Chances are, you may know someone who is an alcoholic and a parent. According to a recent report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), as many as 7.5 million kids, or more than 1 in 10 children, are living with a parent who has an alcohol abuse disorder.
I found this statistic both startling and profoundly sad. The effects of parental alcoholism on children, which can range from fear of abandonment to difficulty with intimate relationships, can interfere with quality of life years into adulthood.
If you know a parent who is struggling with addiction to alcohol or any other substances, urge her to get help, both for her own sake as well as her child's.
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