How to get grandmother not to smoke around baby?

Dear Nanny,

My mother-in-law is a darling woman and I feel so fortunate that my baby has such a caring, loving grandmother to dote on him. My problem is that my mother-in-law smokes and I hate to expose my little one to second hand smoke. Any suggestions?

--Anti-smoking mom

Dear Anti,

Good for you in recognizing what a special gift a grandmother’s love is for a child. May yours enjoy his grandmother’s love and care for many, many years to come! As to the smoking, a gentle comment that the pediatrician has advised you not to take the little one into an environment with smoking may elicit an offer by his doting grandmother not to smoke when her darling baby boy is around. If your gentle sharing of medical advice doesn’t do the trick, a sweetly worded request, wrapped in admiration for her many positive traits, may. After all, if your little one’s Nanny is as adoring as I am of all of my wonderful grandchildren, she most certainly does not want to endanger his little lungs! Just remember, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar and a gentle approach is more likely to achieve your desired result.

--Nanny