While some adults feel there is no problem drinking in front of a child, the amount of alcohol consumed within a given period can impact the child in profound ways. In fact, a recent BBC News report notes that almost one third of children in the UK report feeling scared when they see adults drinking too much or when they are drunk.
This finding is based on a survey of 1,234 10 to 14-year olds. The survey was conducted by Childwise for BBC Newsround. Of those children participating in the survey, half had witnessed their own parents drunk.
Nearly half of these adolescents reported they were not bothered by adults drinking, although 16 percent noted alcohol tended to make adults angry and aggressive and 30 percent were scared in such situations.
Rosemary Duff, Childwise research director, noted that this 30 percent who reported feeling scared was what she referred to as a sizeable minority. And, as each generation will take cues from their parents, this population can grow with the next generation.
Duff was also bothered by the 50 percent who were not bothered by drunkenness. She believes this suggests the drunken culture has become ingrained for these children.
In fact, when girls over the age of 11 were asked why an adult would drink until control was lost and vomit resulted, the common response was that such activities were part of a good night out.
The survey also found that 3 percent of children witnessed their parents getting drunk several times a week. Duff views this figure as being quite high, equating to one child in every class of about 30. She believes it is time for significant change.
