In honor of World Children’s day – 20th Nov 2024
Introduction
Substance misuse or substance misuse disorder is exceptionally misunderstood, with often
people not recognising that they could potentially be misusing substances or become reliant
on them: this includes your medications. This piece briefly touches on awareness of excessive
use, to the point of addiction i.e., uncontrolled use. Substances can be misused by anyone and
although there are a variety of contributing factors towards misuse and addiction, there is no
specific gene for addiction, making it challenging to determine who can succumb to it.
A lot of people are unaware that any medications, despite it being prescribed can be misused,
if not used in line with guidance. This should not deter anyone from using their medications
but to simply be mindful of your medications, what are you using it for? And to be mindful of
the early signs of potential misuse?
Parental Substance Misuse
In the UK, there’s been a significant increase over the years, in parental substance misuse,
“The Health Survey for England and General Household Survey have suggested that 22–30%
of children live with a parent who binge drinks or drinks at a hazardous level and
approximately 8% live with a parent who misuses drugs (Duffy, Shaw, Woolfall, & Beynon,
2010
; Manning, Best, Faulkner, & Titherington,
2009
)”.
It’s also important to note, substance misuse disorder is a mental health condition, and also a
symptom to mental health conditions. What this means is that it generally commences as a
symptom to a mental health condition, where you start to self-medicate for a condition, and
can progress to substance disorder.
Signs of potential misuse include:
- Are you building a tolerance?
- Are you experiencing withdrawal symptoms when you don’t have the substance?
- Do you spend a great deal of time thinking about the substance and how to obtain it?
- Have you stopped doing enjoyable activities because of your substance use?
- Have you stopped going to work?
- What does your substance use pattern?
- Are you unable to pay vital bills as a result of your use?
- Are you experience psychological withdrawal symptoms without it?
- Can you stop using if you wanted to?
- Are you in control? Do you feel compelled to use?
- Are there other things you could do before you use?
Where you identify with some of the above, please do not let that alarm you, as it is a good
thing that you are making this realisation and can take steps towards improving your health
and wellbeing. For information on how to access services, or talk to someone about your use,
please visit: Find drug and alcohol support near you | FRANK
and
Home Page – ADFAM
who offer support to families impacted by substance misuse.
Hidden Harms
The impact of substance misuse on the family is referred to as hidden harms and formerly
known as parental substance misuse. As THC is a psychoactive substance, which can impair
judgement when overused; excessive and uncontrolled us can impact on your parenting
capacity.
Here are some of the ways that it can impact you: –
- As substances can leave you feeling quite euphoric, this can also lead to a potential
overlooking of risks. A common example of this is bringing dealers to your home or
leaving your children unattended to misuse substances.
- Substance misuse is normalised in the home and children raised by parents who
misuse substances often grow up to misuse substances also, as they are accustomed to
seeing it used as often a coping mechanism.
- You often live for the next hit, and therefore engagement and building relationships,
isn’t a priority for you.
- Generally, substances are expensive and therefore misuse can incur a financial burden
on the household.
Often even when basic needs are being met, emotional needs aren’t necessarily met,
as people who have developed an addiction, are too consumed by it to be able to take
in anything else. Therefore, child development can be impacted.
Impact on child development
A child’s development can be significantly impacted by their environment, therefore having a
nurturing environment where a child can thrive is ideal, to ensure the child meets their
developmental milestones. Developmental milestones are physical or behavioural changes a
child is expected to meet as they age, examples is potty training, speech development and/or
social skills.
Some of the key area’s child development are impacted are: –
i. Neglect
ii. Reciprocity
iii. Attachment
iv. Role Reversal
| Impact on Child Development | |
| Neglect | Often when you are intoxicated, time can slip away from you, and you may not notice that you haven’t fed your child or stuck to their routine and/or you may not notice that it is a school day. |
| Reciprocity (The reciprocal relationship between child and caregiver) | Generally, when people are misusing, they struggle to contain themselves or their emotions, as they are accustomed to self-medicating for emotional regulation. This can sometimes result in them struggling to contain or teach their children to contain themselves and interpret their emotions. This also makes it difficult for a parent to bond with their child. |
| Attachment | There are 4 attachment styles, ranging from essentially healthy to unhealthy. i.Secure Attachment ii.Ambivalent Attachment iii.Avoidant Attachment iv.Disorganised Attachment Generally, parents who misuse and struggle to offer a facilitating environment. As a result, children raised in an unstable environment, can adapt the later 2 attachment styles. |
| Role Reversal | This is where the child becomes the caregiver to the parent. Unfortunately, with excessive misuse, parents can sometimes struggle to care for themselves, resulting in a child then taking the responsibility to care for their parent. In some cases, the eldest child would become a second mother to their siblings. |
Child’s perspective
An important thing to remember is how your child might perceive your engagement, and as
painful as it may be to process, particularly where your intentions are never to harm your
children, your children are impacted, nonetheless. Reflecting on misuse, parents generally
tent to not misuse in front of their children, they would often go into another room to misuse.
Parents often believe by doing this, you are shielding them from your misuse, but its quite the
contrary, as children notice the difference in your behaviour. This can be scary for the child,
particularly where there is a drastic personality change, going from timid to energetic. This
can create a worrying environment for your child, as generally parents would have a
particular room/area in the house where they misuse, and children associate this with changes
in your behaviour. This can result in a child feeling anxious when parents go into that room,
as a different person comes out, creating an unstable bond, as your interactions with your
children change then too.
Conclusion
It can be very scary thinking about how your misuse can impact your child, particularly when
that is not your intention. This awareness piece is not for judgement, but for reflection, to
help parents to start to explore how your misuse, as innocent as it may seem can impact your
children. Most importantly, to understand, no one thinks of you as a bad person, and that
services want to help you; please reach out to your GP for support or the local authority for
urgent support.
Takeaway
When you look in the mirror are you happy? If not, that is the person you are asking your
child to be ‘an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’. If you are concerned about your misuse,
you can access support, I understand it is scary to reach out for support as a parent, due to
various factors such as stigma and potential safeguarding being raised by services. However,
service’s primary goal is to support you, and safeguarding escalations occur, when you aren’t
making the positive changes, if you are committed, we are committed to supporting you and
your family.
References
cross‐sectional profile of children and families referred to children’s social care – Roy
– 2021 – Child & Family Social Work – Wiley Online Library
substance misuse: A cross‐sectional profile of children and families referred to
children’s social care – Roy – 2021 – Child & Family Social Work – Wiley Online
Library
http://www.emotionalintelligenceatwork.com/resources/facilitating-environment/
Group and How to Support Development at Every Age – TeachKloud
(verywellmind.com)ent Styles: How They Form and Their Effects (verywellmind.com)
([edition unavailable]). Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Retrieved from
https://www.perlego.com/book/952301/parental-substance-misuse-and-child-welfare-
pdf (Original work published 2001)
17 March 2026, 9:04 pm
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