F. David Shelene

What is even more amazing is how many children smoke now.

According to the American Academy of Family Practice Physicians, an estimated 4 million children in the United States younger than 18 are regular smokers. One third of them will die early from smoking.

Almost all of them were told smoking is bad for your health and may kill you. The ones that somehow slipped through the cracks can read it on every pack of cigarettes they buy.

How many children do you know who drink?

The Journal of the American Medical Association reports underage drinkers consume almost 20% of alcohol sold. The average age at which children begin drinking is 12.

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reports a 33% increase since 1975 of the proportion of children who begin drinking in eighth grade or earlier.

Do these figures surprise you? I guess maybe it shouldn’t surprise any of us. Many of those children’s parents smoke and drink.

Kids watch mom & dad and do what they do. In their mind, if mom or dad does it, it’s OK.

In the homes where drinking and smoking didn’t go on, many times MTV did go on; all the time. If you’ve never watched MTV, you should try it once. If a child grows up on MTV, and many do from a very young age, they get a taste of MTV’s idea of a good time for kids.

MTV kids smoke, get drunk by drinking lots and lots of booze, have sex with as many partners as they can on spring break, and crank the music up very loud. Now, I really like loud music myself, and MTV used to be about that alone. But, like everyone on TV and in movies they want to make money. So they have decided to sell sex and drugs to our children to make their millions.

Kids imitate the people they admire. If it’s their parents, they will most likely imitate their parents.

If they admire some rap star on MTV, well then they’ve got real problems coming.

Don’t tell your children "Do as I say, not as I do."

Mom & Dad need to set a good example, and at the same time police what they watch on TV and at the movies.

Kids will always imitate their heroes.

Be a ‘Super Hero’ to your children and let them see you doing what is good for you, and good for them.

It’s true that we reap what we sow.

In the future, you won’t be sorry, and neither will they.