Lots of kids under age 10 smoke in Indonesia.

Surely you remember the smoking toddler, Aldi Rizal, the Indonesian 2-year-old who was trying to quit his two-pack-a-day habit this time last year.  He was released from intensive rehab last November and is now living like a normal boy.  But, it turns out, Rizal is far from the only Indonesian pre-schooler who likes to light up.  According to ABC News, “a million children in Indonesia under the age of 16 smoke.”  More importantly, “one third of Indonesian children try smoking before the age of 10.”

A 2-year-old named Chairul is fed cigarettes by his own grandfather, who says he allows Chairul to smoke “because it tastes good, like bread with chocolate.”  When asked if he was worried about the boy’s health, the grandfather replied, “If the boy doesn’t smoke, he doesn’t feel good. It’s all right, as long as he drinks enough coffee with his cigarettes.”

Wow.  It’s true, though.  Coffee and cigarettes go together hand in hand, like flowers and funerals. Continue reading »

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Aldi Rizal has quit smoking

Remember the smoking toddler? The Indonesian two-year-old made international headlines last spring when a video of his chain-smoking habit went viral on the Internet.

Since then, the boy has received intensive rehab and play therapy. His parents say he’s kicked his smoking habit, after a withdrawal period marked by some fierce tantrums. He’s finally been released from rehab, and is home with his parents.

Now, Aldi Rizal is living like a regular kid.

The remaining problem: he wasn’t that different from other Indonesian kids before. MSNBC had no trouble finding smokers as young as five just lounging around on the streets in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital.

Continue reading »

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Remember Ardi Rizal, the so-called smoking toddler? The two-year-old Indonesian boy who smoked about 40 cigarettes a day?

Good news! After receiving special therapy, he has managed to kick the nasty habit, a child welfare official told AFP today.

In May, when a video of Rizal smoking went viral on the Internet, it drew international attention to the weak regulation of the tobacco industry in Indonesia.

Six months after his father gave him his first cigarette, the overweight boy was smoking two packs a day. Apparently, if his parents tried to take away his cigarettes, the boy threw violent tantrums. So where is he now? Continue reading »

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Can you believe it’s been a full month since we first learned about Aldi Rizal (a.k.a. Ardi), the two-year-old Indonesian boy who chain-smokes cigarettes?

Understandably, parents, in particular, were outraged at the sight of the toddler sucking in nicotine. Reports later surfaced that he had cut back on his cigarette habit. But CBS News recently tracked him down in Indonesia and found that he’s still puffing away.

Initially, the media reported that the boy’s father gave him his first cigarette at 18 months. But CBS News says that he picked up the dirty habit when he was left on his own at the marketplace where his parents sell fish. His mother, Dinai, said she found him smoking one day.

“He already knew how to do it very well, like an adult. … It was actually his own wish,” she said.

Soon, Aldi was addicted and was smoking more than 40 cigarettes a day, often using one cigarette to light the next.

His mother feels helpless when it comes to making him stop. ”Nowadays, he smokes one pack a day, two packs at most. … We surely hope he will quit, that he will be like any other kid, not smoking. … But I can’t stand seeing him hurting himself. What can we do but to accept it is as it is?” she asked. Continue reading »

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Remember the “smoking toddler,” the two-year-old Indonesian boy who became an international sensation last month when a video circulated of him chain-smoking?

People were universally outraged at the sight, even more so when they learned that the boy’s father first gave him cigarettes when he was only 18 months old.

Good news: according to The Sun, Ardi Rizal has cut down his habit to 15 cigarettes a day from the 40 he had been smoking.

A child welfare official told The Sun that the child’s addiction is being treated with “therapy focused on playing.”

Previously, Indonesian officials had offered to buy the family a car if the boy quits smoking. Continue reading »

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Glenn Beck received harsh criticism from his own fans for attacking Malia Obama in his radio show after she asked her dad “Did you plug the hole yet?” in reference to the BP oil spill.  — Huffington Post

A friend of mine was offended when her OB referred to her as an “elderly gravida,” but age 35 has always been the cut-off for “advanced maternal age.”  But as Dr. Jason Rothbart points out, with today’s technology, all pregnant women need to have the option to test if they want peace of mind. — Parents Ask

Your toddler is two and still using a pacifier.  Sure, your mother-in-law says it’s time to give it up, but is it really?  LilSugar has a great slide show giving guidance on when it’s time to move on from certain milestones.

The mom of the smoking toddler from Indonesia says that she wants to help her son.  She brought him to Jakarta for advice, where she was told to redirect him when he wants a cigarette, but she says that smoking is so pervasive in her country that it’s hard for him to quit. — CNN

Avocados are a favorite baby’s first food, but toddlers and older kids love their sweet creaminess, too.  Here are several ways to enjoy this healthy treat with kids. — Eco Child’s Play

Photo: David Shankbone, Flickr

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or don’t have Internet access), you must have seen — or at least heard about  — the latest viral sensation, the video circulating of Ardi Rizal, the 2-year-old Indonesian boy smoking cigarettes. Cable news networks, the nightly news programs, and parenting web sites (including this one) all played up the story which was guaranteed to attract attention.

Not surprisingly, people were outraged. Who wouldn’t be? I don’t think anyone would argue that giving cigarettes to a 2-year-old is a good or even acceptable idea. It was even more disturbing to learn that the boy’s father first gave him cigarettes when he was only 18 months old.

But I couldn’t help but feel icky about the whole thing. Obviously, I felt disgusted by the idea of a toddler with a nicotine habit. But my real problem with the video is that it made it too easy for us to feel superior to this kid and his family. Continue reading »

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