Who serves alcohol at a kid’s pary?

I enjoy a drink as much as the next person, but it doesn’t define my life, and I see no need for it to be a regular part of what I do socially. It’s incredibly important to me how my child relates to alcohol and I never want it to be an integral part of her life either – yes she’ll want to try it when she gets older, but it will not rule her life, and it should not enter into her being at the tender age of 4. Children should not be aware of booze until much later in life, and I think there is nothing worse than seeing a family in a pub in the afternoon, or a child tasting dad’s pint and everyone laughing and taking photos. For me it’s just so wrong, and I sort of thought that the people that I was friends with shared this thought process, especially where kids are concerned.

 

Last weekend, we (hubby, daughter and I) went to a work colleagues daughter’s birthday party (the child is 2 by the way). It’s a work colleague that we’ve known for many years, but it’s only recently we’ve met up for family stuff, since they’ve had their little girl. They’re a lovely couple, and their daughter is a dote. When we got there, the party was in full swing, we had decent enough weather so the kids were out the back on the bouncy castle, and the adults were scattered between there, the kitchen and sitting room. Pretty standard kids party I would have said. Standard, until a pretty little thing (colleague’s sister I believe) did the rounds with a bottle of wine, and I was really quite shocked. I declined politely, and stuck to my coke. And for those who declined the wine, she offered alternatives – beer, G&T, vodka etc. It was a veritable free bar! Generous to a fault I might add, but this just wasn’t how I saw a 2 year old birthday party going off – there were loads of kids there, and it was Saturday afternoon. I could only imagine the carnage by 6 o’clock.  

 

I’m sorry I just don’t agree with it. The party is for the kid, and yes family and friends were invited, but it’s still a child’s party. There's meant to be cakes and sweets, and mums telling their kids they've had enough goodies. There's meant to be fun and games, along with a healthy measure of tantrums and tiaras if they're relevant. But not booze. Aside from setting a terrible example for the kids who see and learn that drinking has to be a part of a social experience, they also see at an early stage, adult behaviour that is less than becoming. I’ve no problem with anybody drinking to whatever excess they choose – as an adult, you make those choices all by yourself. But NOT at a kids birthday. Your child doesn't need to see that, I can assure you my child won't.  I left the party early, and was nobody’s favourite person that evening – hubby thought I was over reacting and my daughter thought I was ‘just mean’ because we were the first to leave the party. But I couldn’t, in good conscience, stay much longer than we did. It had already started before we left, the sloshing of pints and rauccous conversation - if I had wanted that for my day out with hubby and daughter I would've taken them to the pub.