Who children are effected by living with one or both chemically depent parent

Lifelong Damage to Children who live with Chemically Dependent Parents
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Abstract
Chemical dependency is a significant health condition. It affects the individuals who have addiction to illicit drugs, alcohol, and prescription medicines. The patients consume the substances regularly even though there are negative effects on the mental, physical, and social health and well-being. The presentation illustrates how chemical dependency affects the members of a family. In the United States, there are many children who live with parents who are chemically dependent. About 8.7 million children live in households that have one parent or both parents who have the chemical addiction. The exposure to these substances at a young age is a risk factor for developing the chemical dependency condition among the young people. Therefore, about 20 individuals who are above 12 years in the United States suffer from chemical addiction. Most of them are teenagers. Hence, there are significant damages to the children who have chemically dependent parents.
Keywords: Chemical dependency, parents, chemical addiction

Lifelong Damage to Children who live with Chemically Dependent Parents
A significant number of children in the United States have parents who are chemically dependent. Approximately 8.7 million states have at least one parent who is chemically dependent. The population comprises 12.3% of the total children population, below 18 years. In the statistics, 7 million children live in two-parent households, and at least one parent is chemically dependent.

Also, 1.7 million children are from the single-parent households, and the parent is chemically dependent. In the single-parent households, about 344,000 and 1.4 million children live with their fathers and mothers respectively (Lipari and Horn, 2015). It is important to protect the health and well-being of the children in the chemically dependent households.
Many children are vulnerable due to the chemical dependency condition. In the United States, there are about 20.6 million individuals above 12 years, who are chemically dependent. Illicit chemical use is 9.5 times higher among the teens that use cigarettes than the ones who do not. About half of the 2.6 million first-time marijuana smokers are below 18 years. Furthermore, 867,000 adolescents have the illicit chemical use disorder. Also, about 5% (1.3 million) of the adolescent population in the United States have the chemical use disorder (American Addiction Centers, 2018). Children should get proper therapy to enable them to overcome the substance addiction problem.
Children who live with parents are a high-risk group. The children are vulnerable and more likely to experience physical or sexual abuse. They develop illnesses due to poor nutrition and high levels of stress and anxiety. Moreover, the children perform poorly in school due to minimal concern from the parents. In single-parent households, the children are likely to end up in foster care. Consequently, the children may imitate the conduct of parents by becoming regular drug and alcohol users (Potter-Efron and Potter-Efron, 2016). It is imperative to encourage the parents to stop the use of substances due to the negative effect on the young family members.
In conclusion, it is vital to protect the children who live with chemically dependent parents. Through proper training, guidance, and counseling in learning institutions, the children should get sufficient knowledge of the adverse effects of the regular consumption of the substances.

References
American Addiction Centers. (2018). Statistics on drug addiction. Retrieved from https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addiction-statistics/
Lipari, R. and Horn, S. (2015). Children living with parents who have a substance use disorder. Retrieved from HYPERLINK “https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_3223/ShortReport-3223.html” https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_3223/ShortReport-3223.htmlPotter-Efron, R., & Potter-Efron, P. (2016). Aggression, family violence and chemical dependency. New York: Routledge.