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Ask Amy: Secret vaping leaves neighbors gaping

Amy Dickinson, Tribune Content Agency on

What do you think we should do?

– Concerned Friends or Nosy Neighbors?

Dear Concerned Neighbors: Surely you are not so removed from your own experience (when your kids were teens) that you’ve forgotten how important “the village” was to raising them?

Parents – especially close friends and neighbors – rely on one another to rat out the kids. It’s part of the deal. Underage drinking, sneaking out to a party, cutting school (been there, parented through all of that) – these are all examples of teen behavior that warrant a thoughtful, nonjudgmental, parent-to-parent report.

You’ve been watching this vaping for over a year.

Talking directly to the teen would force the vaping into the basement or the other side of the house, the parents would never learn about it, the teen would continue to vape, and would likely also avoid you for the next decade or so.

 

Nicotine is addictive and buying and possessing nicotine products is illegal under the age of 18. (Note that this young person could be vaping any number of non-nicotine products.)

Tell the parents, one time, and let them decide what to do. Even if they respond defensively to you –- this is something they should know about.

Dear Amy: Our community workout center provides showers and locker rooms for our swimming pool. We have a small family locker area, but most youngsters come into either the men's or women's locker areas.

One woman insists on walking naked around the shower area and the locker area. She even stands naked in front of the mirror as she dries her hair.

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