You can't go wrong being honest with your children. Both my kids (13 and 18) pestered me for years to quit smoking. They know what vaping is, why I do it and why they shouldn't.
Vaping and children?
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When I started vaping almost 3 years ago I explained vaping to each of my grandchlldren other then the 6 month old baby. They were 5, 8 and twins age 12 at the time. I let each of them ask their own questions and they all asked some great questions. They had all had been trying to get grandma to quit smoking for a long time and all were thrilled I had quit and were and still are all supportive of my vaping. I still occasionally get questions from them and I try to answer them honestly and in terms they can understand for their ages. I am aware that all of them at different times have spoken up and explained vaping to adults. I'm very proud of them for the knowledge they have on the subject.
I've never vaped when they are sitting on my lap or directly next to me but I don't need to, its not because I have any fear of doing so. I've always vaped with them in the room occasionally, although again, not constantly, but I don't need to.
They laugh at all of grandma's vaping toys and can spot a new vaping toy quickly and ask about it Their grandma vapes, its what she does. They are aware my x-rays of my lungs show great improvement since I stopped smoking and they like that. Grandma's house doesnt stink of stale smoke smell anymore. Will they grow up to become smokers or vapors ? Grandma hopes they won't but only time will tell. My own parents never smoked a cig in their entire lives but that didn't mean I didn't become a smoker.
I've never vaped when they are sitting on my lap or directly next to me but I don't need to, its not because I have any fear of doing so. I've always vaped with them in the room occasionally, although again, not constantly, but I don't need to.
They laugh at all of grandma's vaping toys and can spot a new vaping toy quickly and ask about it Their grandma vapes, its what she does. They are aware my x-rays of my lungs show great improvement since I stopped smoking and they like that. Grandma's house doesnt stink of stale smoke smell anymore. Will they grow up to become smokers or vapors ? Grandma hopes they won't but only time will tell. My own parents never smoked a cig in their entire lives but that didn't mean I didn't become a smoker. 
Mine are 7&10. They knew I smoked, although I didn't around them or inside. They know I'm vaping now and that it's a tool to quit smoking. My 10 year old will occasionally ask questions and I give her honest answers. We never sat down and talked about it but kids will notice changes and ask questions. I don't hide it but I don't make a big deal about it with them either.
BTW, thank you for starting this thread. It's something I've been curious about myself.
BTW, thank you for starting this thread. It's something I've been curious about myself.
Wow, some great responses here! My girls haven't seen us do it yet, but they know we quit. I will probably never do it around them but we should probably have a talk with them so they know vaping is not smoking and it's medicine to help us quit smoking. It's only a matter of time before they see our rig or us doing it. Thanks for the replies everyone!
I have grand kids from ages 23 down to 3 and I don't hide it form them anymore than I did my smoking. You come to my house, I smoked then and vape now. If they ask, I give them an age appropriate explanation.
For the little ones "It's like smoking, for grown ups only, just doesn't make me or the house smell bad." That usually gets "Oh, m'kay." from them and, that's the end of it until they are older and can understand more about vaping.
For the little ones "It's like smoking, for grown ups only, just doesn't make me or the house smell bad." That usually gets "Oh, m'kay." from them and, that's the end of it until they are older and can understand more about vaping.
I guess my concern with this is "glorifying" it. I hate that nicotine is so addictive because from what I've learned it's "not that bad for you." On the same level as caffeine. I don't really want my kids doing it, especially because Mommy and Daddy did it. But I could care less if they start drinking coffee when they're older. Maybe after a decade or two of vaping, nicotine will lose some of it's negativity and its use will become more socially acceptable. I just can't help but feel I shouldn't feel bad doing it around my kids because, again, I drink coffee and the occasional beer in front of them without thinking twice about it. If nicotine is really similar to caffeine, why should I care?
My son is 12. We've been smokers since before he was born and it seems as if he's been nagging us to quit since he could talk. Now, I don't have to constantly leave the room to smoke. He doesn't hear anymore that I'll come do whatever it is he wants to do together when I'm done with this cigarette.
I never hid smoking from him or snuck around to have a cigarette and I don't do it with vaping. I think hiding something from children makes them more curious about what it is you're concealing from them.
He's also not much happier with my vaping than he was with my smoking. He sees it as Mom is still smoking, although he does appreciate the benefits of my spending more time with him.
