Your children need to read this - anti-smoking true stories (teens, teaching)
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Do you also take them to car accident scenes to warn them of the dangers of speeding or drinking and driving?
What's your point? You don't think a parent should educate their child that smoking causes cancer and emphysema? Why not? I should stand by and say nothing and let them end up hooked up to an oxygen tank, gasping like a hooked fish? If you've ever been an RN and seen emphysema patients, you don't want your kids to go through that.
Just want to make sure you are covering all the bases. It's pretty easy to find other materials to 'scare 'em straight'. I'm sure you can find some pics of folks who have blown their hands off with fire crackers or poked their eye out while running with a stick. Of course you should visit accident scenes and not limit it to drunk driving, there are kids killed driving and texting too. We had a some people killed here street racing recently...that would have been an excellent teaching opportunity.
We had a neighbor growing up who attempted to expose her kids to the horrible consequences of all kinds of bad choices one could make in life. She figured if they knew the worst it could be they would be afraid to try anything as stupid as smoking or drinking and driving. Well, she scared them alright. They were terrified of life in general and very unhappy kids. Fortunately for them they knew all the harsh realities and never smoked or got behind the wheel drunk. However, they were rather emotionally stunted, fearful but aware.
The idea that you read this article to your kids regularly reminds me of this mother and I wonder if it is really better than just talking to your kids about smoking in a more balanced manner. You don't have to show them a picture of someone who's hand is blown off for them to understand the danger of playing with firecrackers.
Now, if you had actually found one of your kids smoking then I think this is an appropriate article to read...but as a preventive it seems a bit over the top.
I don't know....I don't think there is anything wrong with sharing the very real, long term effects of smoking. Kind of like, at many high schools, the week before Prom, they cart in a smashed up car of a teenaged driver who died as a result of carelessness or drinking. It just can really drive the message home. OTOH, if you constantly bombard your kids with the horrors of everything, they will eventually tune you out. Like everything else, it's a balance. Actually, with smoking, the example you set as parents has a lot to do with whether your kids choose to smoke or not.
We had a neighbor growing up who attempted to expose her kids to the horrible consequences of all kinds of bad choices one could make in life. She figured if they knew the worst it could be they would be afraid to try anything as stupid as smoking or drinking and driving. Well, she scared them alright. They were terrified of life in general and very unhappy kids.
I'm not your neighbor. She sounds dysfunctional. I would never do anything like that to my children - she sounds like a sick person who was attempting to keep her children tied to her apron strings, so they would never leave her.
That's sick.
My children are 14 and 12 years old, they are both good, happy kids. I encourage them to be independent.
Not warning your children of the dangers of smoking is negligence. I am not your neighbor, and I am not doing anything like what you described.
Oh and yes, I agree with the other person who said the best way to teach your children is by example. I do not smoke, neither does my husband.
I remember they made us read that first story in school as a kid. I think stories like these are good for kids to read--they may scare them a bit but they do the trick. One of my friends from junior high/high school's mother had emphysema, was hooked up to an oxygen tank 24/7 and still continued to smoke! Seeing her hooked up to that thing every time I was at her house scared the crap out of me, and to this day I've never smoked. My sister and I are trying to get our boyfriends to quit--or at least cut back considerably for now.
One of my friends from junior high/high school's mother had emphysema, was hooked up to an oxygen tank 24/7 and still continued to smoke! Seeing her hooked up to that thing every time I was at her house scared the crap out of me, and to this day I've never smoked.
It IS scary, seeing someone hooked up to oxygen, struggling to get their breath....it's scary and heartbreaking. Kids aren't told the truth, though; they see up-and-coming young actors, like Robert Pattinson, in photoshoots with a cigarette dangling from his lips....and he looks cool.....so when they start smoking, they have no idea what they are even getting into.
They deserve to know. They need to know the truth.
Yes, they need to know the truth...but if anyone starts smoking simply because some famous person smokes and it looks 'cool' then they also have some other issues. Truth or not, if they have such little self worth that they think they will be better person by smoking, or a cooler person, or a more acceptable person...they will smoke anyway. My kids have been through all the anti-smoking stuff at school, it's everywhere. You'd wonder how any kid could smoke after going through public school (where they may have even read this story...I'm pretty sure they got to see the smoking vs non-smoking lungs and such). Yet, some of these kids will end up smokers. It's not true that they don't know what they are getting into. They absolutely know, you'd have to be living in a cave not to know about the dangers of smoking....but something more powerful takes over, the desire to fit in or feel 'cool'...and that can't be so easily changed with smoking horror stories because the smoking is not the real issue.
So sure, let them read the story so they know but then work on the real reason that people start to smoke...the same reason teens and young adults do so many other stupid things...they think for the moment, they sacrifice what they know is right to fit right now, they let someone make them feel 'uncool', they are afraid to stand up for themselves in the face of pressure, or whatever...help build them up so you won't ever have to 'scare them straight'.
Hmmm I read the article she posted and would not let my kids read this unless they had good reason too. I agree with NCYank it is a bit over the top. Sometimes using reverse psychology can backfire on you. I think educating your child on this great but it has its limits. There are far more dangers out there other than smoking to teach them about. If your going to make them read articles about smoking then maybe you should have them read articles about peer pressure, Guns, Gangs, Sexual Predators/Rape, Drinking, Drugs, Sex, eating disorders, .. etc....etc.. etc.. Teach them positivity and self-esteem, teach them how to stand up and not give in to external force. By giving them a strong self-image will help them in life choices. A parent’s role in supporting a child to develop a healthy self image and high self-esteem cannot be stressed enough. Children should be praised for their accomplishments (even the smallest ones), and encouraged to learn from their errors, instead of making them feel inadequate or like they failed. Little things, like telling them how unique and special they are and praising their talents, can significantly help a child trust their abilities and provide the motivation to work hard to succeed in any task. Making them read this article over and over in time could scare them which would be good for you or they could rebel against you and do it anyway.
Good Luck.
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