Dealing with a Latent Danger: Parents Communicating with Their Children about Smoking

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand parental approach to the topic of smoking with school-age preadolescent children. In-depth interviews were conducted with 38 parents and yielded a grounded theory that explains how parents communicated with their children about smoking. Parents perceived smoking to be a latent danger for their children. To deter smoking from occurring they verbally interacted with their children on the topic and took action by having a no-smoking rule. There were three interaction approaches, which differed by style and method of interaction. Most parents interacted by discussing smoking with their children. They intentionally took advantage of opportunities. Some interacted by telling their children about the health effects of smoking and their opposition to it. They responded on the spur-of-the-moment if their attention was drawn to the issue by external cues. A few interacted by acknowledging to their children the negative effects of smoking. They responded only when their children brought it up. The parents' intent for the no-smoking rule, which pertained mainly to their homes and vehicles, was to protect their children from second-hand smoke and limit exposure to smoking. The theory can be used by nurses to guide interventions with parents about youth smoking prevention.

Education is the key to protecting children against smoking: What parents think and do

“…The findings of this study are consistent with findings of other studies in which many parents reported addressing the topic of smoking with their school-age and pre-adolescent children [20] or pre-adolescent children [22] to at least some extent and other parents reported not addressing the topic at all with their children. Further, the various verbal interaction approaches the rural parents in this study had taken with their children concerning the topic of smoking are consistent with the approaches urban parents in another study had taken with their school-age pre-adolescent children [20].…”

“…Further, the various verbal interaction approaches the rural parents in this study had taken with their children concerning the topic of smoking are consistent with the approaches urban parents in another study had taken with their school-age pre-adolescent children [20].…”

“…In one study of parents of school-age and pre-adolescent children, however, it was noted that generally parents talked with their children about smoking, but varied in how they communicated, the extent of their communication, and the nature of the messages they gave [20]. Some parents discussed smoking with their children using an open, engaging style so that there was a two-way exchange of ideas.…”

An Overview of Health Issue Tracking among Parents of School-Aged Children

“…Searching for smoking problems at a young age is also a concern for parents, in several developing countries through previous studies, the role of family and parents greatly influences children's smoking behavior in the future. Reports from parents about the health status of their children tend to not care about their health and be interested in smoking behavior in the future (Paraje & Valdés, 2021;Small et al, 2012a).…”

Smokers who have children with asthma: Perceptions about child secondhand smoke exposure and tobacco use initiation and parental willingness to participate in child-focused tobacco interventions

“…While previous research has explored parental perceptions about child SHSe [13–17], there is a paucity of research on parental perceptions about offspring smoking. Qualitative studies indicate that parents who smoke do not want their children to smoke [18–20] and attempt to reduce their child’s exposure to their smoking and prevent them from smoking [18,19]. Parents describe guilt about smoking,[18] uncertainty about how their smoking impacts child smoking risk [20], and feel that social stigma will be sufficient to prevent offspring smoking [18].…”