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No Butts About It
Keeping Teens and Tweens Smoke-free
By Gina Roberts-Grey
Peer pressure plays a significant role in a child's decision to begin smoking. Having friends who smoke or who are contemplating smoking can increase the chances that your child will take up this dangerous habit. Statistics gathered by The National Research Center for Women and Families detail that children as young as 10 years old contemplate smoking. The Center's study also determined that if a child graduates high school having never started smoking, he or she has an extremely high rate of never developing a penchant to smoke.
Consistent, proactive involvement during your child's teen and tween years is critical to prevent or eliminate your child's use of tobacco. In order for your child to respect your opinions and trust in your supportive guidance regarding smoking, he must feel you trust and respect him. By assuming he's not telling you the truth that he has not started smoking or that he is predisposed to giving into smoking peer pressure, you may be setting both of you up for failure. "If your child senses you distrust him, he may feel defeated and give into the peer pressure," says Dr. Michael Tjaden, a pediatrician in Barrington, Ill.