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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

14 year old DD smoking again!!

7 replies

avecmum · 25/08/2013 00:05

I believe my 14 year old DD is smoking, just feel sooooo disappointed and let down. A year ago whilst we were on holiday I saw messages on her mobile phone from a friend discussing cigarettes. Prior to this she had had this ?boyfriend? who had given her some cigarettes which I found out about (boyfriend is no longer on the scene), I talked to her and she promised to never do it again. You can imagine how upset I was to see her discussing them again with her friend shortly after this. She goes to dance class 2 nights a week in our nearby city and I take her and pick her up, as soon as she gets off the school bus she comes in and gets changed and I have to be ready to take her to get there in time, basically a taxi . She loves dancing and wants to do this as a career when leaving school and is always talking about it.

That was a year ago exactly and she is still dancing 2 nights a week and goes through out the summer hols. When all this happened last year I said I would not take or fund her dancing if I ever found out she was smoking again. I maybe shouldn?t have said this but I felt it was something she would never ever risk, we discussed the health implications especially as dancers need to be as healthy as possible and need full use of their lungs.

Tonight (a year on)is my eldest DS's 20th birthday and he has just been into her bedroom and said he can smell smoke. After further investigation I asked her to breath at me, I was devastated, as I knew really when she proceeded to stand 2 foot away from me when doing this she had been smoking. When I moved closer her breath smelt disgusting like a smokers breath, I just feel devastated. I feel so let down I have given everything for my children (as you do). I mean everything, I can only work 2 days a weeks I know it sounds stupid but I have been holding out although I have been looking as I know it?s the only way she can get to dance straight after school when I am home as she only has another 2 years at school. Does she think I am just a nothing I cant believe she has risked all this. I know I have to stand by what I said a year ago I would have to contact her dance teacher and try and explain. I know I can?t just continue. I am absolutely devastated, my father inlaw died only 3 months ago from lung cancer and I just feel it is so thoughtless of her. My eldest DS her eldest brother has only just been diagnosed with IBD which we never knew much about but it is an awful thing to have so we are struggling and worried sick about him when he goes back to uni in a couple of weeks. The whole atmosphere in the house will be awful, but I feel I have no choice but to stand by what I said. She is still denying that she smokes although her breath smells disgusting I just feel like I cannot trust her at all, she is lying. She has had everything she has wanted all her life, don?t get me wrong we don?t have a lot of money myself and my husband have always come second for the children and done without; I am soooo disappointed.

She even went to a summer school in London 4 weeks ago at a London Dance school just to see if this is something she wants to do, we stayed in a travel lodge for a week, which I had to take a week off work for!

I am sorry to rant on, just wondered if anyone else had any experience of this or has any words of wisdom ☹

OP posts:
avecmum · 25/08/2013 00:08

Sorry that bit at the end didn't appear correctly it was meant to be a sad face

OP posts:
avecmum · 25/08/2013 00:09

Sad, sorry I'm new to all this

OP posts:
flow4 · 25/08/2013 09:24

It's upsetting, isn't it avec? :( But with any luck, your DD will discover smoking and physical activity don't go well and her love of dance will mean she makes the right choice in the end.

You will have to cancel (and presumably still pay for) at least the next couple of dance lessons, since that's what you said you would do. It's hard when sanctions hit you as hard as them!

You sound like you have a lot of stresses in your life and a lot invested in your daughter. Be careful of making her the focus of too much... This might be the time to start up some positive activity of your own, so you can enjoy something for yourself... :)

specialsubject · 25/08/2013 10:38

follow through with what you said. She needs to learn that you mean it, and that she is also a really crap liar.

GraduallyGoingInsane · 25/08/2013 12:02

I don't know. It's a hard one, because you have to follow through with sanctions, but dance is such a positive in her life - exercise, keeping her busy, a potential career. It seems a shame to stop it, as then will she give up altogether?

What's her teacher like? I know my DDs dance teacher is very into healthy living - they're always talking about how consequences affect their dancing. Could the teacher have a very firm word, tell her that if she comes in smelling of smoke then she isn't prepared to spend time on her dancing as clearly she isn't motivated? Sometimes coming from someone that isn't their mum but who they really respect can have more impact? We asked DD2s teacher to have a strong word when she stopped eating for a stage - she told her how important food was and how no dance college would take an anorexic dancer, she needed food and she was ruining her body and her dancing. Could something like that work?

Maybe say now she has to earn her dancing, you won't pay it for free. So she is on her last chance, but if she cleans the bathrooms, cooks dinner, puts younger siblings to bed etc, you will pay?

On a side note, if its been a year and you suspect that she's smoked throughout, could she be hooked? Perhaps book her in with a (fierce) NHS nurse to get quitting help too? She might find it hard to stop if she's addicted?

I'm probably going to get flamed for being a softie, but I have dancing DDs and I really know that if I stopped dance they would go further off the rails without something to motivate them to stay healthy.

avecmum · 26/08/2013 17:12

Thank you for your thoughts and ideas.

flow4 thank you, I know I have focused so much on the children always putting myself second I have wanted to look for a job working a couple more days a week and it's been driving me crazy always putting this on hold because of the children and I feel now is the time to do it.

specialsubject thank you I know I have to follow through with what I've said in some form, it scares me too this will drive her even more of the rails but I know I can't just carry on.

GraduallyGoingInsane thank you I know it's such a hard one, because dance is such a positive in her life. I know she knows it is really bad for her, and this morning she actually admitted she had done it. I explained that I am devastated as she did it in her bedroom in my house. I think this hurt more because she did it whilst I was downstairs. I think it is because one of her friends smoke and she is just following the crowd which I think is even sadder. She wanted a party for her birthday next month that wont be happening now, I can't trust them. I don't think she's hooked or anything I think we would have smelt it before now, her brothers would have noticed something. I know that if I put a stop to it altogether she will have more time to spend with her friends in the nearby town and I don't want this as an option. It's such a hard one.

Her Dad is involved now I am tired of being the bad one all the time!

Thank you :)

OP posts:
ConnieM1970 · 27/08/2013 09:53

I've been through this before and I really don't have any answers. My 14 year old started experimenting with cigarettes around 11. Everytime I caught her I'd ground her, take away the computer and lecture her. I hid my cigarettes but she'd get them from friends. Finally I talked with a school counselor and they told me that I was letting her smoking ruin our relationship. At 13 I finally let her smoke at home. I hate that she smokes but her and I are not fighting anymore and she's turned into a fun, loving, daughter. Good luck, I don't think there is one magic answer to this.

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