How many smokers have you talked to who said they began smoking cigarettes or using other tobacco products while in their 20s and 30s? That's right - none. Adults know better.
The overwhelming amount of adult smokers became nicotine addicts while still in their teen years, before their minds were fully developed, and before they were both intellectually and legally capable of making the choice to smoke. So, it's easy to understand why keeping our kids from using tobacco products is so important.
I believe that the main reason our children start smoking is because the most important thing to them at their age is their friends.
Teens want to be liked, want to "fit in" and will do almost anything to be accepted. What their friends think of them is paramount to any other issue in their lives, and they will often succumb to the negative peer pressure of being offered tobacco products by people whom they think are their friends.
Caving-in to this peer pressure is often the result of not being educated on the processes involved in saying "no", and not having practiced them in advance. These processes aren't something usually taught in schools today, and many parents haven't educated their kids about the subtle nuances of saying "no" to friends either. Most teens don't really want to start smoking, but they just aren't skilled in the persuasive art of using that word "no".
Somebody has to teach them this skill. Getting them to listen?.. well, that's another story.
So, I thought I would present this video from back in the day when learning about manners, politeness, and civics were all part of the daily curriculum in school.
Although this video is over 60-years old and seems to be made in Whiteyville, USA, it does provide the basics of how to tell someone "no", but tactfully, so our children are less likely to start smoking, lose their smoking "friends", or upset those people whose approval they so desperately seek.
No comments:
Post a Comment