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Gambling Addiction In Children

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It is hard to imagine the emotional roller coaster that a child goes through when having to deal with a parent that has a gambling addiction. Every week, a new piece of furniture is missing and the fridge is almost always empty. Yet, the mother still sometimes has enough to pay the rent and buy herself new clothes when she wants. The child’s feeling of neglect has made her a stranger in his eyes, and all he ever does is wish help for her. One problem he seems to face is that no one seems to pay much attention to gambling addicts. Addictions are not simply limited to drug and alcoholism, buy can be related to material possessions, people and gambling, for example (Morris). Despite the arguments that a gambling addiction can be just …show more content…

The child witnesses a shortage of money and food one day and the next day they are missing furniture. A gambling addict will most likely sell or steal anything to feed their gambling addiction if there isn’t any money available. "We're seeing more crime where people who have contact with money, such as bank tellers, take that money to support their gambling habit," said Sgt. John Wondracheck, supervisor of the St. Louis Police Department's fraud unit (Bell). Usually following a gambling loss, comes depression, and it continues in the cycle. This is in some ways similar to drug addictions, as a drug addict could steal and sell anything in order to receive money to support their habit. After the drugs are used and finished, it usually follows with depression. In a cycle, when the gambler is able to perceive his depression and to deal with it, he begins to gamble more and more to mask the pain (New York Times). In this scenario, the more they begin to gamble, the more short feelings of happiness they have and then later feel a heavy depression. Then to cope with that depression, the mother- in this case- would find something else to gamble away, which would make her feel better. It can be a never ending cycle, but can have a terrible effect on her child, just as any addiction …show more content…

As a gambling mother, all of her money is going into feeding her addiction rather than the things that matter most, such as her child’s education, his clothes and his food. Imagine a child always coming home with no food to eat or no jacket to wear in the cold weather because his mother spent all her money gambling. When a mother or father has a gambling problem, the child in their care can feel forgotten, depressed and angry (PG). They may even feel responsible for the problem, and alter their behaviors as a result (p.1). This can follow the child to adult age not only ruin the relationship that the parent has with the child but also create mental and emotional issues for the child in older age. According to the California Council, the absence of a caregivers for the child can thrust them into a role of responsibility, forcing them to take care of siblings or try to support their parents (p.1). This responsibility causes children stress, and continuous stress can lead to drug related issues for the child in the future (p.1). For a child who doesn’t have food to eat, this can be difficult, as most of them are too young to get a job and pay for things themselves. This type of situation can cause a child to result to criminal activity such as

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