Parents play a powerful role in helping teens make healthy choices. By staying informed and engaged, you can help protect your child’s growing brain and support their long-term well-being. 

Take time to learn about the effects of early nicotine use and have open, honest conversations with your child about what you discover. Let them know you care deeply about their health, safety, and future, and encourage them to make choices that reflect those values. Your guidance, connection, and example matter more than you may realize. 

When you lead with love, support, and clear expectations, you help build the confidence and resilience your child needs to navigate these challenges.

Care Action Steps:

• Educate yourself about vaping so you can be on the lookout and equipped with reliable information.
• Learn more about how addictive substances like nicotine can affect the developing adolescent brain by watching this video and visiting our Why Parent Up? page.
• Explore the risk factors that can increase the likelihood of addiction, and use that knowledge to strengthen the protective factors in your child’s life.
• Share what you learn with other parents and caregivers. Together, adults can create a stronger culture of support and prevention for teens.

• Set aside regular one-on-one time with your child to connect and have fun together. Simple moments matter most—whether it’s taking a walk, drawing, reading, driving together, or simply talking about the day.
• Watch this TED Talk for practical and inspiring ideas on building stronger, more meaningful connections with kids and teens.
• Make family meals a priority when possible. Regular meals together can strengthen communication, build trust, and reduce risky behaviors, including substance use! Our Support Youth page offers a Meaningful Meals Kit with tips, tools, and resources to help make mealtimes more engaging and rewarding.
• Work together to identify sources of stress in your child’s life and explore healthy ways to manage it, such as getting enough sleep, spending time outdoors, taking breaks from screens, or practicing relaxation techniques. Inviting your child into the conversation helps build problem-solving skills and strengthens your relationship.

Open, honest communication is one of the most powerful ways parents can help teens make healthy choices. Starting conversations early shows your child that you care about their health, safety, and future, and that your guidance comes from love and support. While conversations about nicotine and other drugs can feel difficult, building trust and open communication can have a lasting positive impact.

Communicate Action Steps: 

• Talk about the risks nicotine can pose to your child’s developing brain, health, and future. Remind them that your guidance comes from love and a desire to keep them healthy.
• Set clear expectations with your child against nicotine use. Help them understand the national Tobacco 21 law exists to protect young people during an important stage of brain development and reduce the risk of harm and addiction.
• Look for everyday “teachable moments” to spark conversation. News stories, TV shows, social media, school events, and pop culture can all create natural opportunities to talk about nicotine products and decision-making.
• Make regular conversations and check-ins part of daily life. Even small moments of connection can strengthen trust and help your child feel comfortable coming to you.
• Help establish expectations, encourage healthy communication, and support positive decision-making with our tools for Setting Expectations and Communication Guides.

Stay in touch! As a general practice, know where your kids are at, who they are with, and be sure to check in when they get home. Watch for any early signs or symptoms of vape or nicotine use and be on alert for changes in behaviors, friend groups, or attitudes.  

Careful Attention Action Steps:

• Do some research on what vapes and e-cigarettes look like, and which ones are most likely to be used by teens.
• Keep an eye out for vaping equipment or related product packaging:  See something you don’t recognize in the trash?  Is your child carrying an unfamiliar device?  It’s time to start asking questions and doing research to identify the object.
• Unfamiliar online purchases or packages:  Today, many youth buy vapes and e-juices online, so if there’s unfamiliar charges on a card or odd-looking packages coming to your home, you will want to investigate.
• Build your skills in communication and setting limits through this free course.

• Symptoms to look out for include:

  • Increased irritability
  • Restlessness/sleeplessness
  • Dry mouth
  • Increased risky behavior
  • Increased facial blemishes or slow wound healing
  • Frequent use of the bathroom
  • Fruity, minty, or sweet smell
  • Slight mist that disappears quickly
  • Pleasant smell: Youth are more drawn to fruity or sweet flavors in vapes than flavors that mimic tobacco.  By design, the more discreet vaping products don’t produce a lot of aerosol or scent. The smell is also faint, but if you catch an aroma of bubble gum or watermelon, it might be a sign that someone is vaping nearby.
  • Increased thirst or nose bleeds: Vaping removes hydration from the skin of the mouth and throat, leaving a dry, flat palate. If you see increasing liquid consumption (and urination), this may be a sign of vaping. Just like vaping dries the mouth, it dries the skin of the nose too. When the nose is too dry, it can bleed, which might be another clue.
  • Decreased caffeine use: The combination of vaping nicotine and drinking caffeine can cause anxiety and severe mood swings. Many vape users will decrease their caffeine intake to avoid these side effects.

It’s important to support your child on their cessation journey. There is cessation help available specifically for teens from DHSS’s Missouri’s My Life My Quit program. Teens can chat with a coach at MO.MyLifeMyQuit.org or text “Start My Quit” to 36072. Missouri teens 13-17 who enroll in “My Life, My Quit” will receive free confidential and personalized support from a trained quit coach who helps them build a quit plan to become nicotine-free. The program provides coaching sessions over text, live chat or phone. Teens earn incentive items along their journey and receive a completion certificate.