On her birthday, Daniel was unable to secure a visitation slot, but he sent her an e-letter instead.
“She replied, saying that “it’s okay, it’s the thought that counts”, and she understands that it’s not easy to book a date that we want. At least she was happy that I remembered her birthday,” he said.
There has been no relapse since she entered the RTC, and he said she feels happier now because she is “totally cut off” from the vapes.
“Her face is more rosy now, compared to the pale face when she was doing Kpods, she was very pale.
“So, right now, she’s feeling better. She looks livelier, and she knows that I sent her to the RTC for her own good.”
Looking back, Daniel said Josephine felt that they were drifting apart. With Daniel working night shifts sometimes, he does not get to see his daughter often.
“The time she spends with us is not as much as the time she spends with her friends,” he said.
SMALL WINS
If a young person is quitting vapes, celebrate the small wins, said Mr Ang.
“Big successes are made up of small wins. This could mean even showing up for a counselling session, or a cut down in the frequency of vaping (whether or not it met the planned target reduction),” he added.
If there are slip-ups, be compassionate. Being empathetic encourages more honest and open conversation, said the counsellor.
At the end of the day, the home should feel like a place where they feel safe, rather than a house of harsh discipline and intense scrutiny, he added.
During one of Daniel’s visits, Josephine shared that she wants to resume her polytechnic studies.
“I spoke to her on … the next step after she is released. She mentioned she will return to school to continue her studies,” Daniel said, adding that the school intends to give her a second chance.
He plans to spend more time with her once she is released, although he acknowledged he cannot constantly monitor his daughter.
“I think (I will) communicate with her more whenever I’m off or after work, because she might be feeling neglected because we are always at work, and (when we) come back, we are so tired, so we do not communicate so much,” said Daniel.
“On this point, I need to work on communication.”
Daniel urged other parents to spend more time with their children. “See what they are doing, spend more time with them and communicate with them more,” he said.
He hopes that Josephine will be able to overcome her vaping addiction.
“Everyone is hoping that after her release, she will be back to her old self. Even she told me that she will be a better person after her release,” Daniel said. “I’m quite happy that she said that.”
