Behind The Awkwardness: The Hangover
November 23rd, 2009
“It was my 1st birthday and apparently, while my mom brought guests to the door, I licked all liquor glasses empty. After returning, she saw me falling backwards and passing out. The ambulance medic told her that I had consumed too much alcohol and sat me on the throne. Not too much has changed since then.”
(submitted by Beatrice)
I can’t tell if this is going to help or hurt, but I am YET to be at a one-year old (or beyond) birthday party where alcohol (usually wine & beer) is not served. Granted, I live in wine country, but seriously, am I the only one who doesn’t think that’s weird?
Also, we’ve been letting our kids smell our wine from basically infancy, and my six-year-old son now sometimes takes a “finger dip” to see what wines taste differently than another. This issue isn’t just generational, but current & geographical as well. Are there no Europeans here?
Hey, i’m from the wine country too, and one evening, my 1 year-old son finished his father drink (whisky), fortunately only drops ! I was just there talking to my daughter, some children are soooo fast ! It was funny later on, but rather scaring on the moment !
Though here in France, it is not rare to give children a sip of champagne for christmas !
OK, this does not explain that, don’t get me wrong lol !!
Definitely Underaged
Ahhh – a young Ted Kennedy!
THIS is the BEST
lots of very young kids love the yeasty taste of beer, and then lose their affinity for it. my aunt and uncle used to give my cousin an inch or so of beer to sip when she was really little. it’s really not a huge amount, and it made everyone laugh.
LOL! You are so cute!
Asleep on the loo, yeah I still do that…
People are acting incredulous about the potty seat and the fact that there is a one year old on it. Back then (and today though not as popular, and in other countries) people use elimination communication or “infant potty training”
You follow the baby’s cues and put them over a sink or on a potty from birth or at a young age. If you are good at it you can have a diaper free baby earlier than most potty trained children. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, I do this with my son and have since he was 6 months. He likes playing on the potty and we read books, and I make cues to signal him to use number 1 or number 2. If he has to poop, I made a grunting noise and he knows to try and poop. It works.
In other countries this is very common, Americans are the only people who leave 3 and 4 year olds in diapers. I do this for environmental reasons to use fewer (cloth) diapers, and to make my son more comfortable. Just google “EC” or “Elimination Communication” and you will get more info if you are truly interested.
BTW. my husband and his sister had this method and were potty “trained” at one year. My son had to be rushed to the potty at Thanksgiving dinner yesterday when my MIL saw “the face” He was placed on the potty and he pooped right away. She is GOOD!
It wasn’t WC back then, it was EC’s much more strict and un-AP cousin. This kid probably fell asleep on the potty chair waiting for a poo.
Meant “EC” not “WC” the first time- holding a sleepy newborn while I’m typing.
Wow…some of you folks are really uptight. I was brought up by hardcore Irish Catholics and you better believe there was liquor at kid’s parties. (I’m 31 by the way) I think us that are 30 and up ended up a lot better than those younger than us and the Dr. Spock way of child rearing. Beatrice, this is damned funny.
There was def liquor at my nephew’s first b-day party. Not my nephew (he was in the hospital with pnumonia) or my sister (with him), but my brother-in-law, lots of friends, and booze.
I had a similar experience as a two year old, in that my bicultural parents excused themselves from the table to get a long-distance phone call. I had already finished my tiny loving cup of red wine and decided to crawl out of my high-chair and start on their glasses. My parents returned to the table to find me passed out on the floor. I was relegated to Cold Duck ONLY on special occasions until I was about nine, but luckily was still able to partake in the Ramos Fizzes my father would fix on Sundays until then.
Growing up, I didn’t abuse alcohol and still consider it something to enjoy socially and with meals, but it was never cool to be “drunk” in any of these social situations or to drink merely to get “buzzed”. I thank my parents for all the things they taught me about dining.
I have been in the wine industry now for about 20 years. Currently, I am a sommelier at a 5 star restaurant, and it kills me that if kids are with their parents and are accustomed to having a sip of wine at dinner, that I cannot give it to them. How are they supposed to learn to drink responsibly? Do we do it by keeping alcohol taboo until their 21st birthday, when these silly kids all go on a bender with their friends to Las Vegas?
Thanks for the photo and the playful comment Beatrice!
This happened to me once in college…stupid frat party
This pic is too cute.
I laughed out loud in the office…I have an office to myself but the secretaries heard me. This is the best. We had beer at my little one’s first birthday party. We had a pig roast, naturally we had to have beer and wine too. Thanks for sharing the story Beatrice, you old lush you
The story is not nearly as disturbing as some of the comments on this. You all are a pretty uptight bunch! My God and it shocks me that none of you have seen or used a potty chair. I have kids ages 16 and 18 and I used a potty chair. They are not that archaic.
I hysterically laughed for 5 minutes until tears were streaming down my face. For all the “OMG!!” people- lighten up! It was a different time.
In my family, we have a saying.
“The first birthday is for the parents.”
Children are rarely invited to first birthday parties, and there’s usually gonna be some type of booze involved… well, except we don’t give the booze to the birthday child.
I love that the potty is on the couch
I can’t figure out why everyone is upset about the potty chair. It’s not some ancient thing either, I am only 18 and I had one when I was potty training (which thank god my mother did when I was still very young). By the time I was two I had it down! What disturbs me is when I see childern that are like 4 still wearing diapers!
Perchance, did you join a fraternity later in life? No offense intended with that statement by the way since I was a sorority girl myself