The Effects of Alcohol on Children and Teenagers

            THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOLISM ON CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS.
             The National Association for Children of Alcoholics reports there are more than 11 million children under the age of 18 growing up with an alcoholic parent in the United States ("Children of Alcoholism: Important facts"). The association states that almost one in every five adult Americans lived with an alcoholic while growing up ("Children of Alcoholism: Important facts"). Living with an alcoholic is a very dangerous and an emotionally stressful experience. Effects of growing up in an alcoholic in the family can include exposure to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome for a baby that is exposed to alcoholism in the womb, hyperactivity, low self esteem, child abuse and many others. Teenagers who are children of alcoholics are emotionally neglected and may start drinking earlier than their peers. Adults who have survived living with an alcoholic family often have trouble functioning in relationships.
             In the 1970's, researchers and other professionals began to look deeply into the impact of parental alcoholism on children (Jacob and Seilhamer 168). This began to open America's eyes to the dangers of being a child of an alcoholic. Although research on this issue has relatively just started, concern for these unfortunate children has been documented as far back to the time of Aristotle (Jacob and Seilhamer 168). The gin epidemic in England during the 1700's sparked concern due to high infant morbidity and mortality rates (Jacob and Seilhamer 168). Problems associated with being the child of an alcoholic regained national attention in the past 25 years with the formation of such groups as the National Association for Children of Alcoholics, and programs for treatment and prevention such as Al-Ateen (Jacob and Seilhamer 168). The amount of time, attention and studying that is given to try to help and understand children of alcoholics indicates how severe the problem truly is.