One of the most important problems of our time is child alcoholism. In our country, this terrible phenomenon was developed in the post-Soviet period, immediately after the collapse of the USSR. In the Union, the use of alcohol was condemned and considered shameful. When the state collapsed, alcohol began to be sold freely, and the number of people drinking increased at times. Alcoholic beverages are highly addictive, and only a few can then overpower themselves and abandon their use. According to statistics on child alcoholism, most people now face this problem as early as 10-12 years. The disease is developing rapidly, and this will soon lead to irreversible consequences, if nothing is done.
Primary sources of the problem
People who are intoxicated are inadequate. The main enemy for adolescents is the weakening of self-control. The body suffers greatly from this, sooner or later such a situation will lead to serious consequences. It is worth noting the terrible thing: most violent offenses are committed under the influence of alcohol.
Teenagers often commit crimes to acquire alcohol. Statistics say that about half of all offenses committed by children were aimed at receiving money to buy alcohol. Due to the influence of alcohol, the overall crime rate in the country is growing. Teenagers merge into bad companies, and become easy prey for maniacs and killers. As for the causes of childhood alcoholism, there are a lot of them. We will single out the main ones and take a closer look at each.
A family
Each of us is familiar with the situation when adults sit at a table, celebrate a holiday and, accordingly, drink. Even such minor moments affect the children's psyche, so you need to be careful. It is better not to let the kids to the common feast, you can set a separate small table. Some families pour a few grams of wine or vodka, offering the child a try. It can also affect consciousness, the child will think that if there is a drink, it means a holiday.
Of course, not all families encourage such behavior; they pour juice or lemonade to children. However, consciousness is structured in such a way that the child feels the opposition to the adult world. Further, children will seek to imitate their parents, so gatherings with alcohol appear in the company of friends. The problem of child alcoholism arises as a result of the fact that parents cannot explain why alcohol is harmful. At the same time, they drink themselves, and the child notices everything.
Street, friends, companies
As you know, on the street are always in authority guys who are not like the others and do what they want. Each teenager seeks to imitate an independent leader, so he will not refuse the offer to drink beer or wine in the company. Child alcoholism is a terrible phenomenon. Gatherings will not end once, they will take place constantly. Children feel significant and cool, since they can drink without asking permission from anyone.
The street forms the worldview of adolescents. Children's alcoholism, drug addiction are born here. Teenagers are looking for things to do, and the forbidden fruit is sweet. Parents need to carefully monitor the life of the child, to protect him from the influence of bad companies.
Heredity
Currently, a pregnant woman drinking beer is not uncommon. Then children are born with congenital pathologies or chronic problems. If the child was conceived by parents in a state of intoxication, or the girl abused alcohol during the bearing of the fetus, then he will have a tendency to alcohol.
Pediatricians discover pathology even in childhood, and most often the child begins to drink early. Child alcoholism is a terrible thing, parents should spend all their efforts to protect their child from this phenomenon.
Addiction problems
Drinking alcohol between an adult and a child is two different things. The child cannot control the amount of alcohol consumed. On the contrary, among friends it will be a feat if he gets drunk to a state of unconsciousness. Such situations often result in hospitalization in intensive care. If there is severe intoxication, a fatal outcome is possible. Beer alcoholism is most common among children. This is due to the cheapness of the drink compared to real cognac or vodka.
The child consumes beer daily. At some point this becomes not enough, and the dose of drunk increases. Sooner or later, children find problems with the liver and other internal organs. Specialists also highlight the inborn form of childhood alcoholism. This is very scary, because literally from birth, the child expresses an addiction to alcohol. The kid is naughty and crying until he is given what he wants.
Effects on the body of children
Alcohol is harmful for consumption by adults, what can we say about the child. Consider the factors influenced by alcohol:
- the internal systems of the body cease to interact normally;
- there are problems with digestion, the digestive tract;
- there is a gradual destruction of brain cells;
- intellectual abilities stop developing, memory worsens significantly, the development of logic is inhibited;
- glucose level decreases, blood pressure rises, body temperature rises.
Delusions and convulsions are the most common symptoms. Most often, they attack during sleep, the danger is that a person may fall into a coma.
Periods of addiction of children to alcoholic beverages
It is worth noting that specialists in the field of medicine distinguish several age periods. Let's consider each of them in more detail:
- Early childhood. This is an unconscious attraction, the child begins to get used to alcohol in the womb, and a problem develops during breastfeeding. When a baby is born, it is possible to detect physical and mental abnormalities.
