Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Tough start for kids of drug parents

By Lydia Anderson
Northern Advocate·
17 Oct, 2013 09:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Developmental delays are common among children of drug and alcohol users. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Developmental delays are common among children of drug and alcohol users. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Some children are starting school with the skill levels of 3-year-olds or with developmental delays due to parental drug and alcohol problems, Northland principals warn.

Tai Tokerau Principals' Association vice-president and Ruakaka Primary School principal Marilyn Dunn said the follow-on from the P epidemic was presenting itself in children arriving as new entrants at school.

"The P epidemic got particularly bad five or six years ago so we're getting the babies that are coming through," she said. "It's very difficult for schools to deal with and I think all schools [in Whangarei] are being affected by it at the moment."

Whangarei Hospital general paediatrician Dr Roger Tuck said the effect of methamphetamine on children was hard to untangle because the drug was often found in homes where alcohol use, poor nutrition and physical abuse were also present. "Meth use is an indicator for a whole bunch of red flags for poor development," he said. Environmental factors of methamphetamine use could affect a child as much as the physical effect, he said. However, research into the effect of P specifically was unclear.

"I am yet to meet a P user who isn't using alcohol and other drugs."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Medical Officer of Health for the Northland District Health Board Clair Mills said P use hadn't gone away in the last five or six years, but alcohol use by parents was still the biggest factor for child development problems.

She said children were also being sent to school without preparation, arriving at primary school without skills as basic as how to hold a pencil.

"We're getting them much younger now, so they're presenting with developmental delays and severe behavioural issues," she said. "We're finding a lot of the children coming in from pre-school now are very delayed in the skills that we need to get them started."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Children were coming in with the skills of a 3-year-old, she said.

Discover more

P charges follow road crash

25 Sep 07:59 PM

Search for stolen jeans leads to drugs and a gun

07 Oct 06:56 PM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Opinion

Opinion: Empowering youth voices is crucial for NZ's future

Premium
Opinion

Joe Bennett: The young tech saviour bridging the digital divide

Northern Advocate

Windswept chaos: 102km/h gusts leave Northland without power


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Opinion: Empowering youth voices is crucial for NZ's future
Opinion

Opinion: Empowering youth voices is crucial for NZ's future

Over 50 young people attended the youth hui.

18 Jul 04:30 PM
Premium
Premium
Joe Bennett: The young tech saviour bridging the digital divide
Opinion

Joe Bennett: The young tech saviour bridging the digital divide

18 Jul 04:00 PM
Windswept chaos: 102km/h gusts leave Northland without power
Northern Advocate

Windswept chaos: 102km/h gusts leave Northland without power

18 Jul 03:29 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP