Hello. My son as a gambling habit. He just come home from putting about £250 in machines in bookies.
Not much you can do I'm sad to say.
How does he feel about his gambling?
Can you get to a GAM anon meeting? Lots of parents at ours these days. Maybe speaking face to face, or on the phone to tge gamcare helpline is easier?
Hi angie
I am a recovering CG.
As Pangolin has said, there is not an awful lot you can do. A gambler will only stop gambling if he wants to. If he is approachable, you could have a heart to heart with him. However when I was at my ganbling worst, any suggestion that I needed help would have got a pretty bad response from me, so be wary.
You haven't said how often your son gambles, or whether it is just every now and then? If he is in the early stages, he may be more approachable, but at the same time will probably not believe that he may have a problem. Most CGs minimise their gambling habit. This makes it more palatable to them.
Read some of the threads on this forum so that you are more informed about the possible results of his continued gambling. AS Pangolin has suggested, Gamanon and/or counselling are 2 good options for you. There is plenty of support available for you. Don't be afraid to ask for it.
Take care
Hi Angie,
Thanks for your post, and welcome to the forum. Maybe you could share a bit more about how this is affecting you, however? The more info you can provide, the more the other forum members will be able to help and support you. Does your son live at home, for example? Does he ask you for money to help bail him out of financial situations? Does he acknowledge there's even a problem with his gambling? What kind of impact does this have on your household?
There might not be a lot you can do to control the situation here, but we might be able to suggest some things for you to look at if you wanted to chat with us, either on the Helpline (0808 8020 133) or the Netline. We'd be happy to help, and we're open from 8am to midnight every day. It sounds fairly stressful for you, and I'm glad you're reaching out for support.
Let us know if there's anything else we can do,
Travis
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