Young parents

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Raising a family can be one of the most rewarding times of your life. But as you and your partner seek to balance relationships, children and careers it can also be one of the most stressful.

As your focus shifts from nights out with friends to nights in reading bedtime stories, it’s easy to reach for the bottle. Research shows that not only are people drinking more in general, they’re drinking at home.

Key issues

After a long day juggling work, home and young children it’s tempting to flop down on the couch with a cold beer or glass of wine.

Parenting charity website Netmums surveyed 3,000 mothers and found that half of mums drank at home at least three or four nights a week. Almost a quarter of mums admitted to drinking more than the recommended limit.

Of those who drank more than government guidelines suggest is healthy, more than eight out of 10 said they drank to wind down after a stressful day, while chatting with their partners or watching TV.

It’s not just mums who are drinking more either. Statistics show that more people are drinking at home with wine-a favourite tipple. And as both partners turn their focus away from nights out in the pub, home and family take on a central role. A bottle of wine with dinner is no longer an occasional treat, but a nightly ritual that offers both of you a chance to relax at home and catch up with each other after a stressful day.

But a bottle of wine a night easily becomes a habit. Looking forward to that first drink when you get home from work or after the kids are in bed means that you can easily and habitually be drinking more than is healthy.

Risks

Sipping a glass of wine with dinner may not seem like an unhealthy indulgence – and provided you stick to small amounts, drinking most nights need not necessarily pose a problem. But if one glass leads to two or three glasses, and before you know it, you’ve had half a bottle, you are on the path towards harmful drinking.

The Government guidelines recommend that women should not regularly exceed 2-3 units daily and that men should not regularly exceed 3-4 units daily. Half a bottle of wine contains between four and five units of alcohol, and so if you drink that much wine – or more – every night you are drinking at harmful levels.

Although having a drink may feel like an easy way to unwind at the end of the day, consistently drinking more than the recommended amount is not advisable because of the risks to your health. From milder symptoms such as hangovers to more serious things like alcohol dependence, stomach disorders, liver disease and cancer – all these are associated with drinking too much on a regular basis.

Too much alcohol can also exacerbate problems in your relationships, causing arguments, tension and difficulties between you and your partner. And if you are drinking around young children, they will probably be curious about it. Children learn about alcohol and drinking