MP calls for more support for children of alcoholics

""The loneliness of dealing with an alcoholic parent is very severe,""

""If you're putting your parent to bed, if you're calling the police, if you're monitoring the bottles, if you're dealing with all the carnage that serious alcohol dependency wreaksand the deceit that comes with addiction, these are things nobody should really have deal to with on their own,""

""They may develop their own alcoholism or addictive issues,""

""We estimate one in five children and young people in the UK are affected by this issue - and that will be across all of society,""

The Conservative MP for Mid-Norfolk, George Freeman, experienced parental alcoholism after both his father and later his mother developed problems. Freeman warns that children who manage a parent's drinking face severe loneliness, monitoring bottles, calling police, and coping with deceit and carnage, increasing risks of mental health problems and exposure to domestic violence. Children of alcohol-dependent parents are three times more likely to enter care and may develop their own addictions. The National Association for Children of Alcoholics estimates 2.6 million affected children, with outreach suggesting one in five young people are impacted. The government has allocated £1bn for treatment and recovery grants over three years.

Read at www.bbc.com