Vaping & Screen Time: Coping Tools for Kids

When you understand what your kids are going through, you can help them find healthy habits to feel better, so they don’t turn to vaping or their phone for relief. It starts with understanding, empathizing, and working with your kids to find better alternatives to every challenge they face.

Find out what’s behind vaping and screen time, and how you can help your kid(s) cope with daily stressors in healthy ways.

Vaping & Cellphones: Kids’ New Stress Escape

Two ways today’s kids are coping with stress are vaping and being on their phones… a lot. We’re here to help you start the conversation with your kid.

2.5M

middle and high school students reported using e-cigarettes in 2023.

7-9 Hrs/Day

on average of time Kids spent on screens, not counting schoolwork.

How much do you know about Vaping?

Test Your Knowledge with Our Quick Quiz.

Watch Video About Vaping

Explore Stop Vaping Resources

Can you guess which of these everyday items could be a vape in disguise?

Starting the Conversation is the First Step Towards Healthier Habits.

Not sure what to say to your child or how to say it? Below are some simple and useful tips to help ease the discussion and let your child know you’re on their side.

Learn

  1. Take time to prepare beforehand so you can come to the conversation with facts, not misinformation.
  2. Put yourself in your child’s shoes by reflecting on how you responded to stress and peer pressure as a teen or child.
  3. Get familiar with the facts on vaping. For example, even if there is no nicotine in the vaping liquid, it still contains harmful chemicals with unknown long-term consequences.
  4. Young people are more susceptible to nicotine addiction, even at lower doses. The amount of nicotine in vaping liquid can vary greatly, leading to an increased likelihood of dependency forming.

Talk

  1. Find the right moment to start the conversation. Keeping it informal and natural increases your chance of success. For example, bring it up when you see characters on TV or someone vaping on the sidewalk.
  2. Focus on listening. Rather than starting off by listing the risks, ask your child what they know about vaping or if they’ve ever felt pressured to try. Then give them a chance to fully respond.
  3. If your child shares that they have tried vaping or do it regularly, thank them for their honesty and ask them if they know about and understand the risks.
  4. Help them come up with their own plan and reasons to quit vaping. This will help them think critically and empower them to make a healthy choice for themselves.

Support

  1. Consider booking an appointment with a paediatrician, family doctor, or health care provider. Whether you go on your own or with your child, you can find useful resources to support quitting vaping or smoking.
  2. Encourage your child to talk to another trusted adult in their life, like a favourite teacher, coach, relative, etc. Hearing the same message about vaping from another adult can help reinforce your message.

Follow-Up

  1. A conversation about vaping or smoking isn’t a one-and-done activity. Make sure your child knows they can come to you any time to talk about vaping.
  2. Use the open dialogue you have now established to talk about other drugs like alcohol, cannabis, recreational prescription drugs, and others.

Our kids are growing up in a different world – always on, always connected.

Sometimes, that’s amazing. Sometimes, it’s too much. Here’s how to help them stay safe and find balance, not blame.

7-9 hrs/day

the average amount of time teens spend on screens, not counting schoolwork.

TDSB, “Vaping and Cell Phone Dependency Awareness Campaign,” 2024.

73%

of children aged 8 to 18 have experienced at least one cyber risk.

DQ Institute, “2022 Child Online Safety Index,” 2022

How tuned into your kid’s phone habits are you?

Test your knowledge with our quick quiz!

Watch 3 Tips About Managing Phone-time

Listen to Harvard Edcast on Screen Time

Taking away a teen’s phone is the best way to reduce screen time.

Can you guess if this is true or a myth?

Helping your kid manage their time online is key to building balanced digital habits.

Healthy phone habits start at home. Get familiar with some straightforward tools and practices to help your child build a healthy relationship with their screens.

Model Behaviour

  1. Your kid sees a lot more than you might realize. If you spend your evenings scrolling or check your phone at the dinner table or while you’re talking to someone, your kid will likely do the same.
  2. Set an example for healthy screen time boundaries. Get in the habit of leaving your phone in a different room during family time, like meals or game nights.

Collectively Establish Rules

  1. Think about limits and rules together. By asking them what they think is a reasonable amount of time to spend online or when and where to turn their phone off, your child can develop critical thinking about their own phone usage.

Guide

  1. Respect that phones are a part of adolescent development now and that some screen time is necessary. An open mind to intentional screen time can help your child want to seek out balance.
  2. Once you have established boundaries for phone usage, stick to them. Part of building healthy habits is consistency.

Support

  • Make sure your child knows they can always ask questions about their screen time or share if they think they are online too much or feel unsafe online.
  • Be open to revising screen time limits if their request is valid. If you make a change for a specific reason, have a set date for when the standard limits come back into place.

Resources for You to Take That First Step and Start the Conversation with Your Kid.

It’s not one perfect talk. It’s small, honest talks that support healthy habits over time.