Is your child an alcoholic? Here's how to deal with it

New Delhi: Did you know that children as early as Class VI are experimenting with alcohol? Do you, as a parent know what are the early signs and symptoms? If not, here's some help.

Dr Madhumati tells you how you can recognise these signs and symptoms and how to deal with it.

To recognize the symptoms, first you have to understand what's alcoholism? An alcoholic is any person who consumes alcohol regularly.

At the beginning it is a harmless trait, then it progresses to becoming a symptom, and finally a disease.

According to the Alcohol and Drug information Centre of India, about 15-20 per cent of the adolescents experiment with alcohol and about 10 percent become alcoholics.

According to the 2004 national drug survey report, 21 per cent of alcoholics are under 21 years of age.

According to the 2004 National Household Survey, 21 per cent of people under 18 years of age, consume alcohol.

Recognising the signs if of alcoholism, maybe often tricky, yet not impossible to see through.

See if your child is beginning to lose interest in family, behaving aggressively, in a guilty or exaggerated manner, bunking school quite often, sleeping at odd hours, eats too little or too less, is overspending or is being possessive about friends.

How you deal with the child is equally important. Open, empathetic communication is the key. Make the child understand that what may be thought as okey among his peers, is actually harmful.

Try not to set a bad example at home. Help the child identify and work out the underlying problems because of which he or she takes to drinking in the first place.

Make sure you don’t get offensive or defensive while dealing with the child.

After all, your child needs your understanding and support. In fact you can join support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous.

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