Smoking around kids...?

Question

I'm a smoker and I've been trying really hard to quit. I just can't afford the patches, gum, etc.

My 11 year old daughter is always asking about "what smoking feels like", and when I started, etc.

I've caught my son with cigarettes before and I've told him how horrible it is for him and his health.

I'm trying so hard to stop, and I'm really worried that my children will pick up the habit from me! Please don't be judgemental, I'm just looking for advice. What can I do to make sure they don't smoke? Thanks.

Answer 1

I commend you for worrying about your children making the same mistakes you made. I hope you'll keep trying to quit. Use your children as your motivation - you want them to be healthy, and you want to live to be around for them. Keep that in mind whenever the urge to smoke gets really strong.
Until your children are 18, they live by your rules. I know it can be easier said than done at times, but make sure you stay in control. If you catch your son with cigarettes, find out where he got them. Then, keep him away from that source. Come down on it hard - he may hate you for it now, but he'll thank you when he's not dying of lung cancer. If he got them from a friend, tell him he can't go near the friend for a month. Ground him, take away all of his money - anything and everything to keep him from getting cigarettes until he gets the message.
Remind your kids how sorry you are for ever picking up your first cigarette. Tell them how bad it is for them, even if you sound like a broken record. Remind them of how unattractive it will make them - this will especially make teens think! It makes them smell horrible, and no girl wants to kiss a guy who smells like an ashtray. For your daughter, there are plenty of pictures you can find online of people who have wrinkles and look gross from years of smoking. Of course health is the most important thing, but teens often care more about looks and being cool.
Above all, keep trying hard to quit. Good luck!

Answer 2

Good for you for trying to quit! Your kids future and health depend on it! Stop smoking anywhere where they are, Make a rule that you only smoke when they are at school or somewhere else, and also do not smoke inside your home or in your vehicle. Making these rules will help you to quit too because you may decide you don't want to go outside and have a ciggie because it's too cold etc. Chemicals which are found in cigarettes like arsenic actually stay in the 'indoor' places that you light up. In the car, even if you aren't even smoking at that point in time, the chemicals are still causing damage to the lungs and trachea. My grandfather found my uncle with cigarettes when he was young, and made him smoke a whole packet from start to finish and that made him rethink ever smoking, but I don't know if this is a good idea because of the damage it would do to him! Imagine what it's doing to your kids young bodies. I'm an ex-smoker so I know how hard it is, but good luck and kick the habit for the sake of yours and your kids' health!

Answer 3

I find it rather ironic that you say you can't afford patches and gum, yet find the money to buy cigarettes. When trying to quit, you move the cash from cigarettes to other stuff. I'm not being judgmental, just saying the truth.

I quit smoking when I found out I was pregnant, so I know it's tough. I didn't want to get to the point where my kids could see me smoke. I grew up with chain-smoking parents and had asthma as a kid. The realities of growing up in a house with second hand cigarette smoke aren't pretty. Every time you light up in their presence, you are lighting a cigarette in their mouth - except they don't have a filter like you do.

Living in a smelly house, and going to school smelling like an ashtray isn't fun, but imagine having a hard time breathing in PE class because your lungs are like a smoker's. This was me when I was growing up. Riding in the car was the worst because when my parents rolled the windows down to flick ashes, it would come back into the car and on to me and my brother. I hated it. I never wanted to raise a child like that. It's no fun living with smoking parents.

"Do as I say, not as I do" never works. Kids are smarter than you think. Tell them the truth - your body is addicted to this poison, and it's hard to quit. You're ruining your health and they will ruin their own if they try it.

Make a point of not smoking in their presence. Take it outside. Better yet, stop completely. Put the money you'd normally spend into some gum. Then once you don't need that anymore, put the money into doing something nice with your kids.

Make sure they don't smoke by leading an example.

