Hello, I’m 14 years old and probably many other people out there have the same problem as I have or had, an alcoholic father. My dad has been an alcoholic since he was about 18 years old, possibly younger, so during my life of growing up I have been through many things. From violence, shouting, arguments and ending up with the police having a visit and taking him away. When my dad is sober he is a nice guy, he’s someone I could have fun with, when he’s drunk he’s a completely different person and doesn’t realise what he’s doing. When I was younger he was a little violent as I’ve been told, I can’t really remember it. Since then he has improved but only slightly, he isn’t as much violent any more but very offensive. When he’s drunk he can be abusive (language wise), he swears, insults people, shouts, Breaks and smashes things, accuses my mother of doing something that she hasn’t done and many more upsetting things, it comes down to me and my mum in tears, and eventually having to call the police. While in primary school I found it quite hard to talk about it, I don’t remember ever telling people about what I’ve been going through I just kept it to myself and tried to seem happy, when really I wasn’t. However when moving into secondary school I became friends with 2 trustworthy people who I can rely on and talk to. I remember having a situation were my dad had another bad episode of his alcoholic side coming to the point of calling the police and him having to spend a night in a cell. My mum decided that I should stay at her friend’s house, until my mum and my dad have talked and decided on what is going to happen next, so as you could imagine I found it very hard, but I got through it. My teacher had been told that I was staying at a friend’s house and I was going through some rough times, I sat down and spoke to him, and told him what had been happening, and got some good advice, this helped me a lot to get through things. I also told my 2 best friends who could tell I wasn’t happy, and they helped all the way through, I then realised, I now have someone I can talk to, about my problems, and I don’t have to keep everything bottled inside, it was a sign of relief. Eventually my dad moved back in after a week of talking with my mum and agreeing to get some help. It didn’t work very much but I must admit he has been a lot better since I was a child, he hasn’t had many bad alcoholic episodes, he’s been reasonable with his drinking and now I am able to get through life easier. So I advise anyone out there, they should find someone they trust and tell them what your problem is, you will found it very helpful.
Anonymous, Haringey 14 year old
