Before I started trying to conceive, I was a pretty heavy drinker. Like, my sister and I would drink about a fifth of vodka every weekend or so. That doesn't count the beers my husband and I would drink after dinner on Fridays or the bottles of wine through the week....pretty heavy drinker.

But I quit so I could have a baby, nurse, all that good stuff. I love to drink and I would probably have one or two drinks, but the getting drunk days are over for a long time. It isn't a good idea to get inebriated while you have a small child in your care.

We drink occasionally perhaps once or twice a month. It is usually a margarita, wine or beer. We usually drink when our child is in bed and we are watching a movie. Sometimes we have a glass of wine during dinner. I personally think that getting drunk in front of your children at any age is not good. If someone does want to get a little sloshed, they can wait until their kids are in bed.

Of course, I haven't had anything to drink for quite a while!!

i think it is wrong to drink in front of your kids at any age.

i think drinking infront of your kids is a personal choice, like at a cook out having 1 or 2 beers or something, but getting drunk infront of your kids is totally wrong.

I don't think it's a good idea either. If something were to happen and you needed to be able to act in a responsible manner, it's going to be hard if you are hammered.

My daughter doesn't have many memories of her bio. father (the donor, lol), but what she remembers is him coming to our apartment and throwing up on the living room floor. He was drunk.

i think that drinking in moderation is okay.
not ever having it around and forbidding it i think will make tpeak interest in it.
one or two drinks with dinner on occasion is alright in my opinion. its like everything else, you want to teach them that things are okay in moderation.
that being said i would never get drunk in front of my child. my parents never did it front of me and i would never put myself in the position that i couldnt take care of my child in case of emergency. if i wanted to get drunk id make sure i had my mom or someone watch her over night. im not willing to ever risk that.

before i got pregnant i liked having the ocassional glass of wine or maybe a light beer. i start feeling tipsy after one glass so that's enough for me. neither rich or i like to drink too much so i can say we won't be getting drunk in front of the kid. one thing i hated when i was a kid, and it still bugs me, is smelling alcohol on someone when you, yourself haven't been drinking. especially if you can see that they aren't acting quite normal. i think kids pick up on that stuff and i don't want mine to see me that way.

i don't see a problem with a parent having a drink with dinner or after dinner or something like that. nick loves beer, he doesn't drink it to get drunk, he drinks it because he really likes it and likes trying different kinds. i think he considers himself a beer connoisseur.

now getting drunk in front of your children is not appropriate at any age. why is 14 the magic age? then they'll see how much "fun" being drunk is and they might want to go try it themselves.

aside from nick's taste for good beer, we're not big drinkers. we usually don't even have alcohol in the house so it's not really an issue with us.

oh, i forgot that my mom sometimes serves drinks when we have family dinners (wine at holidays, mojitos at bbqs, etc). we're usually just sipping drinks while we sit and chat, not throwing back shots and getting wasted. i don't see an issue with a bunch of adults sitting around over drinks.

I have to say that I don't think its right at any age. My parents don't drink anymore, they used to have a very occasional drink. But never at home, never in front of us kids. And i think I turned out just fine without being around alcohol. I'm proud to say I'll probably be one of the few that actually waits til they are of legal age to drink (or atleast out of the people in my area). Once I turn 21 I will probably drink occassionally but I will never keep it in the house and always do it when my child is in the care of someone else. I think keeping it in the house is just askinng for your children to drink.

I guess right now I'm just hoping thats the way it goes, I won't actually know until I get to that point in my life. But I do know that I will absolutely never be drunk in front of my kids. And when they get older I'm not going to be drinking *with* my kids, especially if they are underage, and I'm not going to be the type of mother that says that its ok for my underage kids to drink as long as they are at my house (an occurance that takes place alot in the families around my town) I just don't think that is right.

I don't think you should actually get drunk infront of your children but if they don't ever see alcohol then there's always the chance they could abuse it when they're older because they never had the chance to see their parents drink responsibly

I really do not see the issue with having a few drinks in front of kids... social drinking is not a crime .

I think that getting drunk in front of your children is not appropriate and any age. I hate to see my mother drunk to this day and I am 21. However, I think that drinking in front of your children is fine, as long as you drink in moderation. Seeing my mom drink and not get drunk for years, showed me that you don't have to get drunk when you drink. And I think that is a common misconception with teenagers.

*deleted question to repost in seperate thread*

Both me and my sister were allowed to try alcohol, not a glass to ourselves but a sip or two of our parent's drink. As we got older and our parents knew that we had the ability to get alcohol when we're were out if we wanted to they said that we can have a glass of wine with dinner like they do or on a sumer's day have a beer of cider in the garden at a bbq. My parents always said that they would never let us get drunk in the house but they'd prefer it that if we did drink it was in the house so they could see what we were drinking and keep us safe

*editted to add*
the legal drinking age is 18 over here, i just realised how bad it must look to you to see that my parents let me and my sister drink underage if you thought it was 21 here too

I personally would not have even one drink in front of my small children in front of others. I think it looks irresponsible and those people don't know if it's your 1st or 10th.
Now when they're old enough to do for themselves, I don't see a problem with having a couple.
When they're a little older, like in their teens, I don't see a problem with having a few more. They're old enough to understand what you're doing and see you doing it responsibly. I wouldn't get trashed though!
Jesse has a few whether we're at home or in front of others at outings.

mc4ever02, that could be another post

having a sip of a beer is one thing (i hated my mom's wine when she let me try it)
but there is no way id ever let my 16 year old "drink"
there is a reason that there are laws.
my biggest pet peeve is parents who will let a bunch of 16 17 year olds over to their house to have drinking parties just because, "well it's at my house so i know no one drives."
this happens all the time around here!
i think it is so irresponsible and if someone allowed my 16 year old over to their house to drink i would not hesitate to get the law involved in it. that in my opinion is unacceptable.
the only way i am conflicted here is that when i was 18 i was married with my own apartment and job and i was married to someone over the age of 21. i never felt like the typical 18 year old and if i wanted to have a drink at my house once in a while i did.

You are completely right. I appologize, I didn't really think it would be a 'topic worthy' question. lol.

I do have to say that you read my mind. I was just thinking about posting a thread like this last night.

I also wanted to add, if I had a small child and there would not be anyone, except for me, there to care for them. I would not even have one drink.

In less than 2 week si'll be going to my sister's weddig so even if it's not me who's drinking people will be drinking around her

I think in moderation it is okay, I would rather set a good example for my kids so that they can see that it is acceptable to drink but not to get drunk.

My biggest concern is if something happens and you've drank, even one or two. What if some happens and you have to take your child to the hospital or something like that. I wouldn't even drink after she went to sleep if she slept all night b/c you never know what could possibly happen. My child's safety's too important to risk for a couple of drinks. My husband and I were always heavy drinkers up until I found out I was pregnant. We've changed alot. My husband has a few here and there and I may drink one a month and get drunk once every two months when my mom takes her overnight. She hasn't done that since April though.