Your mother has been smoking for seven years and has developed really bad asthma. Two years ago she promised you and your brother she would quit. Your little brother asks you, “Why does mom still smoke when she knows it’s making her sick?”

Question

Your mother has been smoking for seven years and has developed really bad asthma. Two years ago she promised you and your brother she would quit. Your little brother asks you, “Why does mom still smoke when she knows it’s making her sick?”
What would be a good response to help him understand why she is still smoking?
(1 point)
Responses

“I don’t know. I guess mom doesn’t care about what it is doing to her body.”
    “I don’t know. I guess mom doesn’t care about what it is doing to her body.”
    “I think we should make her feel bad about what she is doing to herself. Maybe that will make her stop.”
    “I think we should make her feel bad about what she is doing to herself. Maybe that will make her stop.”
    “Mom is really trying, but the chemicals in the cigarettes make her feel horrible every time she tries to stop.”
    “Mom is really trying, but the chemicals in the cigarettes make her feel horrible every time she tries to stop.”
    “Mom just doesn’t want to quit. I think she was just making that up.”

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The best response is: **“Mom is really trying, but the chemicals in the cigarettes make her feel horrible every time she tries to stop.”** This answer provides a compassionate understanding of the struggle that many people face with addiction, acknowledging your mother's efforts while explaining that the physical dependence on nicotine can make it very difficult to quit.