TOP STORY: Fears as P babies enter Bay schools

By Anna Bowden
The expanding role of school counsellors is about to enter unknown territory as "P babies" start to show up in schools - ushering in a dangerous new era.
Some counsellors are now asking "what's coming next?" as the off-spring of drug-abusive parents begin to filter through the school system.
The need for counsellors is already soaring in secondary schools - and they are regularly having to diagnose students with major psychological and behavioural difficulties.
Tauranga Boys' College deputy principal Ian Stuart is concerned at what kind of problems the school may face in future as teenagers enter secondary education who have been influenced by parents' drug use - especially methamphetamine or P.
"What's going to happen with the P babies? Who knows what it's going to be like, if you look at the past five to six years," he said.
His concerns are echoed by community counselling organisations and trusts, which say drugs and alcohol are directly linked to aggressive and hyperactive behaviour later in life.
A concerned grandparent and researcher believes the effects of drug and alcohol abuse on children is now an epidemic and that the country is in denial about the problem.
Since 2000, Bay school counsellors say they have had to diagnose new behavioural problems that were unheard of previously.
Rob Naumann, also a Boys' College deputy principal, said times had changed dramatically over the past six years.
"[We used to say] 'here's the punishment' and we could churn through several hundred guys a day if we had to.
"Now we listen, clarify, go through the process of talking and a range of options about how to deal with it."
For the school's counsellor, Brian Ebbett, family break-ups, financial hardship, bullying, traumatic experiences, behavioural diagnosis and social dynamics enter his office on the shoulders of teenage boys every day.
"Some of those [behavioural] issues have always been there, but labels have helped us identify and know how to relate to them successfully. I'd like to think in 10 years' time we will have a much better understanding and be more able to focus on those needs more appropriately."
For some students the need is so great school counsellors are forced to refer them to private professionals.
A pro-active approach is now being taken at secondary schools to prevent conflict arising. With 400 boys starting at Boys' College this year, the student management team has spent hundreds of hours forming classrooms tailored to create positive dynamics and challenging environments - as well as streaming ability.
Government money is allocated for one full-time counsellor per 800 students.
Katikati College counsellor Pete Bansgrove said many Western Bay teenagers have bad relationships with their parents - and those problems manifest themselves in school grounds.
"They can't drop their problems at the school gate. What is happening in their world could be a barrier to their education," he said.
He agreed that behavioural issues were arising more frequently and there was a clear need for expert help.
At Te Puke High School, principal Barry Foster agreed influences from home were always a concern for schools, though he said staff were better equipped than ever before to handle those problems.
"Every generation of people look back and compare, saying things are falling apart ... we are very mindful of our young people and some of them are living in difficult circumstances and coping remarkably well."
Mr Foster said providing stability and guidance was a constantly increasing area of school development and, for some students, teachers were the significant adult in their lives.
The Bay of Plenty Times has reported previously that many Western Bay grandparents were being forced to raise their grandchildren because the youngsters' drug and alcohol addicted parents were unfit guardians.
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust reported that nearly 85 per cent of children in its care suffered from physical illness or disability as well as behavioural and psychological problems. These included severe aggressive behaviour, destructive behaviour, conduct disorder, attention deficit disorder and post traumatic stress disorder.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board Community Alcohol and Drug Service clinical co-ordinator Hester Hattingh said mothers who took such substances during pregnancy were creating all sorts of problems for their child.
The risks unborn babies face include birth defects and learning or behavioural problems.
"However, because most pregnant women who use illicit drugs also use alcohol and tobacco, which also pose risks to unborn babies, it often is difficult to determine which health problems are caused by a specific illicit drug."
But Fetal Alcohol Support Trust resource co-ordinator Shirley Iniaerei said of all drugs, alcohol was the most lethal - she described it as an atomic bomb on the health of unborn babies.
She said New Zealand was in denial about its problems with alcohol and the syndrome has become an epidemic.
which leaves children's functional age much lower than their actual years.
She estimates each child born with the syndrome caused by drinking during pregnancy will cost the country $7 million in social services, medical costs, special education and benefits throughout their lives.