Drinking Alcohol when looking after a baby/young child?

[Josy]

Basically what it asks in the title, what is your opinion on people drinking alcohol when looking after a baby/young children?

Do you think it's wrong and a complete nono or do you think it's fine in moderation?

[Locke.]

I think it's fine in moderation Josy

[Josy]

I think it's fine in moderation Josy

Ok then what if something happens and the child needs taken to the doctor/hospital and the person has drank over the limit?

I know an ambulance could be phoned but what if it was going to take too long to get there?

[Locke.]

Phone a taxi

[Shaun]

I think a bottle of beer or a glass of wine would be OK but I don't think I'd ever risk it if I were in a position of care.

But then I'm not a big recreational drinker anyway :laugh:

[Josy]

Phone a taxi

Taxi takes too long then what?

[smudgie]

Moderation.
No reason why a parent can't enjoy a little drink, but silly to get plastered.

[Locke.]

Taxi takes too long then what?

Taxis only take 5 minutes at most around here, I've got this covered

[Josy]

I think a bottle of beer or a glass of wine would be OK but I don't think I'd ever risk it if I were in a position of care.

Yeah this is my opinion too, I suppose a tiny bit is alright but I personally wouldn't (if I drank that was) risk it.

[Locke.]

And what if the person can't drive in the first place? Didn't think of that one did you Josy

[Glenn.]

:laugh:

[Josy]

And what if the person can't drive in the first place? Didn't think of that one did you Josy

Yeah but that's not really the point of the thread :laugh:

I just asked you that because you replied it was fine in moderation.

[Livia]

When I'm looking after my nieces, a drink is essential I find. As essential as ear plugs and a sense of humour.

[Josy]

When I'm looking after my nieces, a drink is essential I find. As essential as ear plugs and a sense of humour.

Would you still have a drink if you were looking after a very young baby?

[Cherie]

I think most people who undertake to look after someones elses child is even more careful than they are with their own. I don't see any problem with having a drink, two drinks take you over the limit and I think in most cases if a child had an accident/felt ill, most carers would call the parents first unless it was really serious in which case they would call an ambulance.

[AnnieK]

And what if the person can't drive in the first place? Didn't think of that one did you Josy

Fair point....

If I was looking after someone else's kids I wouldn't have a drink but I will have a drink if I have my son (its very often needed in fact)

[Josy]

I think most people who undertake to look after someones elses child is even more careful than they are with their own. I don't see any problem with having a drink, two drinks take you over the limit and I think in most cases if a child had an accident/felt ill, most carers would call the parents first unless it was really serious in which case they would call an ambulance.

Yes the driving thing wasn't really important.

[Cherie]

Would you still have a drink if you were looking after a very young baby?

Probably not as night feeds would be involved, but I wouldn't look after a very young baby at any rate.

[Crimson Dynamo]

I would not if they were not mine or if it was a baby but once they get over 5 then no bother

[Jords]

Can of beer/cider or a glass of wine is fine.

[Niamh.]

When I'm looking after my nieces, a drink is essential I find. As essential as ear plugs and a sense of humour.

:laugh2:

[Crimson Dynamo]

Can of beer/cider or a glass of wine is fine.

http://p.twimg.com/A6ovZCmCEAAbBSa.jpg:large

[Marsh.]

Yeah, a drink or two is fine.

If you've drank so much to the point you're useless to them in a medical emergency then you've gone way too far. :laugh:

[Ammi]

...I agree that parents of young children often probably feel a need to have a drink in the evenings to relax, especially after a stressful day...so long as it's not excessive then it seems a fine thing to have one or two glasses of wine/beer etc...

[michael21]

Basically what it asks in the title, what is your opinion on people drinking alcohol when looking after a baby/young children?

Do you think it's wrong and a complete nono or do you think it's fine in moderation?

i say no no no

but if there more then one ie a mum & dad then it ok for one of them to have a small drink one night then swap over on the next occasion they fill like a drink

if there only one person then tuff don't drink you silly fool

[Jessica.]

