Parental Alcoholism: Brought Up by Booze

Introduction

Calum Best is the son of one of the greatest footballers of all time, George Best. He is also the son of an alcoholic. In this intimate and challenging BBC Children in Need special, Calum confronts the harsh realities of growing up with an alcoholic parent. Meeting some of the 1.3 million children who are growing up with parental alcoholism, and sharing with them intimate tales of his own upbringing, Calum begins to accept that his life continues to be affected even now by his father’s drinking. Brought Up By Booze takes Calum across the UK to meet young people who share stories of chaos and neglect, but also inspirational stories of determination not to end up like their parents. What does George’s addiction mean for Calum’s future and will he ever understand the illness that killed his father? In this raw and often distressing journey of a son still reaching for his dad, we see first hand the devastating effect that drink can have on alcoholics’ children. [Taken from YT description]

Quotes

“Thinking about growing up, one of my strongest memories was coming to Manchester with dad when I was 11. We stayed here at my dad’s favourite hotel. Coming back, I’m reminded of how unpredictable and confusing being around an alcoholic can really be … I was left overnight not knowing where my dad had gone.”

“Understanding what adults do when they’re drunk is tough when you’re a kid. The girls I’m meeting at London Zoo have all had an alcoholic parent or relative. They have support through a self-help group called Alateen.”

“As soon as I started to get older, I was going to friend’s houses and I’d see that none of them were making their own dinner. None of them were making sure that their mom or dad was in from the pub and in bed or somewhere safe. I think it started to click with me then that there’s something wrong, but because I idolized my dad, I didn’t want to admit it.“

“I actually walked into my mom’s room and found about 20-30 empty bottles of vodka just laying across the side of the bed. It scared me because I thought ‘how can anyone drink that much?’“

“You say ‘Dont let me drink’, but what can I do? I am a child so I depend on you. You can only stop yourself, so what can I do? I’m sorry now I can’t help you, I don’t know how to. You say ‘Don’t let me drink’, but what can I do?”

“It’s still hard for me to accept that alcohol took my father’s life. But some children have to say goodbye while their parents are still alive. Danielle is getting married next year but her mother won’t be there. Her mother’s drinking got out of control when Danielle was just 11 and she still drinks heavily today.”

“Over half of the people here will have children at home who have been directly affected by their addiction. For every one person addicted there’s going to be at least 3-4 people connected to them who are affected by addiction on very much the same levels as the addict.”