I think the line should be drawn where something the parents do affects the kids’ health. I’m against the crackdown for drug possession, etc. (parents using drugs, as long as they do not abuse the children, allow them access to said drugs, or neglect them while high, should not be a reason for removal), and think that when things like the moms who were arrested for leaving their kids in a car or (an older child) in the park while they worked or went to an interview (these were very, very poor women with no real support- arguably the alleged child neglect there can be likened to a “survival crime”), then the mother should be offered services and perhaps parenting class, but keep the child.
I’m very, very anti-smoking though. Secondhand smoke has effects that are just as bad, long-term, as actually smoking yourself, and kids’ lungs are more fragile because they’re still developing. Also, childhood asthma and allergies have really increased lately, and so you could actually kill your child if they have a condition and you smoke around them. I know, because I have serious asthma myself- even my neighbors in my building, two doors down, who smoke in their apartment (it’s allowed but discouraged), cause my health harm from the smoke filtering down the hall. I got back this evening from having to go to urgent care and get a nebulizing treatment and another inhaler- no generic for that by the way, so I’m out $25 which I can’t exactly afford now. And even if there’s no immediate problem, there are real long-term ones for secondhand smoke.
So I would be very much in favor of any primary enforcement law that would prevent people from smoking in cars if there is any minor, regardless of age, in the car. I also do not think smoking in shared buildings (at all) or private homes (with minors), should be permitted.
Smoking should either be outdoors, away from any people, or otherwise configured so no one has to inhale your smoke (I have been to Germany many times, and a recent thing is that in skyscrapers, there are glass “smoking booths” with separate ventilation. That way, a person doesn’t have to spend a ton of time going out, or subject passersby to smoke, but can still do as they please- I like this a lot). A person has a right to smoke or use drugs, but not a right to harm someone else’s health- that person, like a polluting factory, is creating a negative externality by their choice, and it’s unfair to subject non-consenting parties to that choice.
I also think severe emotional abuse is something to consider when deciding “abuse” of children for removal or action. I am the daughter of a tiger mother who always said my efforts were never good enough, constantly criticized my every action (yes, even literally sneezing “too loudly”), called me tons of names, and screamed at me. I often daydreamed about my dad getting a divorce, or the parents of a friend taking me in- it really would have been better for me, mentally.
As for religious schools, I don’t think that the state should remove kids from parents who put them there. Instead, I’d like to see bare-min curricula requirements that even religious private schools have to teach, or be shut down, so no kids miss core skills. It’s an admin and education issue, not a family one.