E-Paper
Supermoms turning to the bottle
More and more women in Britain are turning to alcohol to cope with pressure of being “supermum”, thus putting their children’s mental health at risk, a study has warned.
More and more women in Britain are turning to alcohol to cope with pressure of being “supermum”, thus putting their children’s mental health at risk, a study has warned.
The study by Turning Point, Bottling It Up: The Next Generation, has claimed that 2.6 million children in the UK are living with a parent who drinks at hazardous levels.
The average alcohol consumption of parents was 30 units per day (10 times recommended limits) - 24 for mothers and 33 for fathers - the equivalent of three bottles of wine or up to 15 pints of beer, the Daily Mail reported. The study report said: “A key issue was that mothers often felt under pressure to be ‘perfect’ and that alcohol was a way of coping with the demands of motherhood.
“Some said a lack of support from their partners was a trigger for their drinking. Others were drinking at least three nights a week and consuming more than 70 units - the equivalent of nearly eight bottles of wine. Their drinking was often in secret when their children had gone to bed.”
