Did you know that 6.6 million American children grow up in substance-abusing families or that over 1 million American children grow up being abused? People say that when they drink or do drugs it's their life and they can act how they want, do what they want and live how they want, but they don't realize that their actions affect everyone around them. When alcohol and other drugs are in the body's system, it cannot function regularly, thinking becomes clouded, emotions are confused, and movements become sloppy. It's not a safe situation to involve yourself in, let alone loved ones, such as children. Why do parents put their children in these types of situations? Of all child abuse cases in the United States, nine out of ten have alcohol as a primary factor. This means that if you look at one hundred cases, ninety of them will involve alcohol in some way, you think of all the damage that alcoholism alone causes, you think of the tragedy that could have been so easily avoided, but yet was not nothing done and nothing was done. It keeps happening, every single day. Of all cases, two out of five abusive parents are alcoholics. When parents are under the influence of substances, they do not have full control of the situation and act in ways that they would not normally do in an ordinary situation. The most common types of child abuse are physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect. Physical abuse is characterized by hitting, scratching, kicking, biting, slapping, throwing, etc. Emotional abuse is the act of putting a child down with hurtful words, calling them names, making them feel worthless in order to create pain for them. Sexual abuse is the act of forcing a child to take part in sexual activities by watching, touching, videos... middle of paper... do it anonymously to protect yourself and your family if you feel threatened. Don't get involved more than necessary, leave the interference to the officials, they know how to handle it the right way. Child abuse is a very complex and delicate situation to be involved in, there are many different types and different reasons and when mixed with alcohol it can be very dangerous and even deadly. If five children die every day due to abuse, and at least two of the deaths were due to substance-abusing parents, this problem could be reduced with a little more effort and determination. It may never be completely resolved, but it may eventually become a rare event to hear about. If you know a child living in an abusive environment, tell someone, ask them for help, do something! You could make the difference between life and death for that child, don't just be a witness, be a hero.