Knowing the dangers that cigarettes pose, no one really wants kids to take up the habit. Sadly, for many reasons such as peer pressure or curiosity, many children will try smoking. There are many programs that try to help stop kids from smoking with varying degrees of success. Efforts aimed at teens are not always successful at conveying the message that smoking is not cool.
Some ways that parents and other adults that help stop children from smoking include:
Talking to them about it: As soon as you deem it appropriate start talking to your child about the dangers of smoking. Do not use a judgmental tone when discussing the issue. Depending on the age of the child using pictures that depict the health effects of smoking such as a diseased lung is worth considering. When watching movies with your children discuss what is seen. Using this opportunity to discuss the real world as against the images generally seen on TV and in the print media will help reinforce good habits.Stop smoking if you are a smoker: Few things work with kids like emulating their parents. If you smoke, your no-smoking message may not have the desired effect.If penalties are applied to persons who sell underaged kids cigarettes, fewer kids would have access.Getting children involved in activities may help keep them busy enough to avoid smoking. Plus, those involved in sports may be less inclined to start since they need to remain healthy to play.
Studies have shown that the children of smokers are more likely to smoke. This doesn’t mean that if you smoke you should not try to stop your child from doing it as well. Most would agree however that the best method is to talk to them frankly about smoking to try to keep them from starting.
