Older Child

• Education
• Primary schools
• Secondary schools
• Independent schools
• Home education
• First day at school
• School on time
• Getting homework done
• Bullying
• Sibling rivalry
• Talking with teenagers
• Discipline and responsibility
• Eating habits
• Growing up
• Smoking and drugs
• Safe surfing

Smoking and drugs

One of our nightmares, finding out that your child has started smoking or taken some illegal drugs. Often our first reaction is to be really angry, but most of us can remember what it was like when we were at school. The peer pressure can be so strong and we owe it to our children to be understanding and supportive of this and help them through the problems they face. The links below provide advice and understanding of smoking and drugs (including alcohol) and should make your life a bit easier for you and your children. Try looking through some of them together and learn with your child, for your child.

Dawn Says: My youngest daughter was caught by me to be smoking. I told her how disappointed I was. Also pointed out that as she has asthma it is not the brightest thing to do. She said that she had only done it once to try it. I believe her.. but I also know that she chews a heck of a lot of chewing gum!

Smoking
http://www.ash.org.uk/ ASH stands for action on smoking and health UK and this website contains advice on how to give up, educational resources for schools and information on the damage to your health that cigarettes can do.
Women's Health This is an american site, from a Boston Hospital and contains lots of information about what smoking does to your body and what cigarettes contain.

Drugs