Drinking Wine Makes Me A Better Parent

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I know how it sounds and I am ready for the Sanctimommy onslaught but I don’t care. I am positively certain that drinking wine makes me a better parent.

Before you grab your torches and pitchforks, hear me out. I have a somewhat high-strung personality and I tend to get twitchy about certain things. One of those things is my kid’s behavior. I am fully aware that they are only five and seven years old and that the way they act is because they are only children. However, this does not stop me from occasionally having smoke coming out of my ears when I see them wipe snot on their sleeve, jump from the fifth step to our slate tile landing or accidentally swat me in the face while we watch TV because they simply cannot sit still. By their very nature, young children can be incredibly annoying. 

Most of the time, I am able to handle it and I can keep in the very forefront of my mind that they cannot help their behavior and don’t mean anything by it but there are times, after a long day, where I am flat-out done. At the end of my rope. Ready to lose it. Enter, my good friend Cabernet Sauvignion and his trusty pals Pinot Grigio and Shiraz. I am not talking a whole bottle, here. A big night would be two glasses. An average night is more like one. I drink probably twice a week, one of those usually being a Saturday night in front of the TV with my husband. I am not a partier. I am not a drunk. I just like to relax and wine helps me do that.

Now, you may be wondering, how does this factor into my parenting? Have you ever tried doing arts and crafts with your child? If so, you have witnessed your child mucking it up and making a mess and going TOTALLY against the Pinterest-approved image you had in mind for the end result. Logically, I know this is not a big deal and that the kids having fun is what matters. Illogically, my anxious, Type-A brain is screaming and I am struggling the entire time to not just grab the freaking Elmer’s, googly eyes and card stock and do it myself. I have discovered over the years that the very best way to handle an arts and crafts disaster is with a glass of Cab in my hand and nice music playing in the background. The kids can do a crappy craft to their hearts content and my brain is no longer crying that it isn’t turning out Pinterest-perfect.

This is just one example. I have also been known to sip a glass slowly from the time I begin making dinner until the kids are in the bath tub. This is maybe a two hour period, so again, I am not guzzling like a drunk. It just helps slow things down for me enough that those tough nights are that much easier to tackle. I honestly see no harm in it but I often hear about moms who don’t drink for moral reasons or because they think it is unseemly for their children to witness it. My own mother never drank in front of me as a kid and I know that was part of the reason why. I respect every mother for their own personal choice in regard to alcohol but I also ask that the world respect a responsible mother who has a moderate amount of wine now and then. It really is not that big of a deal.

(Image: BlueSkyImage/Shutterstock)

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