Subscribe to our newsletter. A lcoholism is a disease that affects every member of the family, to the extent that the kids who make it into the Alateen rooms report they generally have more problems dealing with the non-drinking parent than they do the alcoholic. True, but he's also predictable.
Kids can read the alcoholic like a book.
They know exactly when it's the right time to ask for extra money, or to go somewhere with their friends, and also know when it's time to make themselves scarce and get out of the way. They know the routine as far as the alcoholic is concerned. But they never know where the bedraggled non-drinking parent is coming from next. Because it crept up on her slowly. A few years back, there was a story going around the 12-step rooms about a frog in the water.