It’s 5 o’clock somewhere which means it’s time to talk about alcohol

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I’ve spent the last year focusing more on alcohol than I ever have and I plan to continue the trend throughout the next year. And that’s because I believe strongly in being an open and honest parent with a transparent view of life. That’s part of why I got involved as a blogger for the TalkEarly program which focuses on starting and maintaining conversations with your kids about alcohol. I’m proud to continue on a blogger for this program and especially so today.

April kicks off Alcohol Responsibility Month and if you haven’t started a conversation with your kids about alcohol, now is a good time to start. And while you’re at it, it might be time to think about how your kid views alcohol consumption like I have

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Sometimes, my worlds converge in a big way. It may be people or places or even topics. Call it a sign or a coincidence when this happens or maybe it’s something different altogether. It could be the topic at hand may be so prevalent in my world because it’s timely and it’s personal. It’s about Grown Up Drinking.

If I had to create my own little timeline of drinking from adolescence to adulthood, it might look something like this:

High school => “Can I have another wine cooler? Those are yummy!”
College => “Is that alcohol? Okay, I’ll drink it.”
Early 20s => “Beer might be fun this weekend as long as it’s not too expensive.”
Mid 20s => “I’ll have a glass of White Zinfandel please.”
Late 20s => “I can’t believe I ever drank sweet, cheap wine. I’ll have a Chardonnay.”
Parenthood => “Do we have any alcohol in the house? Any at all?”
Later parenthood => “Maybe I shouldn’t drink so much wine.”

Now, I’ll let you decide if this is literally my own timeline or if it’s just representative of a typical timeline of adults who evolve into a pattern of drinking. But if you’re a parent, you might very well relate to this.

As an adult, drinking at home was a novelty for me. It was fun to have a glass of wine with dinner. It made me feel grown up that I could go and buy my own beer. It still felt like it was something forbidden for me. It was Grown Up Drinking. Enjoying alcohol simply because you can.

For me and many women, especially moms, alcohol became more than enjoyment. It became a reward. Nod your head up and down if you can relate to any of these statements.

“My day sucked. I really need a glass of wine.”

“The kids are making me crazy. Thank God it’s 5 o’clock.”

“I am soooo looking forward to book club this weekend.”

Let’s be honest. There are many masked statement that come out of our mouths (mine included) that really translate into “Mommy needs a drink.” It may not be a glass of wine for you. It may be a beer or a cosmo. But it’s your release and your reward at the end of a long day. It’s a stress reliever and a stress releaser. And you won’t get any arguments from me about that. Besides, isn’t a drink or two every day supposed to be good for you?

Where we need to rethink our Grown Up Drinking strategy is when it’s in front of our children. Because, whether you like it or not, they watch you and form opinions about you and your drinking and your attitudes toward alcohol. Let’s translate some of those phrases.

“My day sucked. I really need a glass of wine.”

Does a glass of wine really make your day better? Maybe you’re teaching your kid that alcohol is a problem solver. That if things get too tough at school, with friends, on the sports field, that alcohol might help.

“The kids were making me crazy. Thank God it’s 5 o’clock.”

Do kids really drive you to drink? Maybe you’re showing that at 5 o’clock, you’re checking out because you’re done with parenting for the day. And maybe that’s true but let’s not let our kids in on that little secret.

“I am soooo looking forward to book club this weekend.”

Is book club just a cover for wine club? Sometimes my husband really thinks that but we definitely read books. And enjoy a glass of wine. But mostly, it’s about the books. Alcohol is a fun part of our monthly socializing but it’s not the driving force.

Speaking of book club, we’ve read about and discussed some of these very topics. When we read “All Fall Down” by Jennifer Weiner, we had a lengthy discussion about addiction, how it affects families, and how we’re protecting our children from the dangers. We’re currently reading “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins where the lead character is a self-admitted alcoholic who downs cans of Gin & Tonic (must be a British thing) as she rides the train every day, a habit that started when she failed to conceive a child and her marriage ultimately fell apart.

When a topic like this is timely, it always seem to touch me from multiple angles, whether it’s the books I’m reading or even the conversation I’m having with my own child. This past week, my husband was out of town and while I would still normally enjoy a nightly glass of wine with dinner, I decided to forgo it. I chatted with my son about how I was skipping it as I was watching my calories and he said, “I’m glad.”

I didn’t want to read too much into his statement but I’m sure he has some mixed feelings about alcohol consumption. We’ve talked a lot in our household about the good and bad of it and what it means to drink responsibly. But sometimes, I think a more important message to convey is that it doesn’t have to be part of my daily life.

This post is part of my compensated role as a #TalkEarly blogger, an initiative from Responsibility.org. Talking with your kids about alcohol is an important topic to me which is why I accepted this role. Please note that all opinions expressed here are my own.