The Effect of Dysfunctional Alcoholics on Children Under the Age of Sixteen:

How it Should Not be Permitted

Kendall Atkins

Writing 1020
Professor Agee
March 30 2015

Alcoholism is a common disease that one often hears about daily. If it is not apart of a
family setting or from someone close, it is often left to dwell in the shadows. But for some it is

not a shadow, it is apart of a daily cycle, a need. Many of those times, children who still live in
that household are exposed to the alcoholic and what comes with that disease. When an
alcoholic is dysfunctional, they are often completely subdued from the alcohol, meaning they
have no control. This in fact could be very harming to a child that is still maturing and growing
up in that sort of environment. When a child is maturing they are similar to clay, they are easily
molded and once that clay is hardened, when the child becomes mature, it cannot be changed.
There is a critical time period in a childs life that can have a drastic effect on their future. If
something potentially harmful happens to that child in a critical time period, it could stay with
them for the rest of their lives. Memories from their childhood could make them stay out of
certain situations that they see as harmful, keeping them away from social groups. Although this
could be a possible positive outcome, it still has an impact on the childs mental state causing this
stray from social norms to form. Any form of negative exposure to a developing child could be
critical, the child should not be exposed to a member of their household that cannot control
themselves for the potential of corrupting their entire future. Every action has a consequence, an
adult would be able to handle an alcoholic family member much more easily than if a five year
old had attempted to coexist with them. One alcoholic in a childs household may be easier to
maintain but if there are two, that child is exposed twice as much, increasing the harm to that
child.

Alcoholism is becoming a social norm for most people, one can be alcoholics without
even knowing that the disease is present in their body. Yes, alcoholism is a disease although it is
thought to be a problem with drinking too much. There are two types of alcoholics, functional
and dysfunctional. A functional alcoholic is able to go about their daily lives normally, a
dysfunctional alcoholic is almost completely given into the disease and has no plans of going

back to a normal state. Anyone may be an alcoholic regardless of their age, sex, race, and if a
childs parent is an alcoholic then that child has a predisposition to be an alcoholic as well.
Alcoholism is a genetic disease, but not all children of alcoholics will be alcoholics at any given
age, they just have a predisposition to become one. When children at an age younger than
sixteen are exposed to a dysfunctional alcoholic, they may be exposed to physical and emotional
abuse, neglect, and they may begin to dislike or even hate their family member. Children should
not be allowed to be in an environment that could be potentially harmful to themselves and their
future, a dysfunctional alcoholic must seek help, rehabilitation, to combat the disease so the
surroundings will be safer for the child, and the child should have a means of escape from that
environment in case it becomes potentially threatening.
Alcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance in the United States 17.6 million
people, or one in every 12 adults, suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence along with several
million more who engage in risky, binge drinking patterns that could lead to alcohol problems
(NCAA). Alcoholism is a chronic and often progressive disease that includes problems
controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol, continuing to use alcohol even when
it causes problems, having to drink more to get the same effect (physical dependence), or having
withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking (Mayo Clinic). This can cause
one to become an alcoholic or to become one, it can be very harmful to the user or to the users
surroundings. Alcohol has a way of changing the way one would normally act if they were not
under the influence of the drug. Their mental state is changed, how they talk and act in a social
setting changes, they may become violent and do things that the user would not normally do.
Adults may have an easier time handling one who is intoxicated from alcohol if they are to come
home in that state. The legal BAC, blood alcohol level, is 0.08%. Depending on sex, metabolic

speed, height, fat to muscle ratio, age, and amongst other categories that is roughly 1.5 ounces of
80 proof liquor (40% alcohol), 12 ounces of beer (4.5% alcohol), or 5 ounces of wine (12%
alcohol) before reaching the legal limit per one drink (businessinsider.com). For a user to
become completely impaired at a medium dosage, walking is difficult and speech is highly
slurred and the person has little to no control over their actions. For this to happen the user must
consume 5 drinks or 7.5 ounces of 80 proof liquor, 60 ounces of beer, or 30 ounces of wine. For
every 40 minutes 0.01% BAC is taken away after one has finished drinking, if a person was at
BAC 0.08% they would become sober after 5.34 hours. If the user is back at their home different
factors could influence them in their intoxicated state, it could also have an influence on their
surroundings. A child at the age of sixteen or younger is living in a household when the user
comes home from a night of drinking. Children at a young age are more easily manipulated than
that of a child who is older. Up until the age of 21 a childs brain is continuously forming and
making changes based on their environment, lifestyle, or genetics. That formation may be easily
altered from outside influences, such as an alcoholic parent. A child at the age of ten can tell if
their parent comes home night after night heavily intoxicated from drinking alcohol, meaning the
parent is an alcoholic. Several things may come from a user who is under the influence of the
drug. In this case, dysfunctional alcoholics are far more severe than functional alcoholics.
A user becomes dysfunctional when they are completely dependent upon alcohol, their
entire life changes so that obtaining the drug is their main concern. This could be devastating on
a users family due to the fact that the alcoholic cares far more about the substance than their
family. Several factors comes from a dysfunctional user who has young children. Behavior of
the user becomes unpredictable, if the child acts in a manner that angers or irritates the user they
may become violent and abuse the child mentally, emotionally, or physically. This behavior

