to smoke, its like the ciggarete adverts in the uk that they used to show, they showed parents smoking and then they showed a baby in a car seat breathing out the cigarette smoke he had inhaled threw his nose with the caption ' dont make them breathe your smoke'. i imagine its the same concept with smoking weed the baby will be inhaleing the smoke from the weed.

[Boobies]

Originally Posted by mIssIng:nO

you loose all credibility , doped up on weed? dope is heroin, not marijuana [Edited by La Roux: Completely unnecessary rudeness.]

Dope refers to several different drugs, so I guess that makes you the person who is wrong and the person who looses all credibility?

And if you have an occasional spliff it'd be fine really, but only when the child's in bed or something. If it's all day everyday than that's completely different =/
The fact she's smoking whilst pregnant is appalling though x.x

[Jocelyn.]

Is she a total pothead or an occasional smoker? If she is smoking weed often while pregnant, she may be doing some serious damage to her child. Like, I could understand if she had bad morning sickness or awful back pains and did it occasionally to relieve herself of constant discomfort... considering you can only take tylenol while pregnant. There are not many sure studies to show the effects of smoking marijuana while pregnant but I couldn't imagine taking that chance. My guess is it may and up low birth weight and maybe premature.

As for smoking while being a parent (coming from someone who's done their fair share of smoking weed)... maybe for someone who smokes a lot and has built up a bit of a tolerance it would be doable. But could someone really be a parent to the best of their ability while high? Definitely not imo. I think it'd be just fine for her to smoke the occasional joint after her child goes to bed or something, but I couldn't imagine properly caring for my son while being high all day. I don't feel bad about having a few drinks after he's asleep for the night, but I'd never be drunk while he's awake and active.

mIssIng:nO: My dad is an old school pothead. He calls it dope. Doped up is appropriate slang for being high on marijuana.

[Unicorn ♥✿]

No! How irresponsible!

[Colt]

No.

All citizens in a country are expected to abide by the law. If it's illegal in your country, don't do it.

Seeing as how the OP's location mentions Peru, one of the few places it is legal, then I guess she gets a pass as long as she is there. I don't understand why TeenHelp condones such activities.

[Ngikhona]

Is it literally possible? Yes. Can a person parent to their full potential when they're smoking weed? No, I don't believe so.
I just really don't think a parent should have to rely on smoking weed when they have a kid around, or especially if they're pregnant. I think it shows signs of weakness, and while parents are by no means able to have no weaknesses, I think it's an inhibiting weakness.

Also, just so you know, we don't condone drug usage by any means. Everything said here is a valid opinion, and no one is saying "Smoke it up" or anything.