Alcoholism Support Group

Quitting will be enough of a discussion.
If she can see it's a problem and see that you are doing something about it to fix it, that's all she needs.

Funny how "smart" those young ones are.
My nephews were going to have a B-Day party when they were 6 and 8, (B-Days land a day apart), and my sister said they didn't want a party with a bunch of drunks!
Sadly, my sister didn't take that as her wake up call and they asked the same for this years party and they're 8 and 10.

I try to explain to her it's never to late to impress them but if she can't hear her own kids, how can I expect her to hear me?

First, you're far from hurting her if you are going to get some help!

She may be confussed, but that's understandable seeing how WE can't even find the answer to 'why don't I just not drink??'

I had to tell my 8 year old son at the time that I had to go learn the WHY to the question also, and that they would teach me the HOW to not drink at all because it wasn't good for me.

I was gone for 2 weeks, and when I got back home he wasn't asking anymore questions. He was just so glad mommy was home. (o;

Kids don't need huge explinations. They just need to know it's all going to be ok.

You will be able to explain it better to her after treatment. Honesty is enough in any given situation. From the heart is always the best.

My youngest was 6 when I first sought help. My oldest was 14. It was easier on my youngest than my oldest.

I would take the little one with me to a meeting at night. She understood what it was all about very quickly and she would stand up and help form the circle and memorized the Serenity Prayer. My little Samantha showed me how to love.

There was a man who would come to the meeting. He was very unkept and smelly. Samantha went up to him and said, putting her little hand on his, "Things will get better, just don't drink today!"

I would get out of sorts and Samantha would put her little hand on her hips and say, "Mommy, I think you need a meeting"

it sounds like you did it perfectly. honest (to a point) and in terms they can understand.

one of my legacies to my small kids (5&7) that i am trying to erase is my dishonesty about drinking. they've seen me hide it and i've even told them "don't tell dad". for me this is the worst thing i've done to them with regard to my drinking. i am teaching them that lying and hiding is how to deal with things. it kills me when i see the realization on their faces.

I WAS that six year old once, and I don't even know how much emotional difficulty it would have spared me if my parents had even TRIED to be honest/explain in a way that a six year would be able to understand.

Good for you for not lying outright to her and attempting to make some sense of it to her. In my family, everything was big "secret". Bad news. As if a child can't sense something wrong and feel insecure and worried.

Best wishes for your health and recovery!

You are right when you say that kids are perceptive. They know things that we don't think they can understand. And then they simplify them. Your daughter knows you have a drinking problem. To her it is simple, just don't drink.

When you get back from rehab tell her that the doctors there told you the same thing and helped you achieve that.

Good on you for being honest with your child. Most parents are not.

Good luck odaat
HC

she is certainly less confused than you are, if that is any consolation. People without our problem just decide whether or not they drink. They are also the same ones that don't care to take medications for pain as they 'don't like to take that stuff". I try so hard to understand what is different in thier brains. So if we can't understand, we can never know what to say to explain what is wrong with us.I DO know that your daughter will be thrilled to see the new you. Keeping the promise is the hard part, as I'm sure you know better than I do!

My kids were young when I went to a 28 day treatment program. They were 8, 7,and 3. It was hard for them...we had never been away from eachother. They came to visit me on Mother's Day and were only allowed to stay for two hours. When it was time to go..my oldest boy(who was 8) stood on the other side of the glass window and held his little hands up to the glass and was sobbing. It was horrible. I thought "I will never forgive myself for doing this to them". But I eventually realized that I was giving them the greatest gift I could...I was giving them their mommy back. My kids lived in the darkness of my disease and NOW they live in the light of my recovery. They were a part of my days of using..now they are a part of my rwecovery. They have been to meetings with me...they have been to campouts...picnics...everything and anything I can include them in. They have seen their mommy come back to life. I will never forget my little boy standing outside that window...NEVER. And I will never put him in that position again. Kids are pretty damn tough...and after your child sees you sober and living life again...he/she will forget the time you will be away. I had to earn their trust back...and I did. They see a sober mommy today and to me...that is worth any pain we had to go thru. Goodluck to you!

Tell her alcoholics are like a fish who needs to swim in an ocean of liquid in order to breath.

When we stop drinking we are like a fish out of water and need to get treatment so as to breath just air again.