Teen Smoking Prevention

Teen smoking is a problem that an increasing number of parents are facing these days. Be it because of peer pressure, lack of attention from parents or some other reason, teenagers have started taking up smoking at an alarming rate. This has made many parents a very concerned lot and they are now wondering what they can do in context of teen smoking prevention. Are you one such concerned parent? Are you looking for ways to prevent your teenager from smoking? If yes, then the tips given below will surely prove handy to you.

 

 

First of all, you need to accept that fact that teen smoking is a problem that is widely prevalent these days and it can easily victimize your teenage son or daughter as well. A large number of parents live under the misconception that their child will never ever fall under the influence of smoking. Only when you accept that your teen is as much vulnerable to smoking as others, will you be able to take effective steps to prevent the same.

 

'Practice what you preach'. This is one of the first tips that you need to keep in mind, if you want to prevent teen smoking. Right from the day they are born, children always look up to their parents for example. In fact, more often than not, they emulate their mom and dad. So, if you want your teenager to never ever take up smoking, you will have to make sure that you are not under the influence of the bad habit as well.

 

In majority of the cases, teenagers take up smoking because of peer pressure. Most of them view it as a way to look cool and be a part of the 'in crowd'. You will have to inculcate enough self respect, esteem and confidence in your child, to make sure that he does not feel the need for external approval. You should help your teen develop friendships, shape a healthy body image and deal with stress, without even having to think about tobacco use.

 

A person learns most of his/ her values from his/ her parents. You will have to communicate to your teenager the fact that you do not approve of smoking and consider it to be a very unhealthy habit. Remember, you should not address him/ her specifically or put undue pressure on him/ her, to never ever take to smoking. Rather, bring up smoking issue in your general discussions and talk about the harmful effects that the habit has on a person.

 

One of the best ways to prevent teen smoking is to be on the lookout for signs that indicate that it is there. Does your teenager seem isolated these days? Is his/ her performance in school going down? Has his/ her expenditures gone up suddenly? Have there been any complaints of his/ her skipping classes? Have you found anything in his/ her room or bag that indicates that he/ she has started smoking? Early detection will help you tackle the problem before it gets out of hand.