When the Other Parent Is Using

Where to start

• Tell your child clearly: “It isn’t your fault. You can’t make her stop.”
• Keep your child’s everyday life going, so it isn’t entirely defined by the substance use.
• Point your child to Nacoa, and the whole family to Adfam.

The rest of the tip, and why it works, is in the library.

Sources

Nacoa for the child; The Children’s Society Young Carers Service for child-specific carer support; Adfam for the wider family

It goes with

• The Conversations Parents Avoid. For parents who need to tell their child something hard and don’t know how to start.
• When Parents Separate. For parents in the middle of a separation who are watching closely to see how their child is coping.

The first chapter you open here is free to read in full.

Free on this subject

• Family stress. What to do first, what helps, and who else can help. Free to read and to print.
• Difficult conversations. What to do first, what helps, and who else can help. Free to read and to print.