AHS Views

Do you know a dad who needs alcohol or drug rehab? Help him, and help the kids.

I just read a study on the impact of fathers on their children. It’s not about drugs or drug addicts; it’s just about dads and their kids. For years we’ve been hearing that stepfathers aren’t as good as biological fathers, that fathers in the home are better than fathers out of the home, that single parent families can ruin kids, and so on and so on. But the truth of the matter is that none of that really matters: what’s important is the closeness of the relationship. Since I spend a fair amount of my time focused on drug addiction, it’s hard not to think about how many of those fathers are alcohol or drug abusers and what a huge difference it would make in a kid’s life to have his father complete a successful drug rehab program.

How does the relationship with dad affect the child? It affects their school performance and academic achievement, whether or not they become juvenile delinquents, their general behavior, and even their health. Just being there is not enough. A father has to be involved in his children’s lives, and the closer they are, the better the child will do. If a father has all his attention on where the next hit’s coming from, you can be pretty sure he’s not also forming a close relationship with his kids. If you know one of those dads, get them into drug rehab. It will help him, and could be a major factor in the health, happiness, well-being and future of his children.