Caring for nephew who is drinking excessively
My nephew (17) is living with us because neither of his parents are able to care for him. They’re both into hard drugs and gang lifestyle. Generally he’s pretty good but lately he’s been coming home drunk/stoned from school or work.
I know that this is likely a form of self medication and also way to express his anger/sadness at the fact that neither of is parents can get it together, but I’m not sure how to deal with this in terms of discipline.
We have two children in the home, 2 and 4, and he’s not belligerent when he’s drinking, but it’s becoming obvious from his behavior and mine that something is up. I worry that if we discipline too harshly he will leave to live with either his parents which would be really detrimental to his mental and physical health.
How would you discipline something like this? I want him to know that we are here for him, but we aren’t a house where it is a free-for-all to do whatever he pleases.