Spinoff on Smoking okay while pregnant?

[tiglet]

Do any of you have specific plans for how you plan to keep your children from smoking?

B is a little young for us to do anything about it (other than not model smoking for her), but I'm already trying to plan conversation topics and what sort of attitude we should take about smoking.

I don't want to make it such a forbidden fruit that it becomes desirable. But I don't want to treat smoking casually, either.

My parents offered me and my siblings a big reward for not smoking - we each got $1000 (yeah, . I think when my Dad promised that to me when I was a little kid that he didn't have the $1000 to give, but was trusting he would by the time I turned 18. Of course, I didn't know that then, and he did come through on my birthday) when we turned 18 when we able to look our father in the eye and say "I have never smoked a cigarette". It worked for my family - none of us have ever smoked - not even one try. Missing the thousand dollars was just too huge. And when we were peer pressured, telling our friends "Hey! If I try that cigarette, I lose $1000!" was pretty effective too.

I'm thinking about doing something similar for Bonnie. But the thing is - I'm not sure exactly how my parents made it work. I feel that just offering a reward for not doing it, and for fostering an attitude of trust and no lying isn't enough. I guess I'm worried about it.

What are other families doing to discourage smoking?

[2sunshines]

My kids are young (2 and 4) but actually smoking has already been brought up by my 4 yo. He has seen people in the community smoke and asks about it. We just tell him the truth. That some people smoke but that smoking is really bad for you and makes you sick and hurts your body and that it's stinky and nasty and gross. Right now he doesn't understand why anyone would smoke. As he gets older, we'll deal with the issue more, because obviously there's the peer pressure factor but you know, growing up, I never once had the desire to smoke. My family didn't smoke. I hated the smell of smoke. It was a nasty habit that i had no desire to be a part of. There was no specific motivation from my parents to not smoke (apart from the fact that I knew that they would disapprove), we just always knew the health concerns and how stinky and gross it was, that at least I never had a desire. My parents have 7 children, all of which are grown. None of us smoke.

All this to say, I think that for my children, the biggest motivation that I want to give them to not smoke is their health and their desirability to others (who wants to be around smokers??? ).

Good question though. I'm looking forward to hearing others' answers.

[boonpnutsmom]

My stepmom and sister smoke. While my mom was here last week recovering from surgery, we were constantly reminding her to make sure she took her meds. I asked her, why did you have this surgery to prolong your life and then you light up a cancer stick? Her answer to me was if I get through this surgery and recovery I will quit. Not sure I believe her. My dad quit cold turkey about 5 years ago and he told me recently it is still a daily struggle. Some days it totally disgusts him, other days he craves one so bad. DH smoked when we met, we made a deal....he quit smoking and I would get pregnant, had no clue we would have to do IVF, but he quit that day. Now almost 10 yrs later, both of us are so sensitive to the smell of the smoke it is not even a question, our kids know how we feel and they understand the risks, so I don't think they will be too influenced by peer pressure.

[sadie]

del

Well my mom has smoked all my life, in the house with no thought to who is in the house. Dh and I are both sensitive to smoke, he more than I, but I can smell it a mile away.

There is an ad on the bus that lists the chemicals and the poisonous products the come from and I think I will use that as a visual...when she is old enough I will give her a list of the poisons and ask her to find what products they are in, and then line them up for her to look at, viewing the warning labels, etc...make it a kind of project and so she can see first hand the warnings on the individual products, so she knows that every time you have a cigarette you are in effect taking a sip out of everyone of these bottles...plus more.

Besides I will explain how it is addicting and very unhealthy. And how it smells and makes your teeth yellow and also your fingers and makes your clothes smell. Sadly, I will be able to use my mother as an example.

[ArmsOfLove]

Well, my dad is a smoker. So we try to teach without imparting a judgmental attitude. We approach it the same way we do eating animal products and other life choices we have.

What we've done is talked to our kids about smoking, and we've explained that grandpa smokes because it's something he's done his entire life and we love him, we don't judge him, it's just not healthy for anyone! That sometimes people choose to do things that aren't healthy for them, but we want the best for them and that means not smoking. And so far they understand

My dad is a smoker and paid us $1000 not to smoke, too. IIRC, I got it when I was smoke-free at 25. It was nice getting paid not to do something I didn't want to do anyway . I don't think it would have kept me from smoking if I'd really wanted to, though.

[luvinmykidz]

Well my parents never offered to pay me any money but I am not a smoker. My Dad smoked and my little sister started at 9 but I never did! I am 28 years old and only tried a cigarette one time in my life....it was the most disgusting thing I had ever tried in my life and I puiked and coughed for days I think that in the long run I will teach my child that I am against smoking and don't approve of it but it is ultimately their choice to make for themselves.