Ep349 – Emotional Safety and Raising Kids

Ep349 – Emotional Safety and Raising Kids

Curious about how others manage the emotional fallout of addiction while raising kids? This conversation on the Untoxicated Podcast follows Matt and Sheri Salis as they talk frankly about breaking generational patterns, emotional safety, and parenting after years of alcoholism and emotional abuse.

Between jokes about cats, Hawaiian shirts, and “taco corn,” you’ll hear an honest breakdown of what happens when a dad once believed his job was to “toughen up” his kids – and how that belief is being torn down. Matt shares a key distinction: “Sobriety is when you stop drinking.

Recovery is when you start doing the work that makes it so you don’t want to drink anymore.” From there, he explains how the real growth came after early recovery, when he realised that home has to be 100% emotionally safe – no yelling, no teasing at the kids’ expense, no using “because I said so” as a shortcut.

Sheri brings in her experience as a preschool teacher, showing how allowing kids to ask “why” and offering choices can build autonomy instead of fear. Together they admit the harm their old patterns caused: children who hide their lives, fear criticism, and tie their worth to achievements. They also talk about the awkward but vital work of giving their now-young-adult kids space to express resentment, even if that means hearing some very hard truths.

For parents in or after recovery, partners of drinkers, and anyone trying to “be the cycle breaker” in their family, this episode gives a very human look at how messy that process can be – and how much hope there is in small, daily changes. It might leave you wondering: what would 100% emotional safety look like in your own home?