Drug abuse rarely has any positive outcomes and when children are involved in a situation with drug abuse, the consequences can continue to affect the child throughout her lifetime. When children are raised by people who abuse drugs, their basic needs are rarely met and their development suffers. These children are forced to grow up before they are developmentally ready.
Loss of Family
When parents or caregivers abuse drugs, their ability to care for and nurture the life of their child will be limited. Parents who abuse drugs are often unable to maintain the safety of their children when they are under the influence of the substance.
Children in families where there is drug abuse often experience neglect and/or physical or sexual abuse. These children appear to grow up fast and engage in adult activities such as cooking dinner. On the other hand, these children may act out in school in an effort to get attention, even if the attention they receive is negative. Children of abusive parents may suffer from physical or sexual abuse due to the impaired judgment of their parents who may abuse the children themselves or let the children be around others who will abuse them. According to KidsHealth.org, often children who are removed from their parents' home and uprooted to live with foster families do so because of problems a parent had with drugs or alcohol.
Mental Health
When a child is raised in an environment with drug abuse his risk for developing a mental health disorder increases. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports that mental illnesses in parents, such as drug abuse, put the children at higher risk for developing mental health problems themselves. This occurs because the parents' drug abuse often causes unpredictable and unstable environments for the children, which impedes their successful and healthy development.
Academics
Drug abuse can have negative consequences for a child's academic achievements. When a caregiver abuses drugs it leaves the child to fend and care for herself. Without the drive to achieve in school, which is often instilled by parents, and the support of someone within the home to help her with her school work, a child's school performance can suffer.
Drug Problems
The exposure of a child to drug abuse problems may lead to future drug problems for the child. Witnessing the acceptance of drug abuse within a family may be an open invitation for children to begin using drugs themselves.
Also, children who have blood relatives who have experienced problems with drug addiction will be more likely to develop problems with drugs or even develop a drug addiction themselves, because there appears to be a genetic component involved in drug addiction, notes MayoClinic.com.
