Play-Date Drinking Threatens The Sanctity Of Mommyhood

What’s so bad about boozing with close friends as your children play by themselves in the backyard? According to this Good Morning America piece by Elisabeth Hasselbeck, everything. Gasp! Considering the text splashed on the lower third of the segment included “Who’s Watching The Kids?,” we already knew where the segment was going. Elisabeth interviewed a panel of six moms about these so-called “Happy Hour Playdates,” and of the six, only one said she had a problem with drinking while her kids were around (but said it was only because her two boys were a hyperactive handful.)

So when does casual drinking turn into a potential problem? GMA quoted a poll from Working Mother Magazine that showed 40% of moms drinking to cope with the stresses of motherhood. Is this a big deal? We’d venture more than 40% of people drink to “cope” with the stresses of, you know, everything ever. It’s called Happy Hour because of all of the less-happy hours that precede it, after all.

Nevertheless, GMA spoke with Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, author of Sippy Cups Are Not For Chardonnay, who came out as an alcoholic two years ago. She expressed the difference between a relaxing drink with friends, and drinking to escape the perils of motherhood: “It’s mind-numbingly hard how many demands you have and how much pressure there is to raise these little human beings.” Yes, exactly. Bottoms up, ladies.