Alcohol Abuse in Families
Alcohol abuse in the family hurts many and is very difficult to deal with. Many families don’t know what to do or where to turn when their family is affected by one who abuses alcohol. My children’s grandfather suffers from alcohol abuse and this saddens us. He is great with the kids and loves us more then anything, but now and again he gets to drinking and becomes overly emotional. I say “now and again”, because he doesn’t drink that often. Even though drinking doesn’t occur often it is important to know that alcohol abuse hurts families of all types and in many ways.
A few nights ago three of my children were to sleep over their grandparents’ house, one out of the three kids had school the next morning and Grandma was going to drive her to school for us. At almost 11pm we hear the door knocking. Grandma is dropping the kids off because “Pops had been drinking and is trying to love on them. The kids just want to sleep.”
The kids had another story. They were frightened, and asked to come home after dealing with his odd behavior for over and hour or two. Naturally, the husband and I are a bit concerned. The kids described to me a night of many “I love you” words, loud noises, banging on the door, yelling, lectures, and then more kisses. They had enough, and at one point thought of hoping out the window. True indeed, the kids were physically safe. Grandma would protect them and Pops would never hurt them. Well, they were scared and uncomfortable. I can’t take from their feelings, but I can assure them to love him unconditionally and let them know he won’t physically harm them.
What do you do in instances like this? Well, the obvious, don’t let the kids sleepover while he is drinking and if drinking occurs after their arrival request they’re brought home first. Naturally, Pops should and will apologize to the kids. Isn’t there more to this though, shouldn’t the kids feel safe (sure they were safe, but feeling safe is just as important), and be able to stay over there through the night without thoughts of the “what if’s”?
Of course more can be done, when there is alcohol abuse in the family it’s imperative that the one abusing gets help. It is equally important to not make excuses for the one who has an issue with alcohol. So what now? Love those that have these struggles unconditionally but ask for them to not put the kids in this position again. As hard is it may be, talk to them about getting help as a family.
A great resource to start with is the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Click here to view more information on their website.
I decided to post our families experience with alcohol abuse as uncomfortable as it was for me, in hopes that someone out there shares our experience and will feel better to know they’re not alone or in hopes I can guide you toward the right direction with this matter. Does your family struggle with alcohol or drug abuse? What have you done that has helped? Maybe you don’t know what to do. Please share below with comments or email me privately through our Contact Us form.
Check Jen out on other social networks:
URL: http://reedwhatmatters.com
Twitter: @reedwhatmatters
Facebook: reedwhatmatters
LivingYourMoment Recommends
