20 percent of all children have at least one parent who has or has had alcohol problems. More than half of the 430,000 children have been very negatively affected by their parents' drinking, according to a study by the Central Association for Alcohol and Drug Information (CAN).

It is a major societal problem that is not limited to Christmas, points out Sofia Grönkvist, socio-economist and Head of Unit for Support and Education at Bris.

-Children who live with adults who drink too much grow up with great insecurity and stress. It can lead to mental ill health during growing up and in the longer term, she says and continues:

-Children of addicts, a large group of children, are at higher risk of leaving school with lower grades. Relations with others are adversely affected. Parents are not the safe base you need to develop and feel good.

Worrying for children

In most families, parents do not abuse. But it can still be alarming for children to see their parents drunk. The sobriety movement IOGT-NTO therefore encourages all adults to celebrate a white Christmas for the sake of the children. At the same time, many nubs and Christmas beer feel like a harmless mood booster on Christmas Eve.

TT: Where does the limit go when drinking becomes a problem?

-As soon as the children are affected I would say. When children talk to Bris about their parents' drinking, it is very rarely about how much they drink or how often. It's about how they experience their parents, says Sofia Grönkvist.

-They describe how their parents change physically, in speech and mood. They become unpredictable. Alcohol gives you a reduced ability to be emotionally present.