'1 in 8 kids live with binge drinker or drug user'

[Conan Troutman]

The Australian - 21/05/2007 '1 in 8 kids live with binge drinker or drug user'

1 in 8 kids live with binge drinker or drug user

By Stephen Lunn

May 21, 2007 08:10am

230,000 kids under 12 live with binge drinker

More than 50,000 kids live with illicit drug user

These kids most likely to be drug users

ONE in eight Australian children lives with a problem drinker or drug user, a new report says, and a steep rise in the use of "ice" will only add to the misery in their homes.

The report, "Drug use in the family: impacts and implications for children", found more than 230,000 of the nation's children aged 12 and under were living in a household where they were at risk of exposure to a binge drinker.

More than 40,000 children live in a house where an adult uses cannabis daily, and more than 14,000 live in a household withan adult using ice, or crystal methamphetamine, monthly, warns the report, to be released today by the Australian National Council on Drugs.

"Given the most recent statistics show that there are 70,000 regular ice users in Australia, I think that final figure would be very conservative," clinical psychologist Sharon Dawe, the report's lead author, told The Australian.

Parents' drug and alcohol problems don't happen in a vacuum, the report found, with poverty, mental illness, criminal behaviour and a history of being abused and neglected often running alongside substance abuse.

The consequences for many of the children are appalling.

"These children are most likely to be the next generation of drug users, juvenile delinquents and people with mental illness," said public health expert Margaret Hamilton from Melbourne University.

"Some of them will be subject to neglect right through to physical, emotional and sexual abuse. But probably the most profound impact on the largest number of these children is that their parents just aren't able to fulfil their roles as parents.

"The parents are not emotionally available to them, preoccupied as they are with their own drug seeking and drug use."

Professor Hamilton said it was important to remember that not all drug users were bad parents, "but it certainly makes it a lot tougher to be a good parent".

Australian National Council on Drugs chairman John Herron said the number of children potentially in harm's way was "enormously concerning".

"It's clear from this report that alcohol misuse is a major problem in Australian families," Dr Herron said.

"All children have the right to grow up and develop in a positive, safe and supportive environment."

But Dr Herron warned against the report being used to punish parents who had drug or alcohol problems.

"The ANCD wants to use this report to help governments and the non-government sector establish a system that will encourage parents to seek treatment," he said.

Professor Dawe said the report made the critical finding that substance abuse occurred in families with complex circumstances, experiencing a lot of problems.

"Any solution that is going to really improve the outcome for children will require an intensive, long-term approach that is focused on all levels of family life," she said.

"There are not enough programs, and not enough money for the kind of programs that work.

"Ideally, social workers should have case loads of six or seven families, but many have between 40 and 60 cases.

"Of course the cost of increasing programs would be huge, but it would save so much down the track in welfare services, jails, mental health facilities, and so on."

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21764013-2,00.html

[paradox]

i would believe that a large percentage of the "drug users" would be cannabis smokers.

statistics are stupid.

[Conan Troutman]

i would believe that a large percentage of the "drug users" would be cannabis smokers.

statistics are stupid.

"you can use stats to prove anything 65% of people know that.."

[Ace]

'And it's a well known fact that forfty percent of statistics are made up on the spot, Kent'

[Vertmorpheus]

Eh, in itself its not too scary ... its what KIND of drugs, drug users, behavoural aspects and whatnot these kids are exposed to... say mum n dad are well off upper middle class intellectual types, and have the odd after dinner smoke... what if yeah, the olds are "binge drinkers" (which I hear is having more than 4 drinks in one "session", which makes just about ALL drinkers binge drinkers anyway)... but have those half a dozen drinks whilst unwinding after the sprouts are all tucked into bed and they're reading a good book, sitting out the front watching the world go by... I can't see an upside to living with speedfreaks though, but then the rest of the substances in that list dont tend to have their own definite psychosis...even quite nice and good people can be just pure evil on meth...tried it once, never again... hated everything, had no time for anything, and was convinced id burnt out the part of my brain devoted to reading... scary stuff. never again. But to just say "x amount of kids live with stoners" is just a bit silly...for starters, I reckon those numbers would be on the low side (plenty of lifelong stick a day types with zero contact with the CJ system, so tehyre off thebooks), and IME growing up around here, the kids who's oldies had the odd toke were probably LESS likely to be out drinking themselves into a toxic state on the lemon ruskis and discount smirnoff, less likely to be buying buds from scum, or selling them themselves (too much familial heat), most of em in fact have ended up well balanced, employed, productive members of society, with a couple of happy kids and a bunch of credit card bills like "normal" people. And some of em STILL do it once a day. Or more. because they saw early on that "drugs" can be part of a fairly wholesome situation, they are a problem when people define themselves by their actions but thats about it. Some of these people find that they are basically hard to live with if they aren't whacked half the time, in which case maybe we should be seeing nasty stats on how many children are living with adults taking antidepressants, antipsychotics, sedative hypnotics, painkillers... oh, but they're a bit fucked up if they're straight... bummer! Can't take nuffink, yhear!

I'd rather my children go spend the afternoon at a mate of their's place where I know the old man of the clan smokes up but is a decent person to boot, rather than spend the same time with some straightlaced but ultimately warped individual. The exception to that would be meth or smack use, or if I knew they were into smoking it or ciggies around the kids, in the house with the kids home, driving around blasted or whatever. Not goin over there if I reckon he'd be scarfing fungus then driving the girls to the movies or anything. BUt ya know what I mean. Can't just rule people in or out as good or bad people on the basis of whats in their bloodstream, not that easily anyway. There are some simply awful people that are straight as hell all the time... they don't want to miss anything. or they're high on their own bullshit and pomp.

Yep, drugs have fucked some people up in the head... what's the rest of the world's excuse? The biggest practical risk , at least with alcohol and cannabis, is that amount of cash it can tie up... in which case the problem is the oldies lack of management rather than the drugs themselves... risk issues like smoking in bed, driving pissed, all that... once again, dont be a dickhead, get your life in order... and that the law might just come and take mummy and daddy away and get your kids raised by some systematically abusive "caregiver" that gets a check from johnny to belt kids around, or worse.

don't sell drugs to kids, they might tangle with their dex/ritalin/prozac/temazepam/food additives/ mikky d's

GD