NSPCC reports major rise in people contacting their helpline about parents drinking excessively or taking drugs

NSPCC reports major rise in contacts about parents drinking excessively or taking drugs

• 30% increase in one year in people contacting the NSPCC Helpline with child safety worries due to parental substance misuse

• 2016/17 saw cases involving more than 15,000 children referred to local authorities or police

• Children’s charity delivers ‘Parents under Pressure’ service to help struggling adults

A record number of people have contacted the NSPCC Helpline with concerns about the wellbeing of children whose parent is drinking to excess or taking drugs.

Last year the children’s charity received 10,207 calls and emails – on average almost 200 a week - about parental substance misuse, which is a 30% increase on 2015/16.

Of these contacts 8793 involved more than 15,000 children and were deemed serious enough to be referred on to local authorities or the police.

There were 573 referrals made in the North East of England and Cumbria.

The majority of contacts to the NSPCC Helpline about substance misuse are from members of the public worried that a parent is drinking too much alcohol which in turn is affecting their ability to provide a safe and supportive environment for their children.

In many of these cases other concerns such as neglect and physical and emotional abuse against the child, parental domestic abuse and parental mental health issues are also raised.

One member of the public called the Helpline and said: “I’m really worried for the safety of a child living with his parents. There is always heavy smoke lingering around the family home and I regularly see the parents intoxicated with alcohol and drugs. Sometimes I can hear them shouting and screaming profanities at each other whilst the child is in the home. It’s really upsetting.”

More than a third of the children referred to police or local authorities were aged between one and five, with a further 581 being less than a year old (including unborn children).

To support families where parental substance misuse is present and causing a problem the NSPCC delivers ‘Parents Under Pressure’, a home-based programme originally designed and tested in Australia.

Together with the University of Warwick, the NSPCC today published an evaluation of ‘Parents Under Pressure’.

The study revealed that those receiving the programme had showed a number of improvements to their behaviour in the family home. Most importantly the risk of child abuse had decreased and had been sustained six months later.

John Cameron, who is the Head of Helplines at the NSPCC, said: “Every child should be able to grow up in a home where they feel safe and supported. The sad fact is that many young people are being deprived of this simple right due to one or both of their parents abusing drink and drugs.

“It is vitally important for the wellbeing of the whole family that adults who are misusing any substance seek help from effective programmes such as ‘Parents Under Pressure’. In doing so they will gain a better understanding of themselves and what they need to do to give their child the best start in life.”

The NSPCC’s Helpline is available on 0808 800 5000 or via help@nspcc.org.u