Drinking and Parenting

Your days of partying until the wee hours of the morning are long gone. Sleeping in until noon the next day is not possible. Your carefree days may have been a blast, but after having a kid, you need to put those days behind you for now. At some point in the future, you will have the time again for your wild escapades, but you probably will not have the energy by that point - it is time to be a responsible parent.

Just because you’re a parent though doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy some time to yourself, or that you can’t go out and have an enjoyable evening without kids from time to time. You should absolutely take time for yourself and get out and enjoy a fun evening with a partner or with friends. As long as you’ve left your child in the care of someone you trust, then enjoy yourself.

While going out and having a drink is a great way to relax, many parents find themselves drawn to having a drink more often than that. You’re not going to go out multiple times per week, but you may want to have a drink that often. Having a drink after your kids have gone to bed is acceptable as a parent, however you need to be careful with it as it can become a pretty slippery slope if you’re not paying attention.

Whether it be beer, a glass of wine, or a shot in the evening after the kids are in bed, sometimes you just need something to calm yourself after a long day with the kids or whatever has you stressed out. Unless your doctor has advised you not to drink (perhaps you're pregnant again), then drinking can be a simple way to take the edge off. A cup or two generally shouldn’t be a problem for most people.

You need to be careful though to not make drinking every night a habit. While you may think that a glass or two of wine in the evening isn’t the end of the world, you also don’t want to become dependent on alcohol. What may have started as a single glass of wine can easily turn into 2 to 3 glasses of wine a night, and before you know it, you can’t live without those drinks every single night.

No, you’re not an alcoholic at this point, but the slope becomes very slippery at this point. If you find yourself becoming irritable because you can’t have your drink at night then you need to address the dependence. The more you depend on alcohol to help you get through parenting, the more likely you are to be reliant on alcohol to make things easier. Stop and find something else to help take the edge off.

Figure out what it is that alcohol is actually doing for you. Are you stressed out from being with the kids all day? If so, you need to make sure you’re making time for yourself every day. Even just a few minutes of doing things that you actually enjoy can make a world of difference. Perhaps you just don’t know what else to do - a drink takes the edge off. Find something else in your life that can do the same for you. For many people, getting in a workout each day can help to calm the mind.

Don’t drink your parenting sorrows away. A drink every now and then is fine, but don’t become dependent on it. It’s time to make a change if you are, and take control of your life again.