The problem of child alcoholism is very acute throughout the territory of the post-Soviet space. Quite a long time, the authorities are trying to combat it in every possible way. Prohibit the sale of alcohol at night, restrict advertising, impose a ban on drinking alcohol in public places. All these measures only slightly smoothen the corners, not solving the essence of the problem. Today, children, in an effort to imitate adults and be like them, are drawn to the bottle from the age of 10-12. While earlier, alcohol began to interest young people, since the student years.
Causes of child alcoholism
Teenagers seem to have picked up a glass of something hot in their hands, they look older, more solidly and favorably stand out among their peers. They are not yet able to prioritize and choose "right" friends. Therefore very often they get into bad companies.
A child who takes a bottle in his hands can be controlled by the desire to escape from problems, to forget himself. Emotions in adolescents play a very large role. Remember yourself at this age. How many worries did a trifling quarrel with her parents? And how long did unrequited love? So your child, perhaps, experiences some strong experiences. Unable to solve the problem, or discuss it with someone, he is drawn to alcohol. In his opinion, this is a great way to forget that the world is not perfect.
To push a child to buy alcohol can have a lot of free money in his pocket. Therefore, strictly control the expenses of your child and make sure that the money given out for lunch is not spent in the evening in the pub.
Another reason can become alcoholism of parents. First, this is an example. If the growing son or daughter sees that mom, or dad, or they are daily applied to the bottle, he will have a stereotype that this is normal behavior. In the future, he will act exactly the same way, imitating the most authoritative example for him. Secondly, a child can get addiction even in the womb if she used alcohol during pregnancy. After birth, the baby's body will ask for the usual dose of alcohol. In especially severe cases, there is even a withdrawal syndrome.
Features of children's alcoholism
The main feature of child alcoholism is that it develops much more rapidly than in adults. Even occasionally using alcohol-containing drinks, a teenager easily becomes addicted. Particularly common in children's beer alcoholism. Beer seems like a harmless low-alcohol drink, but it's just an appearance. In fact, the harm from him is not less. And if you take into account the fact that you drink more and more often, you can safely say that this is one of the most dangerous beverages.
Consequences of child alcoholism
Alcohol is a huge stress for the child's body. It causes disturbances in the digestive and nervous systems. And in severe cases provokes irreversible changes in the liver (cirrhosis) and the brain (alcoholic encephalopathy).
Treatment of childhood alcoholism is carried out in a hospital. Due to the young age, it is not possible to apply the whole range of drugs. Therefore, sparing methods of fighting the disease are used.
Prevention of child alcoholism
The most important prevention is a close, trusting relationship with parents. If your child can share any information with you without fear, tell about his problems and experiences, then it's unlikely that you will miss him out of control. And also you can explain to him "what is good and what is bad".