Because she is only a child, she does not realize how inappropriate, dysfunctional, and wounding her mother’s behavior is. She has no mature pre-frontal cortex nor any cognitive framework to create such insight and realizations; she has no frame of refernce other than her own alcoholic mother.
As a recovering alcoholic in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, and as a doctor of clinical psychology and a psychotherapist in private practice for over ten years, I have observed and treated many people diagnosed with alcoholism and their family systems.