Parenting Disasters: When A Parent's Addiction Affects The Child

Substance abuse can have a negative impact on an individual, but the damage is even bigger when there is a child in the house. Children of all ages tend to suffer when one of their parents are addicted to alcohol or drugs -- their parent's psychological or emotional absence during that difficult time could add to their confusion, worry, sadness, or anger. When parents abuse drugs, their children can get hurt.

According to NWI Times, people with substance abuse problems tend to forget to take care of their own children, and if there is nobody there to help out, the little tykes may be neglected. There could be nobody there to teach them basic skills like brushing their teeth or tying their shoelaces. There would be no one to help feed them, do their laundry, or help them with homework.

Drug abuse can also severely damage the family's budget as one or both parents will be unable to work nor earn, leading to more problems that could only be bad for the kids such as lack of heat, food, electricity, or even a home.

Of course, older children could probably learn to take care of themselves, their siblings, and even their drug-addled parent. Phoenix House even noted that others will take the situation in their hands, but they may have an excessive need to be in control or even get aggressive if they feel the situation warrants it.

Kids can and will learn to survive as best as they can. However, the short of it is that when children grow up with problematic parents, they will not lead the most normal lives. Many, if not most of them will grow to distrust authority figures as they learn to expect disappointment from adults.

These problems could lead to these children having substance abuse problems of their own when they grow up. This cycle will go on and on until someone puts a stop on it. Therefore, if you, or someone you know who is suffering from substance abuse is parent or guardian of a child, seek treatment and get help.