How Growing Up With Alcoholic Parents Effects Children

An alcoholic mother can impact a child’s emotional, psychological, and physical health. The child might experience neglect, lack of emotional support, and inconsistent care. This can lead to attachment issues, anxiety, depression, and difficulty forming healthy relationships. An alcohol use disorder (AUD) affects not only the user but can also affect the people in the user’s life. Addiction greatly affects the family unit, with spouses, siblings, parents, and children also experiencing the consequences of an AUD.

How Does Growing Up With an Alcoholic Father Affect Children’s Social and Emotional Development?

• This parenting style is characterized by emotional connection and support as well as a hands-off approach to discipline and guidance.
• Children raised in households with alcohol abuse often develop coping mechanisms to deal with the emotional turmoil.
• The style most experts advocate for is authoritative parenting, which involves a supportive, engaged approach to child rearing.
• When we had our first Christmas with the family, that was the first time I saw him drink too much and get obnoxiously angry with me for no reason.
• While uninvolved parents might address the child’s basic needs, they may also fail to provide parental guidance.
• These mental health issues can severely affect an individual’s quality of life and ability to function effectively in society.

These groups are based on the 12-step model and work with family members and loved ones of alcoholics. The lack of trust and insecurity that come with growing up in this environment can lead to sadness, a sense of worthlessness, and an inability to cope with everyday life. This is likely due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors, such as the tendency to normalize heavy drinking and being in an environment where substance use is seen as acceptable.

Adult Children Of Alcoholics

However, other adults who live with or are close to the person with the alcohol issue can help encourage the parent to seek rehab treatment. The first step in healing is recognizing that your childhood was difficult and that it has impacted you. Many adult children of alcoholics downplay or dismiss their experiences, telling themselves that “it wasn’t that bad.” Allow yourself to acknowledge the pain effects of having an alcoholic parent you went through without minimizing it.

Academic and Cognitive Effects of Parents with AUDs

Unfortunately, these children often end up having trouble setting healthy boundaries in relationships and can end up struggling with issues of codependence for years to come. Behavioral problems in school — such as lying, stealing and fighting — are common, and children from alcoholic households tend to be more impulsive than other kids. Children with alcoholic parents tend to have poorer language and reasoning skills than other children, according to the National Association of Children of Alcoholics. The four parenting styles include authoritative, permissive, authoritarian, and uninvolved parents. Parents who engage in the authoritarian style are often inflexible, developing strict rules that are rigidly enforced. Open communication may not be encouraged when the authoritarian parenting style is being utilized.

Exploring the uninvolved parenting style

If you're the child of a parent who has or had an alcohol use disorder or other substance use problems, seek out support, especially if you suspect it's causing issues for you. Therapists and other mental health professionals with experience dealing with addiction can help. There are several different signs and symptoms of PTSD and trauma exhibited by adult children of alcoholics.

Help and Support for Your Family

There is also an increased risk of developing a range of physical health problems, including higher rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even certain types of cancer. People who have an alcohol dependency may also develop a tolerance to the effects of alcohol, leading to increased use of the substance and an inability to stop drinking even when it is causing them harm. If the adult is short-tempered, aggressive or even violent, this can influence how their children handle situations outside of the home. This may lead to shouting or lashing out inappropriately as they get older, affecting their relationships as adults. At the most severe end of the spectrum, fetal alcohol syndrome can include a constellation of physical defects and symptoms and behavioral issues. Children with FAS often have small heads and distinctive facial features, including a thin upper lip, small eyes and a short, upturned nose.

Taking care of or rescuing others even when it hurts you

• They show up as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, stress, anger, and relationship problems.
• Having an alcoholic parent increases a child’s risk of being physically, sexually or emotionally abused, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Adverse Childhood Experiences study.
• In some cases, parents who struggle with alcohol use may also be physically, mentally, or emotionally  abusive, and children may grow up not knowing what a harmonious and safe household looks like.

They’re also more likely to be truant, get suspended and drop out of school. If you are looking to help an alcoholic parent or for treatment for your own struggles with alcohol addiction, contact a treatment provider today. They can answer your rehab-related questions and explore the many rehab options available.