The Hard Part

The hardest part of helping your child is letting them fail. As parents we tend to want to help our children sometimes to the point of enabling them. It is our role as their parent to be their advocate, so how can we really let them fail?

Genuinely concerned parents refusing to support their drug addicted child financially until he or she enters drug rehab would be said to be practicing tough love. It is this tough love which is often coupled with watching your child hit rock bottom. Your child's behaviors are not going to change until he or she decides for them to. So backing them into a corner is not always going to guarantee success. But letting your child know that you are not going to be a participant in their drug use or abuse will begin with the parent having to pull away from the child's poor behaviors.

I believe it was Einstein who is credited with saying

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”