Contents - NACoA

A Message to Early Childhood Professionals
You are in a unique position to make a significant contribution in the lives of
children with alcoholic parents. The many hours you spend caring for these children
can have a profound effect on the quality of their lives—now, and in the future.
The National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACoA) has assembled this
kit to help you learn more about the disease of alcoholism and its effects on children of
alcoholic parents. We want you to have the opportunity to touch these young lives in the
best way possible. This kit—the fifth in a series of publications for children of alcoholics
and the professionals who work with them—contains resources others have found to be
helpful. As you read these materials, keep these things in mind:
Millions of Americans are problem
drinkers or suffer from
the disease of alcoholism. One
in four children in the United
States is growing up in a home
where alcohol abuse or alcoholism
is affecting their lives.
Countless others have parents
who are addicted to other drugs.
Many research studies suggest
that the children of alcohol- and
other drug-dependent parents
are at a great risk for problems
later in life. Children of alcoholics
grow up to become parents
who, if not helped, often carry the
sorrow and uncertainty of their
own childhoods with them.
Alcoholism is a family disease. It
affects all children in an alcoholic
home environment, but some of
them are able to bounce back and
learn to cope with life’s difficulties,
especially if they are given a
little help. Often that help must
come from outside the family. As
caregivers, we can help children
to become more resilient.
Learning about alcoholism and
how it affects family members,
and then discovering resources
in your community to help families
cope with alcohol-related
problems, are good beginning
steps. Armed with knowledge
and information about alcoholism,
and the resources with
which to address it, you can help
reduce the risks of future problems
in children from alcoholic
homes—and help reduce the
confusion and fear they feel now.