Alcoholic parents concern
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PARENTS’ alcohol abuse is damaging the lives of an estimated 1,400 children in Halton according to new research by a charity.
The Children’s Society claims 80,000 teenagers across the North West are affected by the issue.
The charity based regional numbers on the national proportion of 10 to 17-year-olds whose parent abuses alcohol, which is 12.4%, and then mapped it across Office For National Statistics area population figures for a breakdown of different local authorities.
It estimates that 1,400 children in Widnes and Runcorn in the age bracket have parents who abuse alcohol.
A charity spokeswoman said the evidence reveals the seriousness and complexity of the problems facing millions of the UK’s teenagers.
Figures from the charity also show that more than 1.6m teenagers have a parent with depression or anxiety and 1.7m are living in homes struggling with problem debt in the UK.
The Children’s Society chief executive Matthew Reed said: “Millions of teenagers in the UK are suffering in silence with problems that would floor an adult.
“The hundreds of thousands of children whose parent has a drinking problem are sadly just the tip of the iceberg of children in desperate need of support.
“At a time when demand for council children’s services is rising, severe funding cuts from central government are leaving more and more to deal with these huge problems alone.
“Specialist services working with families to combat problem drinking, support for teenagers whose parent has mental ill health, or safe spaces for them to go when pressures at home mount, are becoming ever harder to find.
“Without support at an early stage as problems emerge, these families can quickly reach crisis point and the risks for the children involved grow.”
The Children’s Society is arguing that services are crucial to make sure children in families affected by alcohol misuse are identified and that they are kept safe and well, but as cuts to children’s services bite, the early intervention services that could identify struggling young people and provide targeted support have shrunk across the UK.
The Children’s Society is calling on the Government to urgently address the £2bn funding gap for council children’s services.
The charity also warns the pressures on teenagers from homes where alcohol or drugs are being misused, can lead to them developing mental health problems, running away from home or being excluded from school.
One teenage girl whose father was abusing alcohol told the charity: “After living with my dad for about six months, I started really, really lashing out.
“I was getting really angry. And all the built up anger had just sort of exploded. And I started doing horrible things.
“I turned into somebody else for a while. I can’t say I blamed my dad for it, but he’s the reason behind it.”