How to Talk to a Child About a Parent's Addiction

One of the most difficult conversations a parent can have is about the other parent’s addiction. Secrecy, anger, shame, resentment, love, and a need to protect can all contribute to the silence that surrounds a parent’s addiction. Dr. Sack provides easy-to-understand tips on how to talk to your child about his/her parent’s addiction (on a post found here). We particularly liked Dr. Sack’s points about the importance of telling children that the addiction is not their fault, the need to keep the conversation about addiction open and ongoing, and the 7 C’s of addiction. Have you found helpful ways to speak to your children about addiction? If so, we would love to hear your ideas in our comments section below.