My parent's got a problem

Thousands of children and young people in Britain live with parents who have problems with alcohol or drugs. You don't have to keep it a secret.

If your parent has a problem with drink or drugs, you might feel:

Worried - you might worry about your parent's health, even that they could die. You might worry about other people that live with you. You might worry about people finding out.
Scared - You might be scared of some of the people your parent knows, like dealers or drunk people. Sometimes you might even be scared of your parent.
Tired - You might have to do more to look after yourself, your parent or other people you live with. You might be under a lot of stress.
Angry - you might feel that your parent cares more for their drink or drugs, or their adult friends, than for you.
Hopeless - you might think there's nothing you can do about it.
Ashamed - you might not want people to know if your parent spends all their money on drink or drugs, or if they get in an embarrassing or scary state, or if your home is a mess.

All these feelings, and more, are normal, but they can feel like too much to handle. So you might find yourself losing control, like getting angry or tearful. You might even think about drinking or using drugs yourself. If you do feel like this do get in touch with us, or someone else you trust, and talk it over.

Will I get taken into Care?

Services are there to help families stay together safely, and to stop children and young people getting harmed. You will only be taken into care if you are in serious danger, but your family can be given help to keep you safe. This could mean getting them help with drink, drugs, parenting, health, housing, legal problems or other things. You can get help separately from this or as part of a family package.

Explore the links to the left for more information.

My parent's got a problem

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