- Preschool time. Here, external factors such as family or friends lead to addiction. The irresponsible attitude of parents to the child, the voluntary acceptance of the fact that the baby is drinking, all this leads to alcoholism. Some families believe that a little bit of alcohol is even beneficial, resulting in an increase in the number of poisonings with strong drinks and deaths.
- Teenager. This age is considered the most dangerous, because at such a time a person is influenced by the opinions and behavior of those around him. Unsuccessful first love, a quarrel with a best friend can negatively affect the psyche, and the teenager will adhere to the bottle. The task of adults during this period is to closely monitor the child, not to allow communication with bad people, to take control of the situation. After the transitional age, the teenager is aware of everything himself.
Why is alcohol so popular?
The development of addiction to alcohol appears, inter alia, due to the availability of strong drinks. A child can buy an alcoholic drink in any store. There is a law that prohibits retail sales to persons under the age of 18. However, many entrepreneurs continue to break the law for profit. Many people are familiar with the situation when several teenagers stand near a stall, buy chips, crackers and a can of beer or energy, which contains ethyl alcohol. The child does not have a sense of self-control, and this is the worst. Crowds of children are taken to intensive care due to severe intoxication.
The popularity of alcohol is also based on widespread advertising. On television, you can see many videos where drinks are presented in the best light. Beer is especially common, and teenage addiction to alcohol begins with it.
Features of child addiction and alcoholism
The child's body is quite weak, and therefore even infrequent regular consumption of alcoholic beverages leads to serious problems. In children, mental disorders are observed, behavior changes, conflicts and quarrels with parents appear. The brain begins to work worse, psychopathy develops. A feature of childhood alcoholism is the manifestation of apathy for everything. The child closes in himself, does not show initiative, his intellectual abilities deteriorate, which leads to problems with academic performance.
The danger is the speed of development of addiction. In a child, it arises instantly, attacking the not yet formed internal organs and systems. Alcohol interferes with the development of the body, which leads to the destructive effects of ethyl alcohol. The child suffers from severe headaches that subside only during intoxication, so he often gets drunk. The effects of childhood adolescent alcoholism are terrifying. This problem cannot be ignored, as it can absorb the whole world.
Therapy
Specialists in the field of medicine and psychology note that the probability of a cure exists only if the parents acknowledge the problem and want to deal with it. In all other cases, any therapy will be powerless. Understanding mothers and fathers need to start small: just communicate with the child, gradually delving into the essence of the problems. Conversations and communication will help to establish contact with the child, and then you can try to push him to understand that alcoholism needs to be treated. It is very difficult to do this, so the help of narcologists and psychologists is needed.
Treatment of childhood alcoholism involves, first of all, changes in the consciousness and thinking of the child. It is very important to take the child into a new business, not necessarily school subjects. Parents need to understand what the baby wants and give it to him. If he is fond of photography, it is better to spend money on good equipment once than to recover from alcoholism all his life. The child will constantly need support, so mom and dad should spend more time with him. This is extremely important for the baby, and parents should not neglect such tips.
Success factors
Early diagnosis is the first step to ways out of childhood alcoholism. The sooner parents understand that the problem exists, the more successful the rehabilitation therapy will be. Hospitalization should not be underestimated. In many situations, in addition to psychological disorders, pathologies of internal organs are observed in children. Combination therapy in this situation is the best option.
A child is sometimes panicky afraid that his peers will learn about his illness and will cease to communicate with him. Parents, for their part, must promise that the baby will move to another school, and if necessary, change the city.
Child Alcohol Prevention
In this context, the task of adults comes down to one thing - by all means to prevent the occurrence of alcohol dependence. This is facilitated by frequent preventive conversations aimed at clarifying the negative effects of alcohol. Moreover, parents should not shift this responsibility on teachers.
You should spend more time with the child, communicate with him, encourage sports, passion for art, reading, etc. Thus, the child forms a goal, a desire to achieve something. Ideally, society should also make efforts to eliminate the problem of alcohol dependence. You can start with the most obvious - the ban on advertising alcohol. Vivid videos representing alcohol as an affordable benefit only deform the psyche of a child who immediately wants to try the forbidden liquid.
Certain results can only be achieved through joint efforts. Continuous work in this direction will reduce the number of children suffering from alcohol dependence.