Six weeks ago my daughter got evicted with 2 days notice because her husband had been gambling for 7 years (unknown to here) and not paying the rent. She was giving him most of her wages too.Â
Shes now in emergency accommodation with her son. Â
Her husband is still lying to the son. He went to GA for a couple of weeks. He got gamcare but said his fb adverts were for games that got round it.Â
How do you tell a 7 year old his dads a gambling addict?Â
I suggested comparing it to the online games he plays that always ask for money to get lives of diamonds. Â
That daddy spent all his money and all mummy's money on the games because he didnt know when to stop.Â
He knows daddy didn't pay the rent, that's why they had to leave their home.
He knows mummy cant trust him to look after them, that's why they're apart.Â
Any advice would be welcome.Â
His dads lies continue daily, including telling him he'll be moving in when they get a house and that hes going on holiday with them.Â
Thankyou for any insights. Â
Hi NannyLady,Â
I'm sorry to hear about what has happened with your daughter and grandson. It sounds like a tough time for all of you and I can understand it must be a confusing time for a child and there must be a lot of change for them to deal with.Â
Organisations such as Childline and Family Lives may be able to support you with how to approach this topic with a young child.Â
I'd suggest reaching out for support with an adviser on our helpline to discuss things in more depth and if your daughter would like some more support in how to cope with this moving forward it might be a good idea to pass on our details to her. We can offer referrals for one to one support for you both. You can contact the helpline through our live chat through our website or by calling on 0808 8020 133.Â
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Best wishes,Â
Amy
Forum Admin
@forum-admin Thankyou Amy for your reply.
Daughter is getting group and 1 on 1 counselling. Grandsons school have been helpful in many ways, including age appropriate ways of telling him why they're not living with daddy anymore. 'Because he didn't take care of us properly '.
But shes worried after reading that a gamblers child is likely to end up with the same addiction if they dont understand the consequences of what they're parent has done. Theres counselling for gamblers, their partners but there doesn't seem to be any for children.Â
Thankyou again, I'll send her the website. Shes just a bit overwhelmed with everything shes dealing with at the moment. Â
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