BC Council for Families

A recent study from the University of Washington, published in the journal Pediatrics, shows that parenting styles influence children's future smoking habits.

Individual and Social Influences on Progression to Daily Smoking During Adolescence followed 270 adolescents who had begun experimenting with smoking by the eighth grade. By the time the students were in the 12th grade, 156 (58%) had become daily smokers. And according to study author Min Jung Kim, parental behaviour was one of the key determining factors in that progression.

"We found that parents play an important role in preventing teens' smoking escalation from experimental to daily smoking," Dr. Min Jung Kim said. When friends or parents smoked, teens were more likely to become daily smokers. However, they were less likely to become habitual smokers when their parents had a "positive family management" style.

"Parents need to know that they are still important and can make their children feel good when they do something right and also know that there are consequences when they do something wrong...Parents who smoke also need to understand that they are modeling behavior and if they quit smoking they send a strong message to their teenager.”

Dr. Min Jung Kim recommends that parents should:

• Set and enforce clear guidelines about tobacco.
• Monitor their children to ensure they are following the guidelines.
• Provide clear and consistent consequences for violating the guidelines.
• Know and monitor their children's friends.