Honor the power of your voice and begin your journey with us today!
Honor the power of your voice and begin your journey with us today!

Living With An Alcoholic Child

Living with an alcoholic child can be incredibly difficult, particularly as a parent. You may feel as if you are walking on eggshells around your child and that nothing you do or say can make the situation better. 

In general, alcoholic children can be male and female with ages ranging from childhood to adulthood. Early identification and treatment of addiction can help prevent alcohol-related problems from becoming worse over time. For parents living with an alcoholic child, it is important to know that there is hope. With the right support and guidance, your child can recover and reclaim their life.

living with an alcoholic child

For Parents Living With an Alcoholic Child

Many responsible parents are already taking precautions to do things that will set their children up for success before their child is even born. They realize that a great deal of responsibility is the preface to bringing a child into the world, and believing that each choice they make before birth will affect their child’s outcome.

Other parents may have struggled with alcoholism in the past and their children grow up to adopt an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Many of these parents feel ashamed of their negative impact on their children and become an enabler out of guilt.

Regardless of a child’s upbringing, genetics that influence personality traits and psychiatric factors are often already programmed in their brain. When genetic and environmental factors meet, a child’s susceptibility to alcohol abuse can trigger an addiction regardless of what the parents did or did not do.

Dealing With an Alcoholic Child

When it comes to dealing with an alcoholic child, there are many different approaches ranging from enabling to reciprocating anger and discontent. Some parents resort to anger, while others accept the blame that one of their adult children places upon them. Some parents may be drained dry by emotional pleas or demands for money.

Other parents may have struggled with alcoholism in the past and their children grow up to adopt an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Many of these parents feel ashamed of their negative impact on their children and become an enabler out of guilt.

Regardless, some unique personality traits and neuropsychiatric potentials and possibilities are already programmed in via genetic and environmental factors, regardless of what the parents did or did not do. This is because alcoholism can affect any family, regardless of social or economic class.

Don’t Try to “Fix” or “Micro-Manage”

One of the biggest mistakes that parents make is becoming do-it-yourselfers in regard to managing their children’s litany of poor choices and decisions. Child-rearing methods and styles may have worked during infancy and childhood but may prove ineffective later on during teen years and adulthood.

Just because your child is legally no longer your responsibility at a certain age does not often reduce the feeling it is your responsibility to care for him or her, regardless of age.

Accept That Your Child Must Make the Decision to Recover

Once your child is an adult, they have the ability to make logical decisions. However, after childhood is over, you don’t get to have any do-overs. The life decisions your child has made are theirs and theirs alone.

With that being said, a common symptom of alcoholic children is the blame game.

At any age, alcoholic children make decisions including:

  • Ownership or blame
  • Detox or addiction
  • Love or anger
  • Honesty or deceit
  • Work or avoidance
  • Building up or tearing down

Adult alcoholics will only stop blaming others for their own mistakes and shortcomings once they accept their situation. This acceptance is the first step towards recovery and must be supported by professional treatment.

Free Yourself From Guilt

If your child is struggling with substance abuse, know that you must learn to forgive yourself. You also need to stop taking responsibility for their actions. It is important to acknowledge the fact that no one prepares you for addiction. There is no parenting school around that can teach you how to handle this type of situation.

Parents often do the best they can. Like most things in life, parenting is a trial-by-error experience in which you learn as you go along. Whether you read the best parenting books money could buy, mistakes are bound to happen. Parents can make a list of things that they could’ve done better, but their child’s addiction isn’t their fault.

What Can I Do To Help My Alcoholic Child?

When living with an alcoholic child, it may feel impossible to seek help. No matter how hopeless you may feel, know that you can guide your adult child toward recovery. If your child is having a difficult time accepting their situation, we suggest enlisting the help of an interventionist or recovery advocate. In most cases, addiction treatment professionals will be better equipped to communicate effectively with your adult child in need of treatment.

It is important to seek an expert’s opinion and assistance if you need help in sending your child to treatment for substance abuse. This is especially true if your child is unwilling to attend treatment, but also helps ease the transition into treatment for anyone struggling with substance abuse.

Seek Professional Help

At Royal Life Centers, we provide support for parents and help their children recognize how their behavior impacts their families. We also encourage families to come together and provide a supportive environment where everyone can heal and grow. With the right support, counseling, and medical supervision, it is possible for parents and their children to both make a full recovery from and pain of addiction

Our team of licensed professionals helps individuals struggling with alcohol dependency break the cycle of addiction. In doing so, your child will learn healthy coping strategies in therapy that will benefit themselves, as well as their families. We dedicate our treatment services to providing the highest quality of care and support for individuals and families affected by alcohol addiction. 

Reach Out

At Royal Life Centers we know the difficulties of living with an alcoholic child. Recovery goes beyond the alcoholic—families need recovery too. If your child is ready to face their addiction head-on, call us today. Our addiction experts are available around the clock at (877)-RECOVERY.

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