Children of parents who abuse alcohol miss out on support

Research with children and young people, alcohol misusing parents and professionals working with them in three areas of England found that local services do not always work together effectively to measure and address the impact on children of parental alcohol misuse.

The report concludes that children will not get the help they need until there is a specific focus on the issue.

It calls on service providers to consistently share information across services and to develop joint approaches to commissioning.

It goes on to recommend that those working with adults should receive training to help them talk to parents who misuse alcohol about the impact their drinking may be having on their children.

In addition, all those working with children and families should be trained to assist parents in recognising the difficulties children may be experiencing so that they can get help.

Maggie Atkinson, children’s commissioner for England, said children have a right to be protected from the damage caused by parents’ alcohol misuse.

“Parents and carers must be made aware of the effects their problem drinking can have on children and young people, and health and social care services must get better at providing effective co-ordinated responses,” she added.

“Problem drinking is frighteningly common. It not only causes problems for the drinker but also, all those around them, including their children. The social and economic cost is immense.”

Joanna Manning, national lead on substance misuse for The Children’s Society, said children and young people are suffering the impact of their parents’ drinking for a long time before it comes to the notice of the authorities, if it ever does.

“Even then, the routes to help and the services available are ad hoc and vary across the country,” she said.

“Too many people are in denial about the scale of the problem and the level of harm caused.

“It’s also the case that local authorities tend to focus on young people’s own drinking without consideration that it might be learned or normalised behaviour from their parents.

“Equally, not enough is being done to address and support parents who drink, in order to reduce the impact upon children and families."

The report follows the publication of Silent Voices by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner in 2012, which reported that 30 per cent of children live with at least one parent who is a binge drinker and 22 per cent live with a hazardous drinker.

That report recommended that health and wellbeing boards and local safeguarding children boards work together closely to identify and support children in families where there is alcohol misuse.