Toddler, 2, Taken From Parents Because They Smoked Too Much In Home, Will Be Placed For Adoption

A two-year-old toddler has been taken from his parents after a health visitor determined his parents smoked too much in their home and suggested he be placed up for adoption.

Julie Allen told a family court judge that she had not seen such a smoky house in her 10-year career, and suggested the boy be placed for adoption after she saw the toddler and his dad sitting in a “visible cloud of smoke,” that made it even hard for her to breathe, the Independent reports. Allen also reported that the child had been prescribed an inhaler merely a month before her visit due to breathing problems.

“On entering the living room, Ms. Allen described being able to see a visible cloud of smoke surrounding the father and (the boy),” Judge Louise Pemberton said. “[The boy] was asleep on the sofa and had been unwell for some time by this point … the parents seemed unable both at that stage and when the issue of smoking around [the boy] was raised by any other professional, to acknowledge or appreciate the concern and adapt their behavior.”

Emma Green, a nursery nurse, said the house was dirty and “cluttered” with empty cigarette packs and other garbage, and a social worker said the boy’s clothes and toys smelled heavily of smoke. Pemberton was also told that there was “potential drug paraphernalia” found in the home, and the child’s father had tested positive for cocaine.

“I am afraid that all of these matters lead me to an unavoidable and difficult conclusion that the risks to [the little boy] in being placed with his parents are far too high,” Judge Pemberton said in a written judgement, according to BT.

“Adoption really is the only option now available to [the little boy], in my view, nothing else will do … I want him to know that in my judgment his parents loved him very much and tried very hard but they were simply not able to meet his needs.”

The toddler’s parents did try to fight the ruling that their child be placed for adoption. The mother claimed that they didn’t smoke in the house, and she was obsessed with cleanliness. However, Pemberton said she found that hard to believe. The father did, however, admit to there being a thick cloud of smoke in the home.

Do you agree with the judge’s decision to place the toddler up for adoption? Leave your comments below.

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