St Agnes' Weekly News - Term 4 Week 7
Vaping: How to Support my Child if they are Vaping
Although advertising and peers can heavily influence your teen’s decisions, the impact you have as a parent, carries enormous weight. Research has found that parental involvement and a positive outlook can make a significant difference in healthy decisionmaking, both now and in the future.
Take a Health Approach
If you discover that your teen is vaping, address it as you would any other risk to your child’s health. Try to resist the urge to lecture, yell or punish your child. It is important to keep the lines of communication open and show your child that you are concerned about their health and safety.
Although purchasing vapes containing nicotine without a prescription is illegal in Australia, many vapes labelled as nicotine-free do contain nicotine. Your child may need support to stop vaping as nicotine is very addictive. The more your child vapes, the more both the brain and body will get used to having nicotine, and the harder it is to go without it. When a person stops vaping, even for a short period, they can experience withdrawal, including strong cravings, irritability, fatigue, headache, sleeplessness and difficulty concentrating.
Conversation Starters
Make sure your child recognises how much you care about them and that the conversation is coming from a place of unconditional love, support and concern for their
wellbeing. Use the conversation starters below to understand if your child may be continuing to vaping to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
- Do you continue to vape even though you want to stop or think it’s hurting you in some way?
- Do you feel anxious or irritable when you want to use your vape but can’t?
- Do thoughts about vaping interrupt you when you are focused on other activities?
- Do you vape at school? How often?
- Have you ever tried to stop vaping but couldn’t?
- Do you feel like you have lost control over your vaping?
Support to Quit Vaping
Read this helpful Infographic for suggestions about how to support your child to quit
vaping.
Getting to school by bus in 2023
Will your child be catching the bus to school in 2023? Applications are now open for a Bus Travel Pass. As it’s a busy time of year, we highly recommend you make this application before the end of Term 4. It’s also good to check the bus timetable to make your child’s journey to school as easy as possible.
Here is how it works:
Bus passes
All students catching the bus in 2023 will need a school travel pass.
Under the School Student Transport Scheme, eligible students can apply for free or subsided travel between home and school.
For more information about the School Student Transport Scheme and how to apply for a school travel pass, visit https://apps.transport.nsw.
Bus timetables
Busways is the school bus operator that runs your schools’ bus services. To find your child’s school bus timetable visit the Busways website by using the following steps:
1. Go to busways.com.au/nsw
2. Click on ‘school services’ in the navigation bar and then proceed to ‘school timetables’
3. Enter the school’s name in the field that says ‘enter a school name’
4. Select the school’s name and the timetable should open on your device.
If you are unable to find or search for the school’s name, use the drop-down menus on the same web page to find the school.
5. Once the timetable is opened, you will be able to identify which school bus services are available in your area for your child to use.
Here is how it works:
Bus passes
All students catching the bus in 2023 will need a school travel pass.
Under the School Student Transport Scheme, eligible students can apply for free or subsided travel between home and school.
For more information about the School Student Transport Scheme and how to apply for a school travel pass, visit https://apps.transport.nsw.
Bus timetables
Busways is the school bus operator that runs your schools’ bus services. To find your child’s school bus timetable visit the Busways website by using the following steps:
1. Go to busways.com.au/nsw
2. Click on ‘school services’ in the navigation bar and then proceed to ‘school timetables’
3. Enter the school’s name in the field that says ‘enter a school name’
4. Select the school’s name and the timetable should open on your device.
If you are unable to find or search for the school’s name, use the drop-down menus on the same web page to find the school.
5. Once the timetable is opened, you will be able to identify which school bus services are available in your area for your child to use.
