Recovery.......

Last night a friend of the family came over for dinner. He is a young man (19) that is going through recovery from drug and alcohol addiction; he has been sober for 5 months. At my request, he was kind enough to share his story with our children. We all sat and listened as he told us about his drug addiction, the ways in which he funded it and all the horrid circumstances that resulted. Then he shared with us how difficult it was to get clean and how hard it is dealing with all the destruction that he created. He encouraged our kids to do whatever they had to do in order to make good and healthy choices and to avoid all drugs and alcohol.
We have had (and still have) several family member that are addicts and I was grateful that our children were able to speak with an addict that is in recovery. It was nice for them to see that you can get sober if you prioritize it. I also appreciated him letting the kids know how much he wished he had just made better choices and not used drugs, not stolen from people, not broken important relationships and mostly how he had to relearn how to do everything all over again... clean.
Our kids asked several questions and we gave him a round of applause for his sobriety and offered our continued support while he is in recovery.
As you all know I am a huge supporter of real, honest and open communication with children and the drug and alcohol conversation can't be had too much. Let them know how you feel about drug use, don't say "Your gonna try it anyway but....." Never assume a kid will make a bad choice, give them the opportunity to make good choices, keep them informed, let them know the effects of drug use and be open to questions. The more they learn from YOU, the less they will learn from friends or other influences at school or on the bus. So today, have an open conversation about drug and alcohol use with your kids, let them know your personal values for your family and Live Inspired Now!

PS: Need support or advice on how best to speak with your kids? Please contact me today! The conversations your have today build the foundation for the choices kids make tomorrow.