Reply to How do you tell your 7 and 9 year olds their dad is an alcoholic?

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[quote=Anonymous]My dad was an alcoholic. I knew it made him unpredictable and he'd make promises he wouldn't/couldn't keep. I didn't understand really what was going on until I was about 5-6 and my mom told me he drinks too much alcohol which makes him not himself. I thought she meant rubbing alcohol and didn't understand why anyone would drink that. She explained that she meant whisky and then I understood.

My parents divorced when I was about 3 so when I was with my dad I only had my siblings to care for me...no one else to run interference or to make sure I ate or slept etc. Having the alcoholism explained to me helped me to understand my dad and that his flakiness or mood swings had nothing to do with me. 7 and 9 is definitely NOT too young to explain alcoholism to. It will be a relief to them to give dad's problems a name and a reason.

Please be honest and open with your kids about what is happening. They're not stupid. They know something is wrong and they need to know it has nothing to do with them. Also, it would be a good idea to explain that alcoholism is genetic and they should avoid drinking as they get older.[/quote]

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