I don't actually drink myself but I think having a beer in the evening with dinner is perfectly fine if there's kids around, but any more than that I would disagree with, if someone wants to get tipsy every night then I would advise against having kids. :joker:

[Z]

:shrug: I don't really have an opinion but this reminds me of the time (we were 17) that my friend was at my house and he was having recurrent health problems but the hospital had no idea what was wrong with him; anyway he was meant to be staying over but he started having an attack and my mum, who had been drinking wine with my dad downstairs, ended up driving him to hospital because it wasn't an emergency but he always needs medical attention whenever it happens, she was so paranoid she'd be pulled over :laugh:

[Vicky.]

I don't think it should be done really...a glass of wine or whatever could be fine I guess but personally when looking after a child I wouldn't do it. I was a bit wary of leaving Skye at her grandmas last friday because when we dropped her off granny had a glass of lager...but gav assured me that it would be the only one she would have while babysitting :/

We have had parties and such while looking after Skye, but one of us stays sober just incase. Its easy enough to do.

[Crimson Dynamo]

How about going for drinks and leaving the child say around 130 paces away?

checking regularly of course

[Z]

How about going for drinks and leaving the child say around 130 paces away?

checking regularly of course

Totally wrong IMO. Children are accident prone all the time; being 130 paces away and checking every half hour won't stop them from choking on something or falling and hurting themselves or calm the child down if they get scared of something and are crying etc...

[Vicky.]

How about going for drinks and leaving the child say around 130 paces away?

checking regularly of course

Definitely not. I would expect to be done for child neglect, and I should be too if I was that uncaring and selfish...

[Marsh.]

How about going for drinks and leaving the child say around 130 paces away?

checking regularly of course

Is this a McCann reference? :suspect:

[Jack_]

Well I guess one glass in moderation is fine but I don't really see why anyone would want to drink whilst babysitting anyway? Surely there's a time and a place, and even as someone that loves a drink I'd find it a bit weird and pointless drinking whilst I was looking after a kid :laugh:

How about going for drinks and leaving the child say around 130 paces away?

checking regularly of course

I wonder what that is referring to :whistle:

[thesheriff443]

children die while in the care of sober people, its a parents choice to drink while taking care of their children, its also a parents choice of who they leave their children with.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Definitely not. I would expect to be done for child neglect, and I should be too if I was that uncaring and selfish...

So what about a barbeque at the bottom of your garden with a child asleep in their bed?

[Livia]

Would you still have a drink if you were looking after a very young baby?

Actually, I don't really drink very much at all. And I would never look after a very young baby because I don't really know what to do with them.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Actually, I don't really drink very much at all. And I would never look after a very young baby because I don't really know what to do with them.

you clean up puke and poo and do the odd bit of cuddling

oh and hide behind your hands and then say boo. that never gets old for a baby

[thesheriff443]

you clean up puke and poo and do the odd bit of cuddling

oh and hide behind your hands and then say boo. that never gets old for a baby

are you talking about looking after livia:joker:

[Livia]

you clean up puke and poo and do the odd bit of cuddling

oh and hide behind your hands and then say boo. that never gets old for a baby

Sounds like hell on earth.

[Niamh.]

So what about a barbeque at the bottom of your garden with a child asleep in their bed?

I don't even know how you could compare the two tbh, when you look at where the apartment was in relation to the restaurant, when you consider that they left one of the doors into the apartment unlocked, they were in a strange country and one of their children had, only the night before told you she woke up in the middle of the night crying because she couldn't find you.........

[Crimson Dynamo]

I don't even know how you could compare the two tbh, when you look at where the apartment was in relation to the restaurant, when you consider that they left one of the doors into the apartment unlocked, they were in a strange country and one of their children had, only the night before told you she woke up in the middle of the night crying because she couldn't find you.........

wooooh tiger

who is talking about the McCanns?:conf:

[Niamh.]

wooooh tiger

who is talking about the McCanns?:conf:

I am :fist:

[Crimson Dynamo]

I am :fist:

:hugesmile:

i love that smilie

[Niamh.]

:hugesmile:

i love that smilie

me too, him and this guy :umm2:

[Crimson Dynamo]

I advise drinking alcohol when Making a baby however

not too much mind

[Vicky.]

So what about a barbeque at the bottom of your garden with a child asleep in their bed?

