According to the U.
S.
Department of Health and Human Services, however, 8.
3 million children live with at least one parent that abuses drugs or alcohol.
It is important, therefore, to recognize the effects of parental drug addiction on children.
By spotting these signs and being willing to do something about them, we can all help children stay in safe and loving homes.
Whether this means simply encouraging an addict to get help or taking more drastic action, the steps towards a safe home start with simply recognizing that there is a problem.
Drug Abuse Causes Neglect There are several ways drug addiction can lead to simple neglect of the children in a home.
First, many drugs can create a lack of care for simple basics of hygiene and nutrition in the user.
The addict is so focused on taking the drug that almost everything else in life starts to take the back seat.
Meth use, for example, can lead to an addict severely neglecting to brush their teeth, wash their bodies or change their clothes.
If the addict can't take care of these simple life basics for herself, why would she ensure these actions are happening in her children? The simple answer is that addicts often won't.
The children of addicts will often suffer from malnutrition from not being fed enough or fed properly.
They make be physically dirty or smell bad from not being bathed or having access to clean clothing.
If you notice that a child seems to be the victim of neglect, you are well within your rights to talk to the family about the situation.
If you are seriously concerned about the child's welfare, you should consider going to child protective services or to police in order to get the child help.
In many cases of drug addiction, the parents will not stop using drugs or start taking care of the child on their own, so outside help is often necessary.
Drug Effects on Newborns Nearly everything that a pregnant mother eats or drinks makes its way to the body of the growing baby, as well.
Because of this, a pregnant woman that uses drugs or drinks alcohol can severely damage the health of the baby in several ways.
This drug use can cause the baby to have a damaged central nervous system, an abnormally small head and brain, heart malformations and a high risk of being mentally handicapped in the future.
Similar to this, once a baby is born and is breastfeeding, any drugs that the mother is taking can still pass to the baby.
It's very important, therefore, that pregnant women and new mothers do not use drugs or alcohol, but many still do.
It can be difficult to observe this in others, as such drug use is often done in secret.
If you have suspicions that a woman you care about may be endangering the life of her future child, do not hesitate to gently broach the subject and help the person get educated on the issue.
Caring Enough to Do Something While many people might feel that it isn't their business to get involved, the children of a drug addict may not have anyone else to defend them besides concerned friends, relatives or other outside observers.
Drug addiction is an epidemic in America, and many of its victims are children.
In order to do something effective about this problem, the first step is often getting over the fear of confronting an addict about the danger they are creating