Moms Advice? Explaining Vaping to Children

[TheWrathOfSanity]

I seem to be under a dilemma.
I can't for the life of me figure a way to explain vaping to my kids.
My daughter (age 7) is always telling me I need to quit smoking, it's bad for my health.
But, I just can't figure out a way to explain vaping to her that will calm her about my health, but at the same time not make her curious to want to try it herself before she is legal.
I thought about explaining vapor by using her vaporizer as a demonstration, but I fear she'll get the wrong idea and try to use said vaporizer for unintended purposes.

And I hate using the "I'll tell you when you're older" crap. I hated it when I was a kid, so i try to be as open and honest as I can with my own.

HALP!8-o

 

[Mary Kay]

geeze girls..get shorter names or at least something I can shorten, my spelling is the pits!
Wrath, Welcome down stairs! Since we already met in profiles..lol
I see you started posting..good onya!
As for talking to the kids..be up front. I taught little kids and I never talked down to them. They appreciate it and if you keep it short and sweet they understand.
Explain you are trying to quit Cigs and this device will help. It contains small amount of (insert something here she may understand, like nicotine, medicine ect.) Since she is small it would make her very sick, but it will help you. Just like grown up aspirin and children's aspirin. Then ask if she wants some ice cream and let her absorb what you said. She may not ask another question for a while..even a day or two. Skip the vapor talk unless she asks..then show her a vaporizer or a steaming kettle. tell her the vapor helps you breathe better.
Meanwhile try to vape when she is distracted, you could try using sugar free candy gum or lollypops when you are with her face to face.(no sense getting fat) She will notice it less and less if it's not hidden, but not confronted with it 24/7.
My 9 year old grandson, just took a look at it and said..well Grandma at least it doesn't stink. Then he walked into the kitchen for a snack. The 16 year old calls to ask me how I am doing, he wants to know if I snuck out for an cigarette like I did the first 4 days before I finally quit. (they were up here when my 901 got here. I feel like I am reporting to the parole officer! No, officer not a single one..really..ok I will take the darn test!

 

[Cori]

I can understand where you're coming from. Sometimes it hard to explain to kids about things. On one hand you want her to know its going to help you, but on the other you need to make clear that it can be dangerous for her to play with, and not frighten her needlessly... I think the truth is always best.

I would tell her that its to help you stop smoking, but just like medicines can be dangerous if you use too much, so can ecigs and the liquids if its not used correctly. That its bad for children, and that she needs to not touch mommy's bottles and stuff. A little fear of it might be a good thing?

Seriously its hard to give anyone advice, everyones kids are different and you know your child best. I'm sure you'll do fine explaining it.

 

[TheWrathOfSanity]

Thanks to you both.
(And Wrath is fine MaryKay LOL sorry)
I like the medicine angle. I don't know why I didn't think of that!
I guess I was thinking of trying to be more technical about it.
I just realized that I could explain it as you have said, medicine to help me stop smoking, and then compare it to the breathing treatments you get in hospitals (since she's had those).
That way she can understand why I use it indoors (I've never smoked inside) and she can understand that only sick people (or in this case smokers) need to use it.
*smacks head* Duh! Why didn't I think of that before?
Thanks so much!



Side note: I like to (parenthesize) alot LOL

 

[Kendra]

I must be a horrible mom because I make fun of it and always did when I smoked, too. I mean what COULD I say but the truth? I just would say, yes, this is very bad but I'm addicted. And, then I explained addiction in the clearest terms I could come up with . Now she knows I'm vaping but it's much safer than smoking and that it doesn't smell, my lungs won't be black anymore (the schools tell them this in kindergarten now!) and it's not as bad at all.

(On a side note, I realized that once my daughter knew that smoking was really dangerous and unhealthy, I couldn't really make excuses for it. So, of course I'd agree. "Yes, sweetie, it's bad, yes, honey, I know it's horrible," That also eliminated lots of reminding of how bad it was and shortened any "mommy, quit smoking" sessions I had to submit to. Oh, gee. . . I know how bad that sounds. .. but I always figured it's much better to admit it and get on to the next thing.)

I have a tattoo that I hate, too. And, she knows I regret getting "the kind that doesn't come off", too. And, she understands that adults make mistakes . . like tattoos (some of us don't like them anymore) and smoking/vaping. But, that way she hopefully will understand people do things they regret and she'll make better decisions when the time comes.

Funny. . . once in a while after I put a temporary tattoo on her I tell her, "OMG. . . that was the kind that doesn't come off!" you should see her cute little face! Lol.

And, every time my husband lights up she says, "Daddy, you're getting black lungs and that's helping you die." LOL. . . . he looks so horrified but it cracks me up.

 

[bigeyes]

I straight up told mine it was because I was stupid and started smoking when I was younger and I'm addicted now.

Since I read the article that mentioned how smokers permanently altered their brain chemistry, I explained to them once they started smoking there was a high likelihood they would start again once they stopped because the desire would never go away, so I was trying to use something that would be less stinky and hopefully not as unhealthy as regular cigarettes.

Maybe not the best answer, but I felt like it was honest.

Luckily, their dad is totally anti-smoking, as are most of their friends and at least one of them thinks it stinks, so I'm hoping they won't ever start. I think it helps that most of their friends are from pretty crunchy athletic families so they aren't exposed to it a lot other than from me.

