The journey through addiction touches far more than one life. When a parent struggles with substance use disorder (SUD) or alcohol use disorder (AUD), children often bear the emotional, mental, and developmental fallout. While you may feel guilt or shame as you begin rebuilding family relationships, these emotions—though natural—can impede your healing. At Willingway, our program is designed to reinforce healthier family dynamics through personal recovery, intentional parenting, and supportive structures tailored for people healing from addiction.
Do Your Recovery Work First
Many people in recovery discover that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) played a key role in their paths to SUD or AUD. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than 60% of adults experienced at least one ACE before age 18, and nearly 20% endured four or more. These traumatic experiences—ranging from abuse to growing up with caregivers suffering from SUD, AUD, or mental health disorders—can leave deep neurological and emotional scars. Left unaddressed, ACEs impact lifelong stress regulation, emotional intelligence, and even physical health.
Understanding how your past shaped your disorder is empowering. By doing focused recovery work after medical rehabilitation, you not only safeguard your sobriety but also provide a healthier model for your children. Practices like attending addiction specialist checkups, peer-support meetings, and recovery-focused therapy demonstrate resilience and personal growth—critical lessons for children observing change.
Parenting Skills That Nourish Healing
Recovery and parenting intersect beautifully when intentional behaviors replace old patterns. Nemours Kids Health (NKH) highlights six evidence-based strategies to support healthier family relationships.
1. Have Honest Conversations
Age-appropriate, sincere discussions with your children allow you to own your past, apologize, and invite your children into the healing process. An open dialogue fosters emotional safety and encourages children to voice their feelings and concerns. If you’re not quite sure you have the right words yet, there are many helpful books that explain addiction to children.
2. Catch Your Kids Being Good
Positive reinforcement is powerful. According to Nemours Kids Health, praising specific behaviors—like patience with siblings or responsibility for chores—encourages repeat behaviors and builds self-esteem. Examples might include, “You were really patient when playing with your brother today,” or “I noticed you took out the trash without my asking—thank you for being so considerate.” Even simple words, hugs, or quality time can serve as strong motivators.
3. Make Family Time Important
Bonding doesn’t require abundance—it thrives on presence. Shared activities, whether cooking, reading, hiking, or crafting, create emotional closeness and memories that reinforce recovery and family unity.
4. Set Proper Boundaries
Boundaries aren’t just rules—they’re lessons in self-regulation and personal safety. Consistency in limits teaches children responsibility and provides clarity in expectations. This provides an essential foundation for trust in recovery as well as parenting.
5. Be a Role Model
When mistakes happen, admit them. When gratitude arises, show it. Living out what you continue to learn in recovery through empathy, kindness, and self-improvement translates into real-life lessons for your children.
6. Stay Open to Additional Education
Building parenting skills is lifelong, especially in recovery. Georgian families can access parenting education through various state-supported initiatives.
Parenting Programs in Recovery
The majority of us received more training on how to drive a car than on how to raise a child! Fortunately, throughout our state and nationwide, you have access to numerous programs focused on helping you build the strongest bonds with your children. Here are just a few.
Active Parenting
From its Marietta office, this organization’s mission is to “support and prepare families through ‘every stage, every step’ of their child’s development.” It offers both in-person and online parenting classes.
Here We Grow
This Atlanta-based program features mama circles, family music classes, and private/group parenting support online and in-person.
Parenting Advisor
You’ll find numerous online parenting classes here, from how best to co-parent to making military families stronger.
Simplicity Parenting
Order a free starter kit to receive practice guides, access to audio and visual training materials, and more.
The Family Nurturing Center of Georgia
A division of the national program, this organization is based in Snellville and hosts free community-based workshops and for-cost programs on a variety of topics, including substance abuse prevention.
UGA Extension—Parenting Education
University of Georgia’s FACS Extension offers free parenting workshops—covering teen communication, grandparenting, and child development. All sessions emphasize positive, research-backed practices for healthy family dynamics.
Let Our Willingway Family Help Yours
Nobody knows families like we do. Our recovery center was established in 1971 by husband and wife team Dr. John and Dot Mooney, a surgeon and a nurse, who didn’t just “talk the talk” of substance abuse treatment. They intimately understood how difficult it was to break free from addiction. Both of them had only recently become sober when they converted their home into a makeshift drug and alcohol treatment center.
From dedicated family therapy to continuing care community groups, you’ll discover many more ways to be a better parent in recovery during treatment and with dedicated aftercare at Willingway’s Georgia and Florida addiction rehabilitation locations. Our admissions team is ready to answer your questions now.