I never hid smoking from him or snuck around to have a cigarette and I don't do it with vaping. I think hiding something from children makes them more curious about what it is you're concealing from them.
He's also not much happier with my vaping than he was with my smoking. He sees it as Mom is still smoking, although he does appreciate the benefits of my spending more time with him.
I do vape around my kids, 1 6yr, 1 1.5yr, 1 due in Oct. But he knows this is a "good" cigarette. He told me constantly to not smoke analogs.(which I NEVER smoked around them(rain,snow,or shine. Their health was way more important than my fix), nor my wife)
Albeit how young he is, he had a good understanding why I smoked analogs. Which I started young and needed it to help me from getting sick. Now my family couldn't be happier!
Albeit how young he is, he had a good understanding why I smoked analogs. Which I started young and needed it to help me from getting sick. Now my family couldn't be happier!
I agree with many of the responses here about just being honest with kids. It seems like hiding things or pretending they don't exist ends up backfiring. It's something I've definitely seen with drinking... when they get old enough to get access to alcohol the examples they have are kids drinking to the point of falling down and puking. Better if they grew up with the example of people drinking responsibly, in moderation.
It's a little different with vaping, because I don't assume that they'll grow up and start using nicotine. But, I think it's still a good example in a way. I've explained to them just how bad smoking is, and that I made a bad choice and started smoking. Now I've taken care of the problem, and made a better choice.
It's a little different with vaping, because I don't assume that they'll grow up and start using nicotine. But, I think it's still a good example in a way. I've explained to them just how bad smoking is, and that I made a bad choice and started smoking. Now I've taken care of the problem, and made a better choice.
Mine are 11 and 13, they bugged me to quit smoking, and now they see me vape. We've talked about it, and they understand what it is and why I do it. I'm kinda glad they see me struggling to quit, it makes me hopeful that they'll never start knowing how hard it is.
You care about the nicotine vs the caffeine because you've been programmed to believe nicotine is a HORRIBLE thing to use.
Through the years cigarette smoking and the word nicotine have come the mean the exact same thing to many people. Its not the exact same thing, there are significant differences but after so many years its hard for many to accept there are important differences. We're all different, but don't be surprised that after more time vaping one or both of you find that nicotine itself isn't nearly as addictive as you've been led to believe and doesn't have the same hold over your life that smoking cigarettes did.
Not everyone will react the same way as I do to nicotine use today, BUT I smoked at least 2 pad of cigs for over 30 years and today I treat nicotine the exact same way I treat caffeine. Most of the time I drink decafe coffee but sometimes I enjoy a cup or two of caffeinated coffee
Most of the time I vape zero nic juice, but sometimes I enjoy a little nic in my juice I'm no more addicted to nicotine use today then I am to caffeine use. My x-rays show that my lungs continue to improve as a non-smoker. My blood preasure is according to my Dr perfect. I don't glorify my vaping to my grandchildren, they understand I vape because I spent many years smoking cigarettes and wanted to stop and stay stopped forever, but I do hope I am teaching them to research for themselves and not just take at face value opinions that people often try to pass off as truth when in reality they aren't the truth at all.
My stepdaughters are much older (23 & 17), but they're both thrilled that I quit smoking. Now they've tasked me with convincing their mother to quit the stinkies. I don't know what kind of pv setup she has, but she's still smoking, too.
I have a soon to be 3 year old who knows what smoking is (sounds crazy but wow are kids getting smart quickly these days). I think she was a major factor for me to quit smoking cigarettes. I told her that mommy quit smoking, and got a different kind of cigarette that I can just refill and it doesn't put off the "nasty smoke" as she called it. I know that she doesn't care either way due to her young age, but I feel better about vaping rather than smoking! It's more OTHER people that look at me strangely while vaping with my daughter. Yet, I see so many other parents smoking cigarettes in the car with their children. To each their own I suppose!
You care about the nicotine vs the caffeine because you've been programmed to believe nicotine is a HORRIBLE thing to use.
We're all different, but don't be surprised that after more time vaping one or both of you find that nicotine itself isn't nearly as addictive as you've been led to believe and doesn't have the same hold over your life that smoking cigarettes did.
