Article: Nick News Focuses On Kids of Alchoholics

          "Jerry Moe, National Director, Betty Ford Children’s Program, acknowledges it’s difficult for kids growing up in homes where there’s alcoholism because they never know what’s going to happen next. But he also says “kids can cope by having safe people that you can talk to about what’s going on at home. By learning problem solving skills, ways to stay safe.”  
          This special edition of Nick News will bring attention to a problem that approximately 11 million kids in the U.S. have been suffering with silently for too long. “Under the Influence: Kids of Alcoholics” tells the story of five kids who live with alcoholic parents and the challenges they face because of it.

           “It was like I was the mother,” says Kate, 12, from New Mexico. “I have lost some of my childhood…I know things some kids my age don’t know — like maybe should not know.” 

                      “I love my mom but she loves drinking more than me,” says Brittany, 15, from Mattituck, NY.  “I’ve tried to help my mom not to drink. I yelled and cried and begged her to stop. I have one tip.  If you want the alcoholic not to drink, don’t dump the alcohol down the drain. That’s just going to make them more angry.”

          Matthew, 10, from Westminster, CO said, “I would worry a lot about my dad,” he says.  “My grades were suffering because I couldn’t focus.” 

                     Although the program shows how sad and scary it can be for children living with alcoholism, it also delivers a message of hope. It lets kids know that they are not alone and that there are things they can do to stay safe and cope with the problem.
          The good news is that alcoholics can get better.  “I wondered, ‘What’s wrong with my dad?  Is he sick?” says Sam, 13, from Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Yes, his father was sick. He suffered from a disease called alcoholism, but agreed to go to rehab after an intervention. “My dad went into a alcoholism treatment program, and I saw this place, almost surreal like. It was a place that would take in broken people, and basically taught them skills so they wouldn’t drink anymore and would stay sober.  Not all the time it would work, but it worked for my dad and that’s all that matters to me.”"

A typical and beautiful recovery from an alcoholism treatment program!

Source: http://www.bettyfordcenter.org/

 

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