So, today I decided to do some research on babies in Australia who are born to drug addict mothers/parents. It was shocking to say the least that when I tried to search for some data on babies born to drug addict parents it was close to none. The last news was somewhere in 2015 and we are in mid 2017, surely this is a topic that needs a lots more attention.
When I had my daughter and I was still in the hospital, I had to share the room with another lady, who told me to 'babysit' her son as she was going down for a smoke; me a total stranger (even though I was in no condition to abduct the baby). Her need to go for a smoke was so strong that she was happy to leave her new born son unattended with a total stranger-I could have been a psychopath.
Research has shown that children born to substance addicted mothers suffer from same withdrawal symptoms as any other adult who tries to leave substance abuse cold turkey, i.e. abdomen pain, diarrhoea, seizures. Imagine these little babies, completely helpless and already addicted to lethal substances such as Ice, cocaine, heroin, alchohol. Some, may even survive but what happens when they grow up? what happens when all they are used to seeing is parents who would spend every last penny on buying drugs/alcohol or tobacco. What happens when they are constantly moved from one foster care to another, what happens to these angels who not only SEE their parents using drugs and slowly killing themselves with drug abuse but also face physical abuse as many would. What happens to that kid who acts out everyday because all he has seen is his mother/father passed out in a corner, possibly even lying in their own vomit, the kid who has been hungry for days because their parents couldn't care less, the child who has seen his parents not only passed out but even possibly dead due to use of illicit drugs. Just imagine the psychological issue these kids must be facing- depression, anxiety to name a few. These children don't even know what is normal. These children have not experienced true love. Some may shudder at human touch and others may act out. They don't know that life can be beautiful. What have they done to deserve such a life?
How many times we hear horrific stories of children being physically/mentally abused by such parents. Heartbreakingly, we hear these stories on daily basis, we read these stories, we feel sad and we move on. Some of us feel anger, hatred, disgust and sadness. Some of us want to do something and we just don't know where to go or how to go about it.
Even though, the Australian government has been taking steps to help such children by Child Protective Services forcefully taking children away from their parents and placing them in foster care- this topic of discussion remains somewhat neglected. Why do we not hear more about such topics, why is this topic not discussed on 'The Current Affair'? Why is it that which brand between Coles, Woolworth and ALDI providing the best prices is more of a hot topic of discussion than this? Why is it that this is not a priority?
Yes, if you go to the http://www.raisingchildren.net.au you will find information on how parents/kids can be helped but this is not a topic of discussion that we discuss on everyday basis. What other steps can we take to ensure that these innocent lives are not effected by substance abuse?
Have you ever seen/known/ met anyone who was in this situation? what did you do about it? please share your thoughts and comments on how and what we can do to help these kids.
When I had my daughter and I was still in the hospital, I had to share the room with another lady, who told me to 'babysit' her son as she was going down for a smoke; me a total stranger (even though I was in no condition to abduct the baby). Her need to go for a smoke was so strong that she was happy to leave her new born son unattended with a total stranger-I could have been a psychopath.
Research has shown that children born to substance addicted mothers suffer from same withdrawal symptoms as any other adult who tries to leave substance abuse cold turkey, i.e. abdomen pain, diarrhoea, seizures. Imagine these little babies, completely helpless and already addicted to lethal substances such as Ice, cocaine, heroin, alchohol. Some, may even survive but what happens when they grow up? what happens when all they are used to seeing is parents who would spend every last penny on buying drugs/alcohol or tobacco. What happens when they are constantly moved from one foster care to another, what happens to these angels who not only SEE their parents using drugs and slowly killing themselves with drug abuse but also face physical abuse as many would. What happens to that kid who acts out everyday because all he has seen is his mother/father passed out in a corner, possibly even lying in their own vomit, the kid who has been hungry for days because their parents couldn't care less, the child who has seen his parents not only passed out but even possibly dead due to use of illicit drugs. Just imagine the psychological issue these kids must be facing- depression, anxiety to name a few. These children don't even know what is normal. These children have not experienced true love. Some may shudder at human touch and others may act out. They don't know that life can be beautiful. What have they done to deserve such a life?
How many times we hear horrific stories of children being physically/mentally abused by such parents. Heartbreakingly, we hear these stories on daily basis, we read these stories, we feel sad and we move on. Some of us feel anger, hatred, disgust and sadness. Some of us want to do something and we just don't know where to go or how to go about it.
Even though, the Australian government has been taking steps to help such children by Child Protective Services forcefully taking children away from their parents and placing them in foster care- this topic of discussion remains somewhat neglected. Why do we not hear more about such topics, why is this topic not discussed on 'The Current Affair'? Why is it that which brand between Coles, Woolworth and ALDI providing the best prices is more of a hot topic of discussion than this? Why is it that this is not a priority?
Yes, if you go to the http://www.raisingchildren.net.au you will find information on how parents/kids can be helped but this is not a topic of discussion that we discuss on everyday basis. What other steps can we take to ensure that these innocent lives are not effected by substance abuse?
Have you ever seen/known/ met anyone who was in this situation? what did you do about it? please share your thoughts and comments on how and what we can do to help these kids.
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