Some parents would suggest scolding and punishing kid who smokes. They will forbid our kid’s friends who smoke to enter our homes. This is a completely wrong way to stop kids from smoking.
If we don’t allow them in our homes, our kids will go to their dens and indulge in smoking. Kids must be handled with love and compassion if we want to get rid of any bad habits from them.
We all know smoking kills. It will lead us to several diseases including lung cancer and heart attacks. If our kids are just starting to smoke, let them know the consequences of smoking. They will have bad breath, Yellow teeth, smelly clothes, and are not fit enough to play soccers in the field. Smoking will lead to complexity in the fertility of girls.
Why does a kid smoke?
A kid learns from the environment. They watch things happening around them and try to emulate them. Smoking by teens above 18 is normal. But it is surprising that even a 9-year-old kid smokes. How do they start this habit?
Obviously, they might have seen smokings in the movies, parents, or teachers in the school. They want to try the experience of exhaling smoke in the air.
Some of them must have been forced by the bigger boys or girls to bully them. Sometimes they just want to try it, without knowing the bad things about smoking.
Understand that your kid is growing up
Kids want to look grown-up and ‘cool’ and Smoking has often been portrayed through movies, serials, and advertising as ‘cool’.
Their misconception that it’s cool to smoke must be replaced with other things. Give them some odd responsibilities of the home to show they have grown up. Why not asked them to go shopping in the local vegetable stores which you have been doing before?
Asked them to buy a pedigree for the pets or asked them to whitewash the fence which can be done only by grown-up kids.
Giving them such responsibilities will definitely help them to think they are grown up now. Smoking is not a sign of grown-ups.
Listen to their problems as a friend
The best way to know your kid’s problem is to have conversations. Don’t act as parents, but try to behave as a friend. They will open up about their problems, be it in school, with friends, or even their personal health.
Do not scold them if they have done some mistakes. Rather, try to bring solutions together.
Wrong ways to stop kids from smoking
Some parents will stop paying pocket money to their kids. They have the confidence that if their kids don’t have money, they won’t buy cigarettes. This is absurd. If they want to smoke, they can get it from their friends. And in the United States, there are several bad people who want to exploit teens for drugs and other substances.
Don’t stop giving pocket money, asked them to buy delicious foods instead.
Don’t let them suffer alone. If you know your kid smokes, keep them closer to you. Provide them with the company.
Don’t scold your kid for their bad friend circle. Instead, introduce your kid to a circle of good teens who do not smoke.
Parent’s role to stop kids from smoking
If you smoke, it is better to stop immediately, right now. When you smoke and explain to your kids about the health hazards of a smoker, your kids will not believe you.
If you cannot quit smoking, then try your best never to smoke in front of your kids or in the home. Never show cigarettes to your kids.
One thing you can do is explain to your kids that you are a smoker. You have been using this habit since you were kids and today you have been carrying several diseases inside your body.
Explain to them that you have your child to stop smoking and what to do if you are a smoker yourself, and want to encourage your child to quit.
Share your own health problems with your kids. Tell them that you regret not listening to the advice of your parents and also try to quit smoking together, showing support and encouragement to your kids to perform what you could not do some 40-50 years ago.
Naorem Mohen is full time Blogger and helps parent improve their parenting skills, resulting in better relationships with their children. He also provides guidance to individuals and couples to enhance their relationships and communication. Naorem supports people in need to help them in their personal growth, helping them set and achieve meaningful goals.
