Reducing Conflict with Young People Around Vaping
In recent years, vaping has become more prevalent among children and young people both in the UK and around the world. Due to its highly addictive nature and rising popularity, it is fast becoming a major source of conflict not only in schools but also in households and services.
This troubling trend not only presents a catalogue of potential health concerns but can also lead to confrontation between young people and the adults who support or care for them, such as parents, carers, and teachers.
The challenge for us as practitioners is: how can we reduce conflict with children and young people around vaping? While punitive, reactive approaches such as installing vape alarms in toilets, excluding students from school, or introducing vaping bans may appear to ‘work’ in the short term, we need to consider solutions that will be effective in the longer term.
Impact of vaping
Vaping can detrimentally impact many areas of children and young people’s lives, both within and beyond the classroom.
In some schools, students leave lessons to vape, which can disrupt their own and others’ learning, and could adversely affect academic outcomes due to missed learning. Nicotine, the main component of most vapes, can affect concentration, mood, and attention, meaning that students who vape regularly can struggle with focus, and may engage in behaviour that needs support.
For some children and young people, vaping can be an act of defiance or rebellion, creating and exacerbating a sense of ‘them and us’ with the adults around them. Left unchecked, this can lead to unhelpful power struggles, escalating conflict, and feelings of resentment and misunderstanding.
And, of course, there are the numerous health implications to consider. As vapes are a comparatively new phenomenon, there is not yet extensive data around the long-term effects. However, research has shown a link between vaping and heart disease, lung damage, organ failure, and dementia, as well as impaired memory, anxiety, and depression.
Reasons for vaping
It is clear that vaping can have a range of adverse consequences for children and young people, affecting not only their behaviour and relationships, but also their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
However, only by understanding the underlying reasons for vaping can we devise the most effective strategies for supporting those in our care and reducing conflict.
1: Peer pressure
Teenagers are often heavily influenced by their peers. Like smoking, vaping may be viewed as a way to ‘fit in’ with friends. This social aspect of vaping can be a powerful motivator, especially if friends or classmates are involved in the habit, too.
2: Limited understanding of risk
Adolescents’ brains are still maturing, and their sense of danger is not fully developed. As a result, many young people may believe that vaping is a harmless activity and might not consider it risky or dangerous. This message is perpetuated by the bright, enticing colours and palatable fruit flavours of the vapes themselves.
3: Easily accessible
In many places, vapes are readily available, accessible, and affordable, making it difficult for adults to control their use and monitor children and young people’s activity. Teenagers may be able to obtain vapes without adults knowing.
4: Stress relief
Adolescence is a notoriously tricky time for young people. Many are dealing with a variety of challenges from academic pressure and puberty to family issues and social stressors. For some, vaping can seem like a way to cope with stress or escape from the pressures of daily life, even though it may only offer a temporary distraction.
Reducing conflict around vaping
Understanding the reasons children and young people might vape adds helpful context to the behaviour – a behaviour that can be driven by a complex mix of social, emotional, physical, and psychological factors.
A multifaceted problem needs a multifaceted response where we work collaboratively to find positive ways forward and reduce conflict with children and young people.
1: Create clear policies and expectations
Clear, comprehensive policies are the bedrock of all effective practice, and a policy around vaping can help to clarify expectations. Whether we take a ‘zero-tolerance’ view of vaping or adopt a different approach, it is essential that this information is recorded in any relevant policies and shared with young people, their families, and all staff teams.
The policy should include direction around how to manage incidents of vaping and outline what the consequences are for those involved. It should also provide details about proactive measures being taken within the organisation to reduce or eliminate vaping.
As leaders, we can clearly explain the rationale for our approach and implement any guidelines consistently, to ensure that everyone is clear about what is expected of them and to reduce the likelihood of conflict.
2: Foster a supportive, inclusive environment
Many children and young people may want to talk about their reasons for vaping and may need support and guidance from us.
Rather than taking a solely punitive approach to vaping, we can foster open, supportive environments where individuals feel safe and comfortable to talk to us if they are struggling. By building strong relationships built on mutual trust and respect, young people may be more likely to engage in conversation with us about vaping, knowing that we are there to help and support, rather than judge or punish them.
We can help them navigate tricky social and peer expectations, and signpost them to further support where needed.
Of course, we need to enforce the rules and guidelines as stipulated in our policies, but a flexible, supportive approach may be more successful in the longer term.
3: Look beyond the behaviour
Puzzle-solving to try and understand why a child or young person might be vaping can help us devise the best support measures for them. Perhaps they are struggling with feelings of stress or anxiety; maybe they feel pressured to vape by others in their peer group; or perhaps it is simply a habitual behaviour that has become embedded over time.
By applying professional curiosity and taking a non-judgemental, compassionate approach, we can work together to address the underlying causes and identify solutions. For example, if a young person believes that vaping is helping to alleviate stress, we can discuss healthy coping mechanisms and other ways to self-regulate.
Fostering a sense of empathy and compassion, showing children and young people that we care about them and that we value them for who they are, can be an effective way to reduce conflict and minimise the likelihood of individuals engaging in risk behaviour like vaping.
4: Seek to de-escalate situations
Sometimes, conflict can arise around vaping. For example, if we work in a school, we may need to address the issue of students taking vape-breaks or vaping in spaces such as toilets. In these moments, situations can quickly escalate.
As practitioners, we can pause and consider what we are bringing to the situation. Are we calm and composed? What is our body language and stance communicating? How are we using our voice to communicate?
With a focus on de-escalation, we can talk slowly and calmly, stating what we would like to happen, and ensure that, where necessary, we continue to dynamically risk assess the situation. If the incident is unfolding in front of a child or young person’s peers, we can seek to offer a ‘safe’ way out that preserves the individual’s dignity.
5: Educate on the dangers of vaping
Many children and young people may not fully understand the risks associated with vaping. It is our responsibility, then, to increase awareness and make sure we provide opportunities for educating them around the dangers and potential impacts of vaping on their behaviour, relationships, and wellbeing.
In these instances, it is important that we allow children and young people to share their own experiences, worries and concerns, rather than making assumptions about what they may think or believe. This open, two-way approach can help to foster feelings of trust and respect and, in turn, reduce conflict.
6: Encourage family engagement
As with any other issue involving children and young people, we need the support and backing of parents and carers to find effective solutions.
Many families may share our concerns about their child’s vaping, so it is crucial that we foster strong relationships with parents and carers. That way, we can exchange experiences and approaches, and work together to reduce conflict around vaping.
Depending on our context, newsletters, text messages, emails, informal drop-ins, or family workshops can all help ensure that our messaging around vaping is consistent and that families have the opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns with us.
Vaping as a complex issue
Vaping is a complex issue that presents us with a number of challenges, not only around education and prevention but also around behaviour support. As a highly addictive habit, we may not be able to effect change overnight.
While there are no easy answers, we can look beyond the behaviour, try to understand what is driving it, foster supportive, inclusive and open environments, and work together with families to create a consistent approach and reduce conflict with children and young people.
Please get in touch any time if you’d like help with behaviour in your organisation.
