Ah the trap they set by making it seem like you are the one not capable of taking care of your kids. My ex used to use that one, all the time. Guess who gets her three kids 24/7? The courts just don't want to hear about it. Actually, it's a flag for them upon hearing it. (I read this book on the role of courts and battered women one summer).

Is this a phase? Probably not.

Saying they love their kids doesn't make them "good dads". Especially not while they are pounding the bottle. How "present in the moment" can he possibly be?

How do you think, as they grow older", your kids will feel if daddy cannot spend one moment with them sober?