substance abuse and child abuse

655 Words2 Pages

Did you know, that 6.6 million american children grow up in substance abusing households, or that over 1 million American children grow up being abused? People say that when they drink, or do drugs that it is their life and they can act how they want, do what they want, and live how they like, but they do not realize that their actions affect everyone around them. When alcohol and other drugs are in the body’s system, it cannot function regularly thinking becomes clouded, emotions are mixed up, and movements become sloppy. It is not a safe situation to involve yourself in, let alone any loved ones, such as children. Why do parents put their children in these types situations.
Out off all child abuse cases in the United States, nine out of ten have alcohol as a major factor. That means that if they look at one hundred cases, ninety of them will involve alcohol is some way, think off all the damage that alcoholism alone causes, think of the tragedy that could be avoided so easily, but yet nothing has been done and it continues to happen, every single day. Out of all the cases, two of five abusive parents are alcoholics. When parents are under the influence of substances, they are not fully in control of the situations and they act in ways they normally would not in an ordinary situation.
The most common types of child abuse are, physical, emotional, sexual, and neglected. Physical abuse is characterized by the hitting, scratching, kicking, biting, slapping, throwing etc. Emotional abuse is the act of putting down a child with hurtful words, calling them names, making them feel worthless in order to create pain for them. Sexual abuse is the act of forcing a child to take part in sexual activities for watching, touching, videos...

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...do it anonymously in order to protect yourself and family if you feel threatened. Do not involve yourself more than necessary, leave the interference to the officials, they know how to handle it the right way.
Child abuse is a very complex, and sensitive situation to be involved in, There are many different types and different reasons and when mixed with alcohol it can be very dangerous and even deadly. If five children die everyday from abuse and at least two of the deaths were due to a substance abusing parents, this problem could be shrunken with some extra effort and determination. It may never be solved completely but it could eventually become a rare event to hear about. If you know of a child in an abusive environment, tell someone, get them help, do something! You could be the difference of life and death for that child, do not just be a witness, be a hero.

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