Not everyone will react the same way as I do to nicotine use today, BUT I smoked at least 2 pad of cigs for over 30 years and today I treat nicotine the exact same way I treat caffeine. Most of the time I drink decafe coffee but sometimes I enjoy a cup or two of caffeinated coffee
I don't glorify my vaping to my grandchildren, they understand I vape because I spent many years smoking cigarettes and wanted to stop and stay stopped forever, but I do hope I am teaching them to research for themselves and not just take at face value opinions that people often try to pass off as truth when in reality they aren't the truth at all.
Beautifully written! I feel the same way. I don't feel that I am "encouraging" the behavior. I feel that I'm teaching my child that this, for me as a smoker for 10 years, is better than actually smoking cigarettes.
It went something like this:
KID: OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS STINK! THIS HOUSE STINKS! UGH! (Ad nauseum for three years or so.)
ME: Hey, Dad and I got ecigs and we really like it.
KID: FINALLY!
I'm only partly joking! lol But I did tell both of them that my gear is OFF LIMITS, no excuses, no curiosity. Not too worried about that, though...they HATE the idea of smoking, and I'm sure soon enough they'll be on us to quit vaping, too. Not so sure about that one...
Before I quit smoking I practically lived in my garage since that's where I smoked. My kids new I smoked & knew that's why I spent so much time out there. So when I quit smoking & started vaping I explained to them that I was done smoking & I was switching to vaping.
Really it took a little while for them to understand that it wasn't smoking. It's the same type movement & you're doing basically the same thing. They could see what looks like smoke so to them it's the same, but doesn't stink.
I have explained that vaping is different than smoking though & my oldest has had conversations with me where he asked if I "needed" to vape. I explained that, no, I don't need to vape. I LIKE to vape. He said that he thought smoking & vaping were a waste of money so he wasn't going to do those things. I said that that was ok & he didn't need to.
I don't think it's glorifying it by doing it in front of the kids. I think the more they know about it the better decisions they can make about it when the time comes. Also, my son (he's 9) can explain to people the difference between smoking & vaping which he has done during the dangers-of-smoking lessons in school last year. He was very proud to be able to say that his mom quit smoking & switched to vaping.
Really it took a little while for them to understand that it wasn't smoking. It's the same type movement & you're doing basically the same thing. They could see what looks like smoke so to them it's the same, but doesn't stink.
I have explained that vaping is different than smoking though & my oldest has had conversations with me where he asked if I "needed" to vape. I explained that, no, I don't need to vape. I LIKE to vape. He said that he thought smoking & vaping were a waste of money so he wasn't going to do those things. I said that that was ok & he didn't need to.
I don't think it's glorifying it by doing it in front of the kids. I think the more they know about it the better decisions they can make about it when the time comes. Also, my son (he's 9) can explain to people the difference between smoking & vaping which he has done during the dangers-of-smoking lessons in school last year. He was very proud to be able to say that his mom quit smoking & switched to vaping.
My kids are 14 and 16. They REALLY worried about me smoking, and said so all the time. I started to quit when I found a spot on my tongue and worried that it might be cancer. But... I wasn't totally committed to quitting until the oral surgeon told me it WAS cancer.
My kids totally understand the difference between smoking and vaping- and they are thrilled beyond words that I stopped smoking. There's only one juice I vape that they don't like the smell of- and it's not because it smells "bad" it's just because it's strong. They love it that they can bring anything to my house now (I'm divorced) and they don't have to worry about going back to their dad's and hearing him ..... and moan about how their stuff smells like smoke. (Ex is an ....... and talks down about me at every possible opportunity- so vaping has taken away one of his reasons to talk bad about me to my kids).
My kids totally understand the difference between smoking and vaping- and they are thrilled beyond words that I stopped smoking. There's only one juice I vape that they don't like the smell of- and it's not because it smells "bad" it's just because it's strong. They love it that they can bring anything to my house now (I'm divorced) and they don't have to worry about going back to their dad's and hearing him ..... and moan about how their stuff smells like smoke. (Ex is an ....... and talks down about me at every possible opportunity- so vaping has taken away one of his reasons to talk bad about me to my kids).
I have two boys. They also hated my smoking. When I started vaping, they had questions, and I was just honest with them. Vaping is steam and a bit if nicotine. So much healthier than smoking, and they are very supportive. Explaining to kids how ciggs have a bajillion bad chemicals and tar in them. They get it. It's a simple concept.
I asked a server in a restaurant if they would mind if I vaped and she gave me a dirty look and said, "If you don't mind doing that in front of children, sure go ahead". Needless to say, I felt bad and abstained.
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