Sports – Leave the Violence on the Field

by a Concerned Hunt Count Foster Parent

Major sports events like the Super Bowl, World Series, and World Cup are fun for most families and provide opportunities to get together, share good food and each others company.

But for some who have problems with drug and alcohol use, it can be a disaster. People tend to "party" more at these times and if they cannot control their drug and alcohol use, they lose their sense of responsibility. And for those with children, that includes their responsibility as a parent.

Use of drugs and alcohol can make a parent lose control and make them more prone to anger and even violence toward their children. Others are neglected as the parent just forgets about their responsibilities for them. They are too involved in their use of drugs and alcohol to care about the welfare of others, even their own children.

During the Super Bowl, and while not technically a holiday, it is a time when people get together and often overindulge in alcohol. As foster parents, CPS workers have told us that generally more children are taken into care at times such as these.

What people who start taking drugs or drinking too much often fail to realize is that their substance abuse doesn't just affect their own lives and circumstances. Everyone around them is affected but particularly those whose lives they touch every day. And if those people happen to be their children it can have a severe and lasting impact on how those children develop.

Being taken unwillingly from your home is a terrible experience and children don't naturally have the mechanisms to cope with that event. They often are too young to realize that the situation they are in is not good for them and often blame themselves. Older children feel powerless and desperately want to have some say in the direction their lives take.

Children who are raised in an environment of drug and alcohol abuse will see the example set by their parents and are much more likely to become users themselves. If you are faced with a decision to abuse, we hope you will consider the consequences that it will have not only for you, but also on those that you love. Especially if those you love are innocent children.