Physical, Cognitive, and Socioeconomic Development

Physical, Cognitive, and Socioeconomic Development during Adolescence. Talking about smoking with your teen: When parents DO understand While many health headlines are confusing, one fact remains unchanged and uncontroversial amongst all health professionals: smoking is hazardous to your health. But despite the graphic media and school anti-smoking campaigns, approximately three thousand adolescents a day begin to smoke, and close to one thousand of them will die of smoking-related causes. About 4.5 million adolescents in the United States identify themselves smokers (Heiti 2010).

Faced with such statistics, it is easy for a parent to feel overwhelmed. What can he or she do or say that the media and educators have not? In fact, a parent can do a great deal to turn his or her teen from the path of smoking. First and foremost, the parent can set a good example. If you are a parent, do not smoke yourself, and if you are a smoker -- quit.

A parent who preaches against the evils of tobacco but is a smoker looks like a hypocrite in the eyes of a sensitive teen. Even if you only smoke occasionally, and believe your teen is not aware of your habit -- you are likely to be wrong, given that your teen can smell it on your clothing and breath.

Being a smoker also makes it easier for children to get hold of tobacco-related products for free at home, as well as exposes them to the risks of second-hand smoke and desensitizes them to the smell of tobacco. Talking to teens about smoking may be difficult, but it is essential that teens receive a personalized anti-smoking message from a parent. Begin by talking about your own experiences with cigarette smoking.

If you are or have been a smoker, use your own experiences to illustrate why you regret starting the habit, and how difficult it is to quit. Opening up on a personal level can also entail talking about a family member who was adversely affected by a smoking habit by illness or death. For example, say: "Remember Great Aunt Martha? Today was her birthday. I can't help thinking that she would still be with us if it wasn't for the lung cancer.

But back then, people didn't know that smoking was bad for you. Fortunately, we do now." Seeing someone smoking is another conversation opener: "I always feel so bad every time I see someone smoking. I know that they are shortening their life, and that attractive young girl will have yellow teeth, wrinkled skin, and bad breath, soon, all because of smoking." Smoking rates amongst teenage girls have increased, partially because of weight-related concerns, so it is not shallow to note the negative appearance-related aspects of smoking.

Translating the health risks of smoking into terms your teen can understand is important. For a teen, a statistically increased risk of death from lung cancer and heart disease may be abstract, but pointing out people who have actually died with whom the teen was acquainted makes it seem more real, as if it 'can happen' to them. Underlining the fact that bad breath and skin is not cool in the eyes of other teens, as well as in your eyes, is important. If your teen plays.