Many parents try to shield their children from all the unhealthy aspects of life. Unfortunately, it is not realistic. Vaping is on the rise and is just as prevalent as smoking. Due to this, it does not matter how hard a parent tries to shield their child, they will eventually know and understand about vaping.
What Is Vaping?
Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling the vapor produced by a vaping device. Devices are known by many names depending upon the style and size of the device. Common names used are vaporizer, vape pen, box mod, wax pen, dab pen, and more. Each device can slightly vary depending upon the type of material is used in the device, but typically consist of some form of heating element, battery, a tank or chamber, and a mouthpiece. To work, the material (such as wax or e-juice) is placed into the tank or chamber. Once the power is activated, the device will heat up the material until the vapor is produced.
Do My Kids Know I Vape?
Whether or not you tell your children you personally vape is your choice. While some opt to hide what are viewed as unhealthy habits from their children, others are more open about it. Like smoking, how you engage in vaping can (and often do) alter your child’s perception of the issue. Unless you take precautions, in most cases your child (or children) will know if you vape.
What Can I Do to Keep My Kids Safe?
Children change your life. Instead of making decisions for yourself, anything and everything you do can affect another human being. If you have children or are expecting, keep these helpful tips in mind for keeping your children safe.
Always store your supplies out of reach. While it may seem like a no-brainer, it can be easy to forget you have your vaping supplies out. Children are curious and mischievous, and vaping supplies are not child-proof. Therefore, you should always consider where you keep your stash. Otherwise, it could result in loss of gear, a mess, illness, or even something worse. A good rule of thumb for kids is – out of sight, out of mind.
Create a special or secret location to partake in vaping activities. Kids are very prone to follow the whole monkey see, monkey do mantra. Seeing mom or dad vaping can create an enticing appeal for kids. Therefore, you should always minimize the amount of time your kids see you engaging in the behavior to help prevent underage vaping.
What Should I Discuss With My Children?
Whether or not you vape, one of the most important things you should do is talk to your children. Take the time to hear their questions and to really talk to them. If you are unsure where to start, make sure to address these important topics.
Make sure your children understand vaping is not the “cool” thing to do. Unfortunately, many vaping products can look cool. They offer cutting-edge technology, sleek designs, even fun options (like your favorite cartoon character or a vape pen that looks like something else). To top it all off, there are plenty of celebrities who publically engage in vaping, making it even more appealing to younger generations.
Lay down the law. While you can prevent younger children from knowing about vaping, at some point, your children will know what it is. As your children grow up, take the time to talk to them. Make them aware that it is an adult activity, and that as a child they have no reason to be engaging in the activity until they are adults. Like any other option, you do not want for your kids, lay out the rules about vaping. For example, if they are aware of your vaping, make sure they understand it is unacceptable to mess around with your supplies. No matter what, you need to make sure all your expectations are clear. If you decide to set some sort of consequences, make sure you follow through with them.
Sometimes it is best to explain to your kids why you vape. Although there are always exceptions, many vapers tend to be former smokers. If this is the case, you should explain to them how you prevent yourself from smoking by vaping.
What Is the Best Approach for Talking to Your Kids about Vaping?
Most importantly, you need to know your kid. After all, when it comes to your kids, you know them best. There is no “right way” to get through to your children. How you address things should align with how you are already effectively raising your child (or children). By the time they are old enough to experiment with vaping, you should have some idea of how to discuss the topic that will get through to them.
Similar to other sensitive topics, the most important thing to keep in mind is to have an open conversation that you can keep going in the future. For example, if you are too harsh or judgmental, you could hinder your child from talking with you. On the other hand, if you are too flippant about the subject, your child may not take you seriously. You need to find a balance. Create an open and trustworthy conversation. However, if you continually try and are unable to get through to them, you may want to enlist the help of someone else they admire or trust.