It's difficult when someone you know or love suffers with addiction, but it's a reality many kids are confronted with and need help understanding. This book was made to help explain what addiction is and help all readers cope with and validate the many feelings that come when experiencing someone's addiction.

• Has drug or alcohol abuse in your family caused your child to become withdrawn or to act out? • Is addiction in a family member contributing to upset and stress in your child? • Do you want to help your child understand the problem and communicate about his/her feelings? • Do you want to help your child develop healthier coping strategies? I Can Be Me is a helping book for professionals and parents who want to help children of alcoholic parents. Written for children ages 4 to 12, it can be read by a child alone or worked through with a caring adult. Simple line drawings and text speak to children in a language they understand and are based on the real experiences of children with addicted parents. Written from the perspective of children whose parents are addicted to alcohol and various other drugs, this book helps children take off the masks that hide their true feelings and educates them about alcohol or drug abuse in the family. Entertaining drawings and simple text make this book easy to understand and invite children to add their own thoughts and feelings. Children often feel alone in homes where alcoholism or drug abuse is present. I Can Be Me helps children understand more about addiction and realize that they are not to blame for their parents’ problems. Through a series of creative exercises and activities children learn about healthy coping strategies and that they are not alone. Eight separate units make this book an ideal companion to counseling or support group sessions. Parents or counselors can also use a single section to address the unique concerns of an individual child.

“The Addiction Inoculation is a vital look into best practices parenting. Writing as a teacher, a mother, and, as it happens, a recovering alcoholic, Lahey's stance is so compassionate, her advice so smart, any and all parents will benefit from her hard-won wisdom.” —Peggy Orenstein, author of Girls & Sex and Boys & Sex In this supportive, life-saving resource, the New York Times bestselling author of The Gift of Failure helps parents and educators understand the roots of substance abuse and identify who is most at risk for addiction, and offers practical steps for prevention. Jessica Lahey was born into a family with a long history of alcoholism and drug abuse. Despite her desire to thwart her genetic legacy, she became an alcoholic and didn’t find her way out until her early forties. Jessica has worked as a teacher in substance abuse programs for teens, and was determined to inoculate her two adolescent sons against their most dangerous inheritance. All children, regardless of their genetics, are at some risk for substance abuse. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, teen drug addiction is the nation’s largest preventable and costly health problem. Despite the existence of proven preventive strategies, nine out of ten adults with substance use disorder report they began drinking and taking drugs before age eighteen. The Addiction Inoculation is a comprehensive resource parents and educators can use to prevent substance abuse in children. Based on research in child welfare, psychology, substance abuse, and developmental neuroscience, this essential guide provides evidence-based strategies and practical tools adults need to understand, support, and educate resilient, addiction-resistant children. The guidelines are age-appropriate and actionable—from navigating a child’s risk for addiction, to interpreting signs of early abuse, to advice for broaching difficult conversations with children. The Addiction Inoculation is an empathetic, accessible resource for anyone who plays a vital role in children’s lives—parents, teachers, coaches, or pediatricians—to help them raise kids who will grow up healthy, happy, and addiction-free.

Offers an effective if unorthodox approach designed to help parents take aim at the problem of addiction by explaining how to impart the fundamental skills and values that will protect youngsters and keep experimentation from turning into a more dangerous dependency.

Critters Cry Too is a fully illustrated (32 page) picture book that explains addiction and feelings associated with this disease in a way that children can easily understand. K-5 This book is a wonderfully created resource that engages children with illustration and humor in order to explain a difficult topic that so many children are faced with. The author tackles difficult feelings and answers questions that would surely arise in a young person's mind who loves someone who is addicted: Is this my fault? Why does _______ act like this? Does ______ love me? The story encourages children to open up and discuss feelings, as the main character finds this is the only way to stop from being 'madsad'. Very creative and inspirational material, ideal for those working closely with children in this situation.Children's/Emotions/Addiction K-5 Book Description: Critters didn't need much to be happy, a good game of critterball and doing what they loved to do most, talking to each other, was usually enough. But when Whateveritwas (what Critters called cookies) came, all of that changed.Some Critters stopped talking, stopped playing and stopped being themselves. All they wanted was more Whateveritwas. With a broken heart, Calvin had to do something but there wasn't much of anything he could do. Following good advice from an obnoxious insect friend and having a loved one to talk to, Calvin learns how to find himself even while some of the Critters he loves were still lost. Topics Covered: Drug and Alcohol Addiction Understanding irrational/selfish behavior Discussing feelings and the 'Elephant in the Room' Loving someone who is chemically dependant Feeling alone and ashamed Inspires hope and promotes confidence

"In Glow Kids, Dr. Nicholas Kardaras will examine how technology-- more specifically, age-inappropriate screen tech, with all of its glowing ubiquity-- has profoundly affected the brains of an entire generation. Brain imaging research is showing that stimulating glowing screens are as dopaminergic (dopamine activating) to the brain's pleasure center as sex. And a growing mountain of clinical research correlates screen tech with disorders like ADHD, addiction, anxiety, depression, increased aggression, and even psychosis. Most shocking of all, recent brain imaging studies conclusively show that excessive screen exposure can neurologically damage a young person's developing brain in the same way that cocaine addiction can"--

This collection of ten true stories is based on interviews with people who, in their youth, lived with an addicted parent or sibling. The subjects speak honestly about what it was like to grow up with a family member addicted to alcohol, drugs, food, pills, or gambling. While describing how they managed to cope, interviewees explore the full range of situations and emotions they experienced —from denial, anger, and confusion to acceptance and forgiveness. Their maturity, sensitivity, and even their sense of humor will give teens going through similar situations the important realization that there are many ways to break free from the chains of others’ addictions.