Parental Rules To Prevent Kids Smoking
 
By Gary Chapman
 
Some Practical Advice
 
Do you want to teach your child not to smoke cigarettes?
 
Then, don't smoke yourself and make it a family rule.
 
In our family, no one smokes cigarettes. If we break the rule we must eat a carrot - the whole thing. This will give the body beta carotene to overcome the nicotine, and chances are the teen will think twice about smoking a second time.
 
If there is a second violation, the child must (1) give a $25 dollar donation to the American Heart Association, (2) pick up 100 cigarette butts from the street and put them in a trash can, and (3) read an article on the dangers of nicotine to the lungs. This will probably be enough to convince him or her that smoking is for camels and not for children.
 
The third level for any additional violation is spending a day with a man who is dying of lung cancer.
 
Your children are smart. Expose them to the truth.
 
Having the consequences for misbehavior set in advance keeps you from being controlled by your emotional state in the moment. 
 
When you let it slide one day and come down hard on the child the next day for the same behavior, you create insecurity in the soul of the child. 
 
Be consistent and loving and you will have a child that others will enjoy.

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