If you catch your child smoking, your first instinct may be to throw out her cigarettes and send her to her room indefinitely. However, harsh punishment is not always the right away to stop a child from smoking. Instead, you need to focus on the poor effects of smoking and let her know smoking is not tolerated in your household.
Significance
According to a 2005 study done by Arizona State University and printed in the "Journal of Pediatric Psychiatry," a parent's attitude about smoking plays a factor in whether a child smokes. A lack of supervision, poor emotional bonds and smoking in front of a child increases his risk of smoking. You should never smoke in front of a child, or he may feel as though smoking is a normal behavior.
Effects
Point out the punishing effects a body experiences because of smoking. This may make the teen concerned about her health and decide to quit the habit. Although a teen may not be concerned about lung cancer, she may respond if you point out how smoking can yellow the teeth and damage the skin. You may also want to point out how badly her hair, breath and clothing will smell after smoking.
Prevention/Solution
You should withhold the teen's allowance if he insists on smoking, suggests the Family Education website. You should not give him money if he plans to use it to buy cigarettes. Let him know if he wants to smoke, he needs to find his own way to support his very expensive habit.
Considerations
Peer pressure is one of the main reasons that a teen starts to smoke, according to the 2005 "Journal of Pediatric Psychiatry" study. It is important for parents to focus on not harshly punishing the child, but instead teach her to say no when asked to smoke.
Potential
According to the Cleveland Clinic, you need to take a positive approach as a way to help a teen stop smoking. If you pressure the teen, he may resist and continue to smoke. The teen may be addicted and need the help of a smoking-cessation program to quit.