frightens the child, making it seem that it is their fault they are being abused. Children who have
been abused may have side effects such as anxiety, flashbacks, dissociation, academic suffrage or
withdrawal from social groups. The impact of abuse on a young child can be devastating to their
future, it may stay with them for the rest of their lives. Dysfunctional alcoholics may also
neglect their children or see them as unimportant due to their constant need for alcohol. Neglect
may be more devastating than abuse on a child for they have lost the care and attention from a
person who used to administer it constantly. Neglect may leave a child difficult to calm down,
eating disorders such as hoarding food or eating too quickly as if they may not get enough,
delays in motor and social skills, depression, hyperactive behavior, and clingy behavior or
anxiety (Impact of Neglect). A child should not be subjected to such activity, there are ways for
the adult alcoholic to seek help in order to combat the disease. A very important factor is that the
adult must want to overcome their disease, if they have no need then they will not seek help.
Sadly there are many dysfunctional alcoholics that do not seek help due to the complete
dependence on the drug, or if it is taken away from them it is as if their life is being taken away.
The best way to combat alcoholism it to attend a rehabilitation program or center. Rehabilitation
secludes the user from outside influence such as family impacts and the drug itself, having the
user become clean of the drug. Depending on how high a persons BAC is when they begin
rehabilitation, the duration of their stay may be long or brief. There are steps one must go
through in order to complete their rehabilitation.
The first step is a detox. This rids the body of the toxins from the alcohol, it may take a
few days or a few weeks (Health Care). This completely rids the body of any substance, making
the user sober completely. What comes next is the education of the disease to those who are now
sober. Becoming educated on what disease an alcoholic has is very important, it makes the user

aware of the effects of alcohol on themselves and their surroundings as well as their future.
Therapy links with the education, helping the user overcome their disease while learning about
the influences and effects. Discussing the problem and motivating the alcoholic helps them
understand that in order to live they do not need to be intoxicated to go about their daily lives.
Once the person is completely sober they may be able to see their loved ones. These meetings
have a large emotional impact on the user, seeing the family that the user often neglected while
under the influence makes the user realize what the disease has done to them. With that
knowledge the alcoholic may be able to build a new understanding how to combat the disease.
Once the alcoholic completes these stages of rehabilitation they may be allowed to go back to
their home. With this the alcoholic has weekly meetings with the counselor that they had seen
while in the rehabilitation center. The counselor speaks with the user to see if they have used
again or have been able to go about their lives without using. These weekly meetings turn into
monthly, then the alcoholic is on their own to see if they can go through life without depending
upon alcohol. Possible ways to continue being sober is to attend AA, alcoholics anonymous, to
be around people who have similar problems and to hear stories of those who are either new to
the program or have been in the program for a longer duration. This will have a positive impact
upon the young child of the alcoholic. The alcoholic now will see their child as more important
than their disease and give the child the love and attention that they crave and deserve. The child
may also build upon the activities and experiences of the alcoholic going through their program
of staying sober.
The constant stress of a dysfunctional alcoholic on a young child can be hard and uneasy
to cope with. The child should have some means of escape from the household if they feel
unsafe or if the alcoholic is making the environment unstable for them. Considering that

dysfunctional alcoholics may take on an abusive personality, that can have a damaging effect on
a child. A way of escape could be a safe house for the child while the alcoholic is seeking help
or if there is a family member that is aware of the state of the household and take the child for a
few days. Time away may be good for both the alcoholic and the child, reflection time is
important on any family problem. A different tactic would be to see if the child would like to
verbally express the stress through therapy. The desired outcome of the treatment is to help
children learn to be as independent as possible. This can range from improving physical abilities
so the child can participate in self-care to helping the child be prepared to perform school-related
activities. Since each child is unique, the goals and outcomes of the therapy treatment plan will
be specific to that child and his or her needs (My Child Without Limits). Independency is
important when a child is maturing and growing older, to be able to walk the world knowing that
the child can do it on their own is a good tactic. While not leaving the child completely
independent, for they still need a guardian, it helps the child grow. Finding comfort in someone
else to talk to is a developmental skill for the child as well. Making the child of the alcoholic, or
COA, as comfortable as possible is key to an easy transition. The child has a predisposition to be
an alcoholic, if they dont see a positive side and a negative side to alcoholism they may end up
in the same situation as the dysfunctional alcoholic in their life.
In conclusion, making sure that young children are in a safe environment or are able to
get into a safe environment. There are many ways that both the child and the alcoholic may
achieve a better lifestyle both together and independently. Tolerance for the possible abuse to a
young child will not be permitted. Seeing as though there is therapy and family or friend escapes
for the child, the child cannot do all of the work themselves. Rehabilitation and personal will are
the best ways to overcome the alcoholic disease for the better of themselves and their family.

Memories of a traumatic time can be carried with a child for a few weeks to their entire life. A
young life is not something to take lightly, children are like sponges, they soak up all of the
information in their environment and hold onto it; taking shape of what the have soaken up.
Enabling is not helping, not matter how well one thinks it amy be going. Getting help with the
alcoholic and seeing that the child is happy and safe are the best ways to promote a peaceful
household.

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