This not not beer
While pregnant, the Mrs. wasn’t drinking (of course). But she did have a hankering for the refreshing taste of an ice cold beer on occassion. So, she’d been sipping on O’Doul’s non-alcoholic brew. Well, she’d been giving a sip or two to Junior now and then since it wasn’t alcoholic and Junior asked for it and seemed to like it. Well, being no longer pregnant, I bought her some real beer. Junior walked up and made a motion for it and, out of reflex, the Mrs. hands her the bottle and Junior takes two big gulps. That’s when the Mrs. says aloud Oh crap realizing she just gave Junior a real beer. Oops.
May 17th, 2006 at 12:41 am
Actually, I think O’Douls does have some small percentage of alcohol in it…. something like 1/2%. I seem to recall that anything below 2% or something close to that is considered by law to be a non-alcoholic beverage. 1/2% probably isn’t enough to worry about.
Either way, I doubt real beer will hurt Junior any. My father, back in the days when they used to suggest rubbing whiskey on a baby’s gums to help with teething, managed to overdose me a fair amount, causing my mother to come home to find me exceedingly happy. When asked what miracle my father performed to finally get me to stop crying, he relayed how he’d just kept rubbing whiskey on my gums until I stopped, at which point she exclaimed “Oh my god, he’s drunk!”.
I turned out pretty normal though, or so I’d like to think. The irony is that my usual present for my father on his birthday is a fine bottle of whiskey. In that case perhaps the smart thing to do is to feed junior a smigeon of the finest 18 year old single malt scotch you can find 😉
May 17th, 2006 at 7:25 am
My son, he was around 6 – 9 at the time, grabbed the wrong coolercup one day when we were out by the apt. pool. He didn’t necessarily care for the cold Bock that was in it. Being the good father I am, I laughed.
Also, I worked the oil field for a while in an area that was of predominantly Czech background. When they got together at the SPJST Hall on the weekends they’d have a granny keeping herd on the toddlers (it was a family affair). When it was time for granny to party, i.e. put the kiddos to sleep, they’d slip ’em all a bottle with a little dark beer usually a local Bock. Didn’t take long before even the accordian wouldn’t wake ’em.
May 17th, 2006 at 7:41 am
When I was a wee lad, my dad drank beer so gol-darn-it I was going to drink it, too. He would poor a 1/4″ in the bottom of my cup and I would struggle to swallow that horrid stuff.
By the time I got to high-school I wouldn’t touch the stuff with a 10′ pole.
So – when my son was a toddler I would give him a sip of my beer with… spectacular results. He’s getting ready to go into highschool and his opinion of booze is utterly rock bottom.
Of course, for me, college quickly cured my tee-totaler tendencies and I suspect it will do the same for him…
May 17th, 2006 at 8:21 am
Sebastion, o’douls is about as alcoholic as orange juice, iirc.
May 17th, 2006 at 8:43 am
Sebastian & Uncle: I’m pretty sure you’re both right, i.e., O’Douls and O’J both have about 0.5% alcohol content.
May 17th, 2006 at 9:12 am
0.5% alcohol content… I think you’d get more from breathing the fumes from a bottle of real spirits than actually drinking that.
May 17th, 2006 at 10:22 am
I was raised in an ethnic household where you were allow a sip or two as soon as you were able to lift the glass. We allow our kids a little taste of wine now and again. The 5 year old takes one sip and says “That’s enough. You shouldn’t drink too much.” That’s the spirit (so to speak). A healthy respect for alcohol is exactly that.
May 17th, 2006 at 10:32 am
My parents did the same but not when I was 23 months 😉
May 17th, 2006 at 11:19 am
SU, when they come for you, go quietly…
May 17th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
My parents always gave me a sip of whatever they were drinking. More if I wanted. I turned out ok.
As for pregnancy drinking, you really have to drink a TON to cause any ill effects. There’s a general effort to scare women into abstaining completely because the medical industry doesn’t trust women to moderate themselves. If you have a beer every once in a while during pregnancy, it’s ok. Just enjoy it.
May 17th, 2006 at 8:51 pm
Back when I was a kid, my family would have a reunion w/ a in-ground pig roast. The kids would run wild around the property and in the woods like a pack of wild indians and the grown-ups would sit around playing poker and drinking. (Good times….)
Anybody remember those 16 oz. Tupperware tumblers from back in the early-mid 70’s?? (they might still make them I don’t know…) I came charging into the house looking for something cold to drink to wash the dust outta my mouth when I saw one of those tumblers sitting all alone at the end of the bar, drenched in condensation and filled to the rim w/ clear liquid and ice… (betcha can’t guess where this is going, can ya??)
Anyway, since it was unattended, I called dibs and quaffed it in one chug… Turns out, Dad had just finished making this VODKA AND SPRITE in appx. a 50/50 ratio and had gone to corral himself a cigar and had left it there.
I don’t remember much about the rest of that day cause my pie was fried… (or much of the day after either…)
I don’t think it harmed me, although today my favorite drink is vodka and Sprite…