I was too young to truly understand what had happened. We had another boy in my kindergarten class. He lived in the same building as I did and we did NOT get along! Most days he would decide he didn't want to be there anymore and just get up and go home. If the teacher tried to stop him he would threaten her and cuss. Eventually, she stopped trying. Or maybe he just quit coming. I'm not sure. My mother used to talk about her or refer to her as "that woman". I'm not sure what all she did, but I whenever I see a picture of a strung out drug addict, I think of her.
It is important I know as much as possible about each child's home life as I can. If the child is in 4th or 5th grade when their parents become users, they are more likely to become caretakers for younger siblings, meaning that they will get less sleep and may sacrifice whatever food they have for their siblings. With worrying about siblings, food, and lack of sleep, learning will be the least of their concerns. They will probably be much more irritable, if they even come to school at all. They may become bullies and take lunch money or food from other kids. They may try and steal from the cafeteria, classmates' book bags, or from a neighborhood store. Older children are less likely to come forth with such problems and because they understand the stigma or have been threatened or are ashamed.
Children of users are more likely to have poor hygiene and less likely to have clean clothes subjecting them to teasing from their peers. Also, if a child is exposed to the drug and it gets into their system, they may have no idea what's happening to them, causing a great deal of stress, especially when they begin to crash. If such an episode happens in the classroom, we owe it to our children offer some explanation. Chances are their may be another at-risk child in the classroom.
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