 

[Mary Kay]

Wrath, I like (..and dots) too!
Glad you think we helped, little kids are like sponges, everything you say to them or around them gets soaked up. They tend to ring the sponge out and say everything they learned as soon as your MIL or the preacher come around! Be prepared to explain the P.V. to any and all your daughter meets.
With my kids I always answered every question, no matter how much it made me squirm. But only in short, to the point answers like I was telling them how to stir the cake mix. I never had to do the whole birds and bees thing because they got it all in dibs and dabs as their questions were asked.
I kept in mind an old joke:
Mommy where do I come from? The mother gives a long winded speech about the birds and bees. The little kid looks at her like she's crazy and says "Julie is from Cleveland".
Try to understand the question before you answer!
Kenda and Bigeyes, you handled it in a way that was right for you and the kids. They will remember your honesty long after they forget the subject.

 

[bigeyes]

I hope so. I've got one that is pretty level headed, but the other one I'm fairly certain is going to die from hey y'all, watch this!

 

[TheWrathOfSanity]

Thankfully I don't have to worry about my MIL.
She's never seen my daughter before (obviously not my husband's DNA) and I plan on not bringing any of my children around her anyway.
She's a horrible person.
And not even by MIL standards, just in general.
And my FIL smokes cigars when he can afford it.

It's my family.
My grandfather, the born-again-smoker has been on my .... since he found out I smoked. I get the price lecture every time he sees me with so much as a lighter in my hand.
My mother, another ex-smoker, isn't so bad about it. She complains about the smell, but sympathizes about the Sgt. on my .....
My husband recently pointed out that he notices a nervous tick about my mom.
Apparently she rubs her fingers together (as if rolling a ball of lint) every time she's around us while we're smoking.
So I might have to show her our PV's when we visit her next month and possibly get her a starter kit for xmas.

 

[blueeyekelly]

I told my kids (6 and4) that it is to help me quite smoking... and that it tastes like rattlesnake LOL my son asks questions all day long and a lot of them he already knows the answers too...LOL

 

[Wildsky]

My kids have never really asked me anything. (9 and 5) Odd, cause they ask questions about everything else.
I think my older child understands - he has ears in every room in the house so he's probably heard us all talking and stuff.

I think my kids at first actually MISSED me going outside to smoke, 9 times out of 10 if it was a nice day, they'd be outside playing and running around or throwing the ball for the dog. They like to have me outside with them mostly, perhaps thats still left overs from living in the city when I was afraid to let them go out alone.

 

[Mary Kay]

Rattlesnake wouldn't have worked around here..we tried that at my son's Boy Scout camp! he liked it. Questions are good, that means the kid is always thinking! the problem is that you need to keep up!

 

[Cori]

Kids are so funny sometimes.. true story. My youngest was in first or second grade. Anyway his teacher tells him to use words in a sentence. The word was "press". So he wrote "Lee press on nails."

Friend of mine sent her little girl to a catholic school. Her teacher asked what she had for breakfast. Amy tell her "drugs"...being concerned, the teacher calls in my friend to discuss this. Come to find out, she had eggs for breakfast. You know that commercial, with the frying egg and they say "this is your brain on drugs"? LOL Kids are so funny sometimes.

 

[Mary Kay]

Lee press on nails! The 'Drugs one was good too! Kids are really a trip, they keep you on your toes for sure.
My daughter was an honor student in the 4 th grade (which makes it scary), she was asked on a test where Moose live..her reply? Lodges of course! There was a Moose lodge on the corner of our block, so I guess she wasn't that far off. The teacher had to call me though and laugh.
My grandson when he was 2 asked to go outside, I told him it was too dark. He looked at me and said "Grandma it's only one dark!" I turned on the light and went out with him for a bit.

 

[thatgirl1985]

I am enjoying this thread. Kids say the "darndest" things.

 

[Momof3]

There was a news story about separating classes in school by the sexes. My DS asked me what sex meant and I explained they were discussing separating the boys and girls. After a bit he asked me why they weren't allowed to talk about sex at school if that's all it meant. I had been leaving the room at the time and wasn't up for the discussion so I pretended I didn't hear him. He didn't ask again and I forgot about it.

Couple weeks later out of the blue he announced rather loudly (yelled in a crowded parking lot) that he knew I had sex with his father 3 times. He knew because another kid at school told him that's what parents do with each other to make babies. The other parents thought it was hilarious.

I'm honest with my kids about everything. I do cater details to their age. If they're going to ask things anyways, I'd rather they ask me. We'd already covered addiction thanks to "Mommy, you're going to die!" courtesy of the school.

 

[Mary Kay]

You know they have been using scare tactics in school since my kids were little (they are now nearing 40 and one smokes)) and yet..young people still smoke! It's their parents who are trying to quit. Maybe an educational approuch would be better then..your Mommy will die!

 

[Junebug]

My son is so happy that I'm vaping now. We explained what the vaping system and the nic juice. He's happy it doesn't stink.

 

[Mary Kay]

Kids are smart aren't they Junebug? Good that they are, maybe they will invent a better world!
My Grandkids said the same thing, other then that they ignore my P.V. and warehouse of flavors.

 

[Junebug]

We've got friends staying with us this past week. It's been a little stressful with the extra kids running around, and I gotta say vaping is a Godsend. I could totally see myself running outside and puffing on analogs 10 hours a day with the drama the kids are causing. Now I can vape and yell at the kids in the house! I had made an order to totally wicked for some nic juice and they were out of the 11mg strength vanilla, I went ahead and got the 8mg juice instead. Since I'm vaping A LOT, less nic is probably a good thing for my system.