Men’s addiction specialist Dan Griffin asks how addiction impacts the decision to have or deal with children.
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Recently, a friend shared that he thinks his 15 year old daughter is exhibiting–has since she was 10–the same kinds of “addictive” behaviors he remembers having as a teenager: lack of moderation when it come to food, etc. He summed up his observation to me and some friends by saying he thinks “she’ll find her way into” a recovery program some day.
He wasn’t distressed. He didn’t fight what he knows is a difficult possibility for her and their family. He knows all he can do is be supportive and loving regardless of the path she takes. He’s an incredible parent.
Many addicts, and recovering addicts, are or will be, parents. And there are many concerns that crop up being moms/dads in recovery. For now, we start with the issue of having children at all.
For me, while I’m proud to be able to provide for my daughter the supportive and loving household I wasn’t always afforded, I acknowledge that addiction is heritable. That’s a scary prospect as I love my daughter so much and don’t want her to go through the pain of addiction which I did.