Dad's Addiction: Helping Children Understand Addiction

There are a lot of reasons why we don't talk to our children about addiction. We don't want to upset the addict and make things worse. We don't want to bring attention to the drama and dysfunction. We don't want to be accountable. We want it to go away. We don't want our children to think badly of their parent. We don't know what to say or which words to use. There are a lot of reasons why we don't talk to our children about addiction, but none of them are good ones.Talking to children about addiction is not hard. NOT talking to children about addiction is hard. Maybe not in the moment, when it feels easier, and maybe even kinder, to cover things up, but in the future when a child's issues borne from misunderstanding, misinterpretation and lack of communication take flight.Carolyn Hannan Bell is a psychotherapist in South Jersey. Her book, Dad's Addiction was written to help children understand their parent's addiction and that this disease has nothing to do with how much they're loved. Children will learn that they are not responsible for the difficult things going on in their family as well as ways to cope and grow. This is her third book in her Helping Children Understand series.Adam doesn't understand why his father doesn't show up for dinners or basketball games and why he acts funny sometimes. Adam thinks it's because his father doesn't want to be with him, that he hasn't been the best boy he can be, that he should try harder. But, Mom tells Adam that Dad has a disease called addiction. She helps Adam and his faithful dog, Arthur, understand what this disease is and how it affects Dad, and the whole family. She teaches Adam that he is not responsible for Dad's behavior and that gives Adam the peace he needs to foster a healthy childhood.