by B. Ann Patterson

Created on: June 18, 2010   Last Updated: June 19, 2010

Alcoholic parents raise children who, as children and as adults, have many problems that they would not have had if their parents had never brought alcohol or stinking alcoholic breaths into their home. 

A drunk parent who falls all over the living room unable to stand in one place nor to speak a sensible sentence without slurring is a terrible parent who cannot be trusted to make decisions concerning the welfare of his or her children.  An alcoholic parent who is unable to maintain his or her normal and positive personality and actions is a bad parent.  When a parent is an active alcoholic, they are unable to provide adequately for their children either as a provider of a happy, comfortable home where the children can feel safe and well-cared for. 

Truly good people may become alcoholics.  Lots of bad people become alcoholics.  Regardless of whether a person is considered good or bad by their community, business associates, church leaders and any single person whom they know, if they abuse the drinking of alcohol, they are not good parents.  The parents who drink alone or with their "drinkin' buddies" may consider that they are good parents because they provide food, clothing and shelter for their children are just lying to themselves.  Their child, whether adolescent or toddler, is greatly affected negatively when their parents bring alcohol or alcoholic behavior into the home.

Research has shown that children of alcoholics often become alcoholics.  I know because my father was an alcoholic and so were two of my siblings during their short lives.  His was shorter, just 47.  Perhaps neither of them would have spent dollars and years allowing alcohol to damage their health or create unhappy moments and tears in their homes. 

Children of alcholics often have emotional trauma or depression as a lifelong illness and may be suicidal.  Some commit sucide when their depression is too overshadowing.  Some divorce often because they never learned in their home how a good marriage functions, especially when the angry alcoholic yells, hits and even kills or stayed too drunk to show how to solve family and relationship problems.  Some of them live in fear all of their lives because every day their parent arrived home there was chaos.  Some never marry for many reasons directly related to their alcholic parent and home.  A look at the problems encountered by psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and even primary physicians in their practices daily is a look at the myriad of problems caused when one or both parents are alcoholics.

It is impossible for the government or voters to demand an alcohol-free society as proven in America in the 1920's Prohibition.  And, it is just as impossible for children to demand an alcohol-free home.  If that were possible, every parent would be sober.  Just think, if the generation of children born this decade were raised by sober parents, the next generation of adults would be so amazing and, I think, wonderful things would happen for all humankind.  If only dreams of children really did come true.

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