There is this thing that happens. This object emerges out of your vagina. At first you like worry all the time about the little thing, only to realize the older that kid gets, the larger its locus of control is going to get. You will think fondly back to the day and age where you only had to worry about it dismantling the kitchen furniture while your back was turned when you purchased it it's true desire, an electric screwdriver. You will fondly remember that day when you handed it peanut butter and celery sticks and it painted the couch and what it took to get that cleaned up.
You will realize that it is going to start doing experimental stuff, like having sex, driving, going to concerts. You will view the plethora of poor possible choices it has before it, and you will also realize that, much like you may have lied to your parents, it is going to lie to you. You will catch it in some of its lies, and you will state, wistfully, "Gosh, I wish I had not wasted all that worry when it was two, I could REALLY use that NOW," and you will do your best in catching the monster as it acts out, all the while citing your own bad decisions to yourself (if you aren't a hypocrite) while desperately attempting to help it learn from its mistakes, and working hard to instill values, be fair when you are at the end of your rope, and, if you are religious you are gonna have it harder, because you and all your associates are going to have to desperately lie to EACH OTHER about how well your child is doing, instead of having other parents around WHO KNOW and also don't model "we are the Brady bunch too" (I really feel for THOSE parents) and the whole time, you are also trying to put food on the table, sometimes alone, if you are very unlucky, buy it the things it needs, and do the best you can.
All non parents are excluded from this, but I would like every parent to raise their hand if their kid never made a bad decision. Okay, now raise your hand if your kid LEARNED something from it even if a little bit down the road.
Congratulations, you are a good parent. You are doing a great job. I don't care if it's ecigs that were the issue, because ecigs are largely irrelevant when it comes to the type of Sweeping Bad Decisions kids can make, like driving drunk, getting pregnant at 14, or smoking cigarettes.
Parents parenting is not a novel concept.
Parents being blamed for teen ecig use (and teens) is quite novel. It's as old as the hills and also has only been in use for a few years w/r/t ecigs.
"Blame the kids and parents. Every last irritated adult ecig user will follow. Who can resist, "blame the kids?"
I'm not signing on that dotted line, and I think there is no "solution" needed, because the problem is imaginary and wasting time on an IMAGINARY problem ONLY speeds the rate of the ecig's decline.
Anna
Hint: Looking at the wrong "group" of folks here, the ones with all the power and the money and who want to tell you it's "the family's" fault, while they are lining their own pockets with the blood sweat and tears of said families. Yeah, let's do that, that's really positive and upbeat for everyone. Spectacularly intelligent misdirection as well.
Who do you trust more? Your kid, or your elected official. I am just SAYING
I had gotten a real bad spell of trapped gas that required belching out. My body does that with tension. It traps up gas, of any kind in the muscles, also starts making all kinds of extra cortisol. Tuesday I went out o help my father in law do up some firewood. Like a .....** I went into doing it far too quickly and far too much over-thinking it & wound up all anxious and in panic attack. Dumb me forgets I'm not long to be fifty and have put on extra miles anyway.
