No. No. And no again. Addiction is not something that one person can do to another. Even if your parent tells you that you are making them drink and use drugs, this is not the truth.

A person chooses to try drugs and alcohol and then chooses to keep using them. When a person becomes addicted to the alcohol or other drugs, then their brain changes and they need to use. Not because you misbehaved, or forgot to make your bed or do your homework. Not because you were fighting with your brother or sister, or because you slept late. They use the alcohol or other drugs because their brain now tells them that they won’t feel normal unless they drink or use drugs.

Sometimes, kids think that if they empty their parent’s bottles of alcohol or flush the drugs down the toilet, the parent will stop drinking or using. But the truth is, parents will just go out and get more. There is nothing you can do as a kid to make your parent stop drinking or using. Your parent needs to get help from someone whose job is to help people get better from addiction.

But even if you can’t control addiction, cure it, or cause it. You can learn to cope with it.