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Drug Addiction and Children

Drug addiction and children are a heartbreaking combination, and the children who live in a home with substance abuse will often need as much counseling and help as the addict.

Prenatal Exposure

Infants exposed to drugs in the womb have difficulty establishing a sleeping pattern sometimes throughout their entire first year. These infants are also extremely irritable and sensitive both to light and sounds.

It makes for a stressful situation for both infant and parents, which in turn can lead to abuse. According to a report by the National Association for Children of Alcoholics, children exposed prenatally to illegal drugs are 2-3 times more likely to be abused or neglected.

Drug Addiction and Children
at Risk for Addiction

While environmental factors such as peer pressure do have an influence on whether these children themselves become addicted, another important factor is genetics. Even adopted children who came from addicted biological parents are more likely to become drug addicts themselves despite being raised in a home where drugs are not abused.

If parents abuse, the risks of their children becoming addicts runs even stronger. A child who thinks his parents won’t care if he abuses is far more likely to try illicit drugs and become addicted.

Lost Childhood

Where there is addiction, there is usually denial. Our kids see and understand a lot more than we give them credit for, yet because of the denial, they are unable to talk about the stress they are feeling in the home.

Plus, the addicted parent will blame everyone and everything for his problems, except the addiction. The addict is unstable and unpredictable and has a Jekyll and Hyde personality, and his or her children will suffer emotional abuse as well as physical.

For the drug addict, the only thing that matters is the drug. Everything else is shoved aside, including parental responsibilities such as cleaning, cooking and caring for small children. The older children of these addicts often have to take on these responsibilities and lose their own childhoods as a result.

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