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No Butts About It
Keeping Teens and Tweens Smoke-free
By Gina Roberts-Grey
If your teen or tween is fighting the heavy burden of smoking peer pressure, have an open, honest discussion with him to help him determine why his friends smoke, to understand your deep concern for his health, and to fully understand his position on smoking. Help him see that many children who begin smoking do so because they feel inadequate or are hoping to boost their image.
Dr. Tjaden recommends presenting the truthful facts about smoking and enlisting help from your child's pediatrician or family doctor for educational materials. "A child's teen and tween years is the perfect time to help your child identify why he or she may be personally interested in smoking and how those interests can be channeled in a more healthy and productive manner," he says. "Talking with a health care professional may have a deeper impact on a child who is rebelling against his parents or is looking for attention."
Whether your child has or has not already started smoking, remember that as parent, you are in control of many factors that may contribute to smoking in the first place. Combine truthful education regarding the serious health risks associated with smoking, with the consequences imposed at home, to dissuade your child from beginning or continuing smoking. Establish rewarding goals that help boost self-confidence in order to help your child avoid smoking and the peers who give pressure to smoke. Attending sports camps or music lessons creates a safe diversion that allows your child a creative outlet to excess energy, frustration or boredom that may otherwise lead to tobacco use.