Always Drunk
We watched the movie Tin-Tin the other day. It’s a good movie, but one of the main characters is a total drunk. As we were driving home afterwards, we talked with the kids about alcohol.
“But,” my wife said after we were done, “there’s nothing wrong with a drink every once in a while for people that don’t have a problem. They just have to be responsible.”
“The key is staying in control of yourself,” I chimed in. That’s pretty much my favorite lecture these days. Homework, church, exercise… I’m always trying to get the kids to keep their brains in charge of what they do.
“Yeah,” my wife said. “Have you ever seen me drink myself silly?”
“No,” my oldest answered.
“What about Daddy? Have you ever seen him get silly when he’s drinking a beer?”
An awkward silence settled over the back seats. I couldn’t believe it. My drinking days ended long before the kids arrived. I average about a beer a month these days, if that.
My wife looked over her shoulder. “Well?”
“Well,” my youngest said. “He’s always silly.”
“Yeah,” his older brother chimed in, “but it’s not because of alcohol.”
Yep, that’s me. I live in a state of perpetual intoxication.
Loved this! But here is a question for you that nobody can seem answer for me….At school they teach the kids that alcohol is a drug because essentially it is a drug. It can even be more dangerous than other drugs and have long lasting effects on organs. So how do we tell our kids it’s okay to have a few drinks if we are responsible but we don’t say to have a few “other” drugs responsibly? Is it because alcohol is legal? See, I have a very difficult time with this and am curious as to what you think….:o) Thanks so much…any friend to friend advice is welcome!!
The kids and I have had more than one chat on exactly what a drug is. For example, what about caffeine or sugar? We’re very up front about the reason we don’t let them drink caffeinated soda, and the kids seem to understand.
It seems to me that drugs are called drugs because they are particularly dangerous, but they’re not the only things that are dangerous.
So… What we tell the kids is that we have to be aware of what we’re putting in our bodies, and know what the dangers are – particularly the hidden dangers, the hurts that we may not become aware of for a couple decades, or the insidious addictions that we don’t even know we have.
What do you think?