If you’re wondering how you can get your adult child’s father more involved, you may find some important clues here.
Five Dads come together for a fascinating chat about the work they’re doing around their children’s substance use/recovery. What’s different between how Moms and Dads approach the work? They suggest that the love felt for their Loved One is equal, but the interactions are quite different. James, a father of four, points out that Dads are often focused on detaching from their young adult sons, in order to let them become more independent—and this can also be exacerbated by the contrast of Moms being more involved.
Dads and Moms might have completely different approaches to parenting their addicted adult children, but this is OK. Learning the CRAFT method and the Allies in Recovery toolkit has given parents common language and references that facilitate their own communications and dynamics around their approaches with their Loved Ones. The more we stay curious, interested and non-judgmental, the more power we have to positively impact the situation. These fathers lay it all out for us and help us to better understand their internal journeys.