I assume the front door would be locked so noone could get in the house without going past us, and theres a big difference between being in your back garden and being across a pool a 5 min or so walk away in a foreign country tbh. Also either me or gav wouldnt drink if having a barbeque if we had Skye here :)

So yeah, I wouldnt mind having a barbeque with her asleep upstairs. Though being thoroughly neurotic I would probably still be checking her every 5 mins, or have a monitor with me :laugh:

[Vicky.]

wooooh tiger

who is talking about the McCanns?:conf:

LOL...

[Marsh.]

wooooh tiger

who is talking about the McCanns?:conf:

Yeah, let's leave bad parents out of the discussion and stick to talking about responsible alcoholic ones. :hmph:

[Niamh.]

I assume the front door would be locked so noone could get in the house without going past us, and theres a big difference between being in your back garden and being across a pool a 5 min or so walk away in a foreign country tbh. Also either me or gav wouldnt drink if having a barbeque if we had Skye here :)

So yeah, I wouldnt mind having a barbeque with her asleep upstairs. Though being thoroughly neurotic I would probably still be checking her every 5 mins, or have a monitor with me :laugh:

Yeah I would have a monitor with me, otherwise I'd be telling everyone to shut up every two minutes and asking them if they heard the baby crying :joker:

[Crimson Dynamo]

I once picked up a small LT in her car thing and she was not strapped in and she shot across the carpet landing on her tummy.

I got such a fright but she was fine. I never did THAT again.

Mind you my brother picked up his boy and raised him above his head and he copped it on the conservatory fan - a couple of stitches and the dog house for a week.

[AnnieK]

I never drink to get drunk when my son is at home but I'll have the odd glass of wine at weekends. He stays at mums if I'm going out. I was a bit worried though when he asked me recently if he had to be 6 to drink wine. He smelt a bottle if beer once too and said mmmm that smells yummy.

[user104658]

I doubt they'd be at any sort of risk with only a couple, however I certainly don't think theres any NEED to be consuming alcohol, especially if you've been left in charge of someone else's children.

For parents, I'd say a couple occasionally / on an occasion like new years, birthdays, Valentine's day etc. Is totally fine but I think it's... Questionable... If it's every night or even several times a week. Or even every weekend. I don't think regular alcohol consumption should be as normalised as it is.

[AnnieK]

My son is my life...but if I want a glass of wine on a Saturday night when he is safe in his bed, I will have one, I can't see what is questionable about that.

[Roy Mars III]

when i used to stay with my grandmother she used to have me make all her drinks for her while she watching soaps on tv. i can make a mean black Russian

[Kizzy]

Yeah, let's leave bad parents out of the discussion and stick to talking about responsible alcoholic ones. :hmph:

Ahem.... like me. :hehe:

[user104658]

My son is my life...but if I want a glass of wine on a Saturday night when he is safe in his bed, I will have one, I can't see what is questionable about that.

There's nothing wring with wanting a glass of wine on a Saturday night. There is something questionable about "needing" a glass of wine several times a week or most nights "to relax", as is the case in far too many households (of all social classes) up and down the country. In my opinion, of course.

[AnnieK]

There's nothing wring with wanting a glass of wine on a Saturday night. There is something questionable about "needing" a glass of wine several times a week or most nights "to relax", as is the case in far too many households (of all social classes) up and down the country. In my opinion, of course.

Ah I see, apologies I misunderstood you and got on my high horse :blush: Sorry

[Niamh.]

My son is my life...but if I want a glass of wine on a Saturday night when he is safe in his bed, I will have one, I can't see what is questionable about that.

Too right AnnieK

[user104658]

Ah I see, apologies I misunderstood you and got on my high horse :blush: Sorry

It's alright, the whole thing is a sensitive topic for me... I try to stay objective, but I'm probably not :joker:

[Jack_]

I didn't think the question was about looking after your own children though, since they're your responsibility anyway so you can do what you see fit. I took the question to be about being asked to look after other people's children and whether drinking under those circumstances would be acceptable.

Personally I can't imagine myself being asked to babysit, sitting down and thinking to myself 'ah I know, I'll just crack open a can'...I mean there's a time and a place surely? I couldn't ever imagine myself wanting a drink at that moment, seems a bit pointless :shrug:

[joeysteele]

I have no children obviously but I have looked after nephew's and Nieces and even great Nephew's and Nieces at times.