Answer 4

The first step is to stop smoking, and when you do then the money you use to buy the pack of smokes could be used to buy those nicotine patches, gum, etc. Get rid of all cigarettes in the house, ashtrays, everything that have something to do with smoking. If you can't quit straight away, at least start by cutting down and not smoking near your kids and don't leave smokes/ashtrays behind in the house where your kids can find them.

If you don't promote smoking around your kids then it would encourage them to have a better healthier lifestyle.

Answer 5

It's hard to quit, I have never smoked but it is something my husband has struggled with off and on for years. I'm sure you are trying hard to quit, so in the mean time just keep talking to your kids about it. Describe the struggles you are having, explain why you dislike smoking and how disappointed you would be if they started. Tell them you don't want to be a bad example for them and that you are trying to quit and that you never want them to go through the same things you are going through right now. Think back to the reasons of why you started and try to find out what intrigues your kids about smoking. Discussing it as much as you can with them will be your best defense and will help them the most with their choices.

Answer 6

I don't think anyone that wants to have kids around should be smoking. My parents both smoked and my mom still does. I turned out okay no health issues, but I never smoked and hate being around smokers always have. My brother and sister both smoke. My wife smokes once in awhile but doesn't seem to get hooked on it. We don't plan on having kids and she goes outside when she does it. New law in my state banning all smoking in and around all public buildings it was the best law I ever voted for.

Answer 7

I'm not LDS (mormon) but i used their program to quite smoking it is very very effective and worked really well for me. Way better then the patches or the gum. I think quiting smoking is the best thing you can do to make sure your kids dont smoke. If you go to their website LDS.org they will send you a packet. Its a cold turkey program and all you have to buy is cinnamon mouth wash and grapefruit juice the juice flushes the nicotien out of your body while you use the mouth wash wenever you want to smoke. Good luck

Answer 8

well i have to say even though ur theory of not bein able to buy the gun and patch is silly... i give u alot of kudos for wanting to quit... im a smoker... and i have 3 kids.. i never smoke in the house or car.... but i dont want my kids to smoke either... it was easy for me when i was prego..but then i started after....but my best advise will be is to take a trip to ur doctor and see if he can recommend a place where u can go in to see patience with lung cancer and show them pics of how the lungs look after u smoke.... its a scary site... that or u can just show then a bit of what u are inhaling but takein wither a paper towel or and old white shirt and exhale on in and the tar and stuff will come out and explain to ur kids that u are tryin to stop and that u dont want them to smoke because of health issues and etc...
as for u stopin.... i would say that if u cant afford the gum or patch.. but can afford a few packs of ciggs a week is kinda odd try and cut down..and allow ur self only one pack a week and try to not smoke in the house or car only outside.... i would also say chew gum.. it doesnt have to be the special gum... i have found that smokin is more of an oral fixation then anything else... start to run or exercises to get ur lungs workin.... good luck

Answer 9

Last time I checked cigarettes were pretty damn expensive. If you can afford them, then you can afford methods to help you stop smoking.

I am a former smoker myself -- but I quit when I decided I wanted children. Parents should be the best role models for their children. I know it is tough to quit smoking, but you need to stop no matter how tough it is. The least you can do is stop smoking around them and no not allow smoking in your home or inside of your car.

Answer 10

Let them know what it feels like, and how hard it is to stop once you've started. Be honest with them and let them know what a struggle it is for you. My parents both smoked all their lives until my dad died of lung cancer...My mom quit and is still alive. Out of 5 kids, none of us smokes, mainly because our parents grossed us out with all their smoking. I realize it could have gone the other way, where we said, if it's ok for them, then it should be ok for us.

So be honest with your kids, and let them know why you want to quit. No one likes feeling out of control and unable to stop something. And if you tell them what it's like, hopefully they'll listen to you....I did try it once when I was 14, and it was so gross I thought I was going to throw up. Never touched them again.

All the best to you in your quest to quit. It's worth spending whatever you can to quit.