Children see their parents as their pillar of support in this world, as they are the first people they know after birth. The child’s brain is so fragile and young that it can’t bear any false influence around them especially coming from their parents, eventually leading to childhood trauma. Having to live with an alcoholic parent can be hard for the child’s mental health to put up with. It changes the way they grow up to be a person and how they act and react to situations in life. This is such a nourishing time for them and the kind of environment they live in at this young age plays an important part in their future.
When a person is under the excessive influence of alcohol daily, they tend to behave in an abusive manner. Daily and excessive consumption of alcohol may lead them to be abusive as their actions at that moment are not completely under their control. When a child has to deal with an alcoholic parent they commonly tend to be embarrassed and frustrated about their behavior. They might be hiding a lot of emotions just because they may be scared to upset their parent while they are under the influence. This leads the child to develop trust issues and being restless as they are always so worried about their parent being unpredictable because of their use of alcohol.
One of the hardest tolls that this behavior takes is that the child then might feel the need to step up and take on the adult tasks. Then somewhere down the line the child losses their childhood because they had to be an adult before they were even ready.
Now if we talk about how they can cope with an alcoholic parent might not be the most effective as their life is being affected because of someone else’s mistakes. So, if you do see anyone going through such an experience the first thing that needs to be done is to let them know it is okay to reach out and seek help. Talking to an adult they trust about their problem will shed some light on the confusion they have. It is very important to remind these children that it is not and never will be their fault that they had to deal with something so traumatic at such a young age. As they will start accepting that they are not at fault and start sharing and accepting their own emotions, they will start feeling much better about a lot of things.
Help the child find a support group where he/she can meet people who have been or are going through the same situations. Talking to people who are experiencing the same unfortunate thing can help them to cope with it in a better manner. Then finally the most important thing to make them aware of is to stop the cycle. Children are so young and easy to influence that they will be at high risk of following the same path as their parents, be it good or bad. Help them build good habits which will lead them to a mentally and physically healthier lifestyle and of course they can always seek help through therapy. These are a few ways that can help a child to cope with an alcoholic parent.
