by Victoria Tiegert

Created on: November 10, 2010

There are some families who have to go through the difficult and heart-breaking, yet hopeful, process of admitting one of their own to an inpatient drug rehab facility. The fact alone that you have a loved one who is an addict is hard, but it is even more difficult when you have younger children in your home. These little ones are affected not only by the addiction, but also by the process of the addict who goes to drug rehabilitation.

If you have a family member who lives in your home and needs to go into drug rehabilitation, your whole family will feel the absence of their brother, sister, mother, or father. It is certainly not as if the younger child in the home won't notice that a member hasn't been seen or heard from for days or weeks on end. There is going to need to be an explanation given for the absence of the family member and you are going to need to go about it gently, but honestly. There is no good that is going to come from a lie, such as telling the child that the family member is on vacation. The truth will come out at some point and all you will be is a liar. In addition, it will still have to be explained, so it is better to just do it now.

Depending on the age of the child and how much they have already seen and heard, they may or may not know that there is a drug addict in the family. If they don't, you may need to start with an explanation of that in and of itself. A good example for kids to understand is something like cotton candy. They really like it, so they keep eating it, even though it's not good for them and sometimes they eat so much that they actually get sick. But, the next time they get the chance, they eat it again. This is a good way for a child to understand drug abuse and addiction.

When you are explaining that a family member has entered drug rehabilitation, you need not go into too much detail. Explain simply that this is similar to going to the doctor for a sickness, so that you can get well and learn how to not get sick again. That is why it takes longer than a regular doctor's appointment, due to the need to learn how to stay well. Keep your conversation as positive as possible, so that the child understands that this is a good thing, not a bad one. If the child has questions, answer them as well as you can in an age-appropriate way. Drug rehab is not something that children should have to learn about, but sometimes, they do have to. If that time comes in your family, count your blessings that your loved one is getting help and you help these young ones understand in the best way that you can.

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