Smoking in adolescents is one of the signs of growing up, so many try to smoke as early as 11-12 years old. Some adolescents are addicted to this bad habit, they are no longer able to give it up. It is important for parents to understand the signs that will clearly indicate that their child is smoking.
A simple observation will help to understand if a son smokes. At the first suspicion, do not try to turn out the pockets of the child, scold him and accuse him of something, check his personal belongings. Of course, parents can say that they have every right to do so, but this will only lose your son's trust. Better instead, watch him for a while: the patience and attention shown can say more than interrogations and orders. If a child suddenly starts to be late from school, starts another company for himself, is clearly hiding something, does not speak openly, walks gloomy - there is a reason to talk to his son. When a trusting relationship has been created in the family, such a conversation can help, the teenager confesses why he smokes, or you will be convinced that the suspicions were in vain. However, there are also more definite signs of smoking.
Signs that your teen is smoking
The surest sign of smoking is, of course, smell. It comes from hands, clothes, hair, mouth. Of course, a teenager can also make excuses that his friends smoke, and he just stands there. But the smell from the mouth is not justified by anything. And on the hands traces of smoking remain only when a person smokes himself. To remove this smell, adolescents resort to tricks: they chew too mint gum, rub their hands with lemon zest, take coffee in their mouths. If you notice this behavior in your son, most likely he smokes.
The second symptom is cough, especially when it appears for some reason. A couple of times it can be attributed to a cold, but nevertheless, a cough from cigarettes can be recognized by ear - it sounds dry, strained. If the child begins to catch colds more often or he has headaches, this is also a sign that parents need to think about it.
Smoking has a profound effect on appearance, especially in adolescents. Their body is already undergoing changes, it is very unstable, and the addiction to cigarettes only exacerbates the situation. The teenager's skin becomes grayish or yellow, cracks appear on the lips, the condition and color of the teeth worsens. You can even take your son to a therapist or dentist - they can almost accurately identify the smoker.
Behavioral changes
A smoking teenager must constantly be under stress, hide his addiction. Therefore, at home, he can behave more discreetly and nervously. He has to be especially nervous when there is no way to leave the house for a long time and therefore he cannot smoke either. Such a teenager can rush around the house, walk aimlessly from room to room, snap back, quarrel with others, although there seems to be no reason for this.
Take a closer look at what the child spends money on. If there are any unreasonable spending, this is a sign to think about. The purchase of cigarettes does not happen every day, but it should still be done with sufficient frequency. Therefore, you can track when your son needs money, wonder what he spends it on. In addition, if there is a smoking parent in the house, you can take a closer look to see if his cigarettes are missing. When a teenager smokes, it is usually easy to find traces of tobacco in his pockets or on the bottom of his backpack.
If you nevertheless find that your son smokes, you should not immediately take serious measures, scold and punish him. First, you should talk, talk about the dangers of smoking, about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. You need to ask the child about the reasons that made him resort to smoking, maybe this is how he solves some of his problems, and by punishing you will only aggravate his situation. Plus, positive motivation helps better ordering. Promise your child something for quitting smoking. Let's say you've been going to give him a new bike for a long time. Agree to do this only after quitting cigarettes.
