Cocktail Playdates

Did any of you catch the 'Moms Enjoying Cocktail Parties' segment on Good Morning America last week?  I am a Today Show regular myself but turned on GMA to see footage of the Bachelorette (I know, shameful)!  So I was sitting there watching the play date segment and thinking, Mommies drinking during playdates?


My play dates usually involve muffins and coffee.  But alcohol?  I mean, don't get me wrong. I go out to eat with my husband and our child and have a nice glass of wine at the restaurant. Heck, I served champagne spritzers at my child's First birthday party. But there is just something about serving alcohol at a playdate for children.

As a mom, you go to these playdates so your children can learn to play and socialize with other children, AND it's for the moms to socialize and relate to being a mommy!  We trade tips on what to do for naps, teething, babysitters, etc. while the children run around and play.  I love them and look forward to them, but I see play dates as my day time job for my child and is part of being a responsible parent and stay-at-home mom.

GMA also referenced a book I had read while I was pregnant called Sippy Cups Are Not For Chardonnay.



The author is a famous comedian named Stefanie Wilder-Taylor who discusses how crazy her life had turned since she had kids and has laugh out loud funny moments like meeting new moms at the neighborhood park and feeling like she was in high school again with the clicks and trying to 'fit in.'  She also discussed how she would unwind at the end of the day with a glass of wine.

And then I read in my Parenting magazine the other day that she recently admitted she became an alcoholic (3 children later).  So the poor mother/housewife/comedian was downing alcohol to get her through the day. Seems harmless as I have unwound myself at the end of a tough day with a nice glass of wine!  But her one glass had turned into three and then into an every day drinking affair.  As a counselor I have seen how hard it is to admit to being an alcoholic as a lot of people live in denial and don't see it as a problem.  So I have to say how awesome it was for her to admit it, especially being a celebrity and discussing it out in the open.

I think a lot of moms can relate to the drinking-taking-the-edge-off-kind of thing after dinner. But going to an 11 am play date with your child, driving I might add, and getting tipsy while your child is playing next to you, then driving home? I am picturing an episode of Mad Men here, with mom Betsy drinking her hard liquor and chatting with her neighbor friend while their 3 tots are running around the house.

Trying not to judge, but I am not a fan of these Cocktail playdates.  Thoughts?