Children of Alcoholics Coping

As we all know, growing up in a home with a parent who is an alcoholic or drug addict or who abuses a substance is one of the ACEs that deeply affects a child's future.

Nick News aired this video, "Under the Influence: Kids of Alcoholics: Coping," hyperlinked below. It's just under 2 minutes long and powerfully demonstrates what it is like for kids who live with an alcoholic. I believe it also helps us better understand why we need to talk about secondhand drinking (the impacts shown in this video) as part of our alcohol awareness, education and intervention programs. Children need to know how to cope when this is happening to them.

And we need to help adults, children and society understand that these kinds of secondhand drinking impacts occur with alcohol abuse, as well. A person does not have to be an alcoholic to cause them. Drinking more than the brain and body can process is what causes the types of behaviors described in this video clip - the behaviors that leave children confused, scared, secretive, worried and covering for their parent's drinking behaviors. I not understood for what it is, secondhand drinking can cause a child to develop unhealthy coping skills - sometimes even developing a substance abuse problem, themselves.