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How do you help protect your children from bad influences and encourage them to make healthy choices? Some tips to help get the conversations started include:
- Sit down with your child and ask them what they know about cigarettes. Ask your child to participate, and share, so she doesn't feel like you're lecturing her. Answer any questions honestly, and if you don't know an answer, do some research together. If sitting at the kitchen table is too "confrontational," consider moving the discussion outside on a walk or while driving the car.
- Express feelings with your child. Let them know what it is about addictive behaviors that scares you. You may also want to share your personal history to help them understand any challenges you or someone you love may have had to overcome.
- Discuss the other facets of smoking, like costs, smell and even how repeated smoking can change physical appearances.
- Come up with ideas on how your children can respond to the question "Want to try a cigarette?" Let your daughter use her personality to develop the answers in different ways - humor, factual, persuasive, or even by asking a question back - so she is comfortable saying "no" in her own way.
- Repeat the conversation. When was the last time you had to tell your child to do something just once? Talking about not smoking often will help ensure the message is communicated, and it will make having similar discussions easier as your children get older and are exposed to other types of unhealthy behaviors.
