Sandy and her husband Ed are raising two children. Their son Liam, a very spirited child, is seven years old and their daughter Taya, is five. Because spirited children are more prone to try and become addicted to cigarettes, Sandy is concerned that she does everything she can to keep Liam from ever trying a cigarette. Because he plays with children in his neighborhood that are older than him, Sandy talks to him about peer pressure and explains that he always needs to do what is best for him, not what others think he should do.

“You can initiate the conversation about not smoking by lumping all the bad things into one conversation. You could say ‘what would you do if a stranger asked you to get in his car, what would you do if someone offered you drugs, what would you do if someone offered you a cigarette? Role play with your kids; give them different scenarios.”

Although Sandy was never a regular smoker, she did experiment with cigarettes during college. The conversation about her history recently came up with her son and Sandy was honest and candid with him. She believes by explaining to him that she made a mistake and telling him how she honestly did not like the taste or the way it made her feel, she will help Liam conclude that it is not something he needs to experience.