Talking with your kids about what’s right and wrong is one of the most important parts of parenting. These conversations often start with simple lessons—don’t talk to strangers, always say thank you—but as your children grow, the stakes get higher. If you’re facing a substance use disorder (SUD), you may feel an even deeper responsibility to help your children avoid walking the same difficult path. That means having honest, age-appropriate conversations that go beyond the basics and speak to their future, their choices, and their well-being.

Understand the Impact SUD Has on Families

Parental SUD impacts children even if the parent thinks they have done everything possible to protect the child. The impact of misuse or addiction can impact children at any age, even as adults. It may impact the following:

• Physical health, especially if a parent cannot provide for their needs due to this disease
• Cognitive development
• Social development and how they interact and perceive the world around them
• Economic well-being, especially in the long term
• Long-term impact on their own willingness to use substances

The National Association for Children of Addiction states that 1 in 8 children lives in a home where at least one parent or caregiver suffers from either alcohol or opioid use disorder. A child within this environment is three times likely to suffer physical, emotional, or sexual trauma.

They are also four times as likely to be emotionally or physically neglected. Regulating emotions is harder for these children. They are also less likely to do well in school and more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.

How to Talk to Your Children About SUD

The risks are very real, but with the right information delivered in an age-appropriate manner, parents can help their children avoid the worst possible outcome. Having that conversation means:

• Being honest. Talk to your children, when they are old enough to understand, about what addiction is and what causes it. Be sure to describe it as a disease, one that is treatable but that cannot be fully cured.
• Talk about why it happened. Be honest to the point you are comfortable. Provide insight into how you found yourself here, such as through a lack of support, peer pressure, or abuse. Make it authentic for your child.
• Share what could have been different. If you struggled with peer pressure, for example, talk to your child about what they could do in the same situation. You may wish to provide support so that you will be there to help them through challenges, even if your parents were not.

When having this conversation, be honest about the reality of what you are facing. Discuss why you thought drinking or using substances was good, safe, or not a big deal. Then, demonstrate its impact. This is not about scaring them, but educating them. Talk about the impact on:

Your relationships, including their own with you

• Your financial well-being
• Physical ailments and complications to your health that you have now
• Emotional limitations and pain you face
• The impact on your future

Provide honesty to your children at a level they can understand, considering their age and maturity. If you’re unsure what to say or what not to, simply encourage your child to ask questions and answer them honestly. Young children may not understand what you are facing. Yet, children in middle school and high school have an impression of what SUD is and what it means for their future. If you do not adjust these thoughts and beliefs away from Hollywood’s take, that could impact your child for years to come.

Educate Your Child About Treatment for SUD

Another important strategy for supporting your child’s future health and wellbeing is to teach them what the consequences of using drugs or alcohol mean for their future. Provide insight into what you are doing to heal and how important it is to your future.

Then, offer your child a way to help. Provide them with the opportunity to accompany you to family therapy. Create a time for your child when you spend an hour or more with one-on-one opportunities. Some days, you may sit in silence for that time. That may be exactly what they need. At other times, they may need you to explain significant concerns. Being there, being honest, and committing to their well-being through your own healing helps you protect their future.

Get the Help and Resources You Need

At Victory Addiction Recovery Center, we offer comprehensive addiction treatment programs in Lafayette, LA, and Metairie, LA that could change your future. Let us equip you with the tools to protect yourself, so you can be there to protect your family. Contact us now to learn more.