I never have had a drink when doing so and wouldn't still now on the rare occasions I do look after any for any length of time.

If I had children of my own, I think I would feel the same, just best not to.

[InOne]

My mum was an alcoholic and speed addict when I was growing up so was pretty much palmed off to my grandma most of the time. Which I don't mind because she looked properly after me.

Alcohol and kids don't work ever because when you're playing with a kid drunk you don't realise the force you're using and basically you can end up throwing them around far to hard and hurting them. I saw it in one of those alcohol awareness adverts when NZ he was swinging the kid around drunk and threw him right into the table. One of those that stuck with me

[Kizzy]

XwdUXS94yNk

I was a monster raised by a monster.

[user104658]

XwdUXS94yNk

I was a monster raised by a monster.

The video seems dramatic but thinking about it, it seems fairly accurate. For some children (including myself), anyway. Like I said above I'm not sure if I'm the most objective person on this topic. My mother is literally, right now, in hospital, weeks / days from alcohol-related death. Today is her 60th birthday. It makes me wonder if I have a tendancy to color the entire issue with my own hang-ups.

BUT, watching that video just reminded me really vividly of how I felt about drunk adults as a younger child. My mum didn't develop a drinking problem until I was around 13/14. However, I very strongly remember my parents occasionally having dinner parties etc. and finding drunk adults ... odd. To say the least. I found them scary. They didn't behave like themselves and I didn't understand why. They looked misty-eyed and nostalgic in a disconcerting way, they'd ruffle my hair or pinch a cheek in the way that only seems like "the thing to do" when drunk. They'd laugh too much at things that weren't all that funny, and become intensely patronising about completely normal things that children do... hmm. Yeah. Alcohol in even small amounts alters moods and behaviours and children have no way of understanding it at all.

And given that there should be plenty of ways to make opportunities to drink responsibly in the company of adults... there shouldn't really be any need to be drinking at home.

My mother's alcohol issues haven't turned me tee-total, I still occasionally go out for a drink with friends (admittedly very occasionally these days, two kids under 5 plus working 13 hour shifts every weekend = not much of any sort of life :joker: ) but yeah... I don't think I'll ever be comfortable getting drunk around my children. Not until they're adolescents and beyond, anyway.

[reece(:]

There's nothing wring with wanting a glass of wine on a Saturday night. There is something questionable about "needing" a glass of wine several times a week or most nights "to relax", as is the case in far too many households (of all social classes) up and down the country. In my opinion, of course.
This is always the case with my mum, granted I'm 18 now though.

[Kizzy]

I'm so sorry about your mum, it's strange how things change isn't it?
I think that's when I noticed the change in my mum too 13-14, she would get maudlin and very bitter about the past then she would create an argument or a drama over nothing.... and that was it, carnage....
I never touched alcohol hardly ever till I was in my mid 20's, then like some warped film I started to replay her life, fast forward 15yrs and I managed to quit.. don't ask me how.
'Functioning' is the word they use, not drinking to oblivion or through the day but like some hellish ritual it was groundhog day, 9pm daily..... there it was.

[Marsh.]

Yeah I would have a monitor with me, otherwise I'd be telling everyone to shut up every two minutes and asking them if they heard the baby crying :joker:

:laugh: Sounds like my auntie. Every time we go around to her house and we're sat in the living room, every 5 seconds she's all "Sssh" then ear in the air trying to listen for the slightest noise "Did you hear a cry?".

Babies send women crazy. D:

[Nedusa]

Wouldn't you need a drink or two if you were looking after noisy screaming kids.

[AnnieK]

:laugh: Sounds like my auntie. Every time we go around to her house and we're sat in the living room, every 5 seconds she's all "Sssh" then ear in the air trying to listen for the slightest noise "Did you hear a cry?".

Babies send women crazy. D:

My brother and his wife were like that and their kids are terribly light sleepers even now - you weren't even meant to flush the loo if you used the upstairs bathroom.

My son could sleep through a small bomb going off but I think that's because we never tried to be really quiet once he was asleep - just carried on as normal.

[lostalex]

This thread reminds me of the episode of Roseanne when she get's high and DJ comes home.


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