- Mar 19, 2009
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Having grown up in an alcoholic household I can tell you this. Kids, no matter how small deserve the truth. Don't sugarcoat the facts. You don't have to be brutal either. Go ahead and tell them daddy is an alcoholic, that alcoholism is an illness and that daddy doesn't want treatment yet. Tell them that some people can tolerate alcohol and some people can't. If you just tell them he has an illness they may come to the conclusion that daddy has been banished because he is sick. As soon as they are old enough the kids also need to be made aware of the fact that there is a strong hereditary component in the development of alcoholism. In other words they may be wise to abstain.