Clip of the Day: Do Your Kids See a Monster When You Drink?
A new PSA from the Finnish group Lasinen Lapsuus (translated: Fragile Childhood) asks parents a potentially disturbing question: How do your kids see you when you are drunk?
“When under the influence of alcohol, adults don’t always come to think of how scary they might look in the eyes of a child,” the Lasien Lapsuus Facebook page says. The group seeks to highlight the harm that parental drinking can have on children, if only through the trauma of fear.
The video depicts everyday life where parents are perceived as monsters by their offspring. From the viewpoint of a young child, an intoxicated parent might be as scary as any imaginary fictional threat they might encounter.
Even more scary than a demolished Hasselhoff struggling to eat a cheeseburger.
According to a study published in Public Health Reports, 1 in 8 Americans are children of alcoholics.
That number ranks a little high compared to a report from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. It found that in the past year 5.78 percent of adult men admitted to drinking daily. Another 4.98 percent of adult men said they drank “nearly every day.” Women were a full 3 percentage points lower in both categories.
An older child or teenager might recognize when a parent is intoxicated and have a idea of what to expect—as depressing as that sounds—but a younger child might be absolutely mystified by their parents’ sudden drunken behavior change.
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), children of alcoholics can experience guilt, anxiety, embarrassment, anger and depression as a result of not knowing how to interpret their parents’ behavior and not having someone to talk to about it.
Some parents might have never paused to consider how their children see Mom and Dad while Mom and Dad are smashed. Hopefully, a PSA like this catches them at a sober moment.
Are you comfortable being intoxicated around your children? Tell us in the Comments
Related stories on Takepart
• Does Your Surgeon Have a Drinking Problem?
• Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving- A Reminder
• Quick Study: Binge Drinking May Be the Most Depressing Road to Happiness for College Students
Andrew Freeman is a California native with a degree in history from UCLA. He’s covered a wide range of topics for TakePart, but is particularly interested in politics and policy. Email Andrew |@natureofdabeast | TakePart.com
Videos in Clip of the Day
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