Yahoo Lifestyle Should you drink in front of the kids?
Photo: Getty Images
“Mummy, you smell of wine!” my five-year-old pronounced. And for a moment I panicked. She was right. I did smell of wine.
And I wondered, frantically, if that was bad. Was I scarring my child for life by smelling like a cork? Would the lovely, fruity waft of cab sav emanating from my palate turn my daughter into an alcoholic? Should I deny it? Change the subject? Pretend it wasn’t alcohol at all?
But then I calmed down and realised there was nothing to be ashamed of. Mummy drinks wine sometimes.
And wine is delicious!
“You have a good sense of smell!” I told my daughter. She nodded proudly. And that was the end of the discussion.
Everything in moderation
I’m very much a moderate drinker, but I do enjoy my moderate drinking. I love an occasional glass of red wine with dinner. The odd gin and tonic after five. A glass of champagne for a celebration. And a colourful cocktail when I’m out with friends.
Alcohol is one of life’s great pleasures, particularly when it’s pink and frothy and served with a miniature umbrella.
But I’m a parent, which begs the question: is it okay to drink in front of my kids?
Well the answer, I believe, is yes – but in moderation. Responsibility is the key. After all, there’s ‘having a nice glass of wine’ and there’s ‘slurring your words and putting your pants on your head’, and the two are completely different things.
A responsible role-model
I’m not one to get roaring drunk (apart from that embarrassing incident at a blogging conference a couple of years ago), but if I did, it wouldn’t be in front of my kids. No child needs to see their parents lose control. Kids need to feel safe and secure, and that isn’t going to happen if Mummy is collapsed on the couch in a drunken heap, unable to take herself to bed.
But there’s nothing wrong with modelling responsible drinking. After all, our kids learn all sorts of life skills from us – how to greet strangers, how to sit nicely at the table, why fruit and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. I think it’s appropriate that How To Drink in Moderation is one of the lessons we impart.
No sense denying it
Now, of course there is the argument that one should completely abstain from drinking when kids are around. But I don’t think it’s reasonable to deny ourselves simple pleasures just because we’ve reproduced, as long as we’re doing it responsibly.
And besides, every parent has to cope with exhaustion, and quite frankly I think I’m far worse off after a broken night’s sleep than I am after a soothing glass of cab sav.
Perhaps more importantly, hiding alcohol consumption would simply make it taboo, and we all know that there’s nothing more compelling to a child than something expressly forbidden.
Chances are that Mummy is going to smell of wine again in the near future. As long as it’s only a glass or two, then I don’t have a problem with that at all.
Cheers!
More from Kerri Sackville:
