3 min read
Parental Communication: How to Talk to Your Kids About Nicotine—Without Making It More Appealing
Parents who want to prevent their children from using nicotine often make it worse—lecturing, threatening, catastrophizing. The alternative: honest, respectful, developmentally appropriate conversations that treat adolescents as capable of making good decisions.
The parent who says 'if I ever catch you vaping, you're grounded for a year' is communicating: nicotine is forbidden, and I don't trust you. The adolescent hears: this is something interesting that adults are afraid of. **The alternative: 'Let's talk about nicotine—what have you heard about it? What do your friends say? Here's what I know, and I trust you to make good decisions with good information.' The conversation is harder. It's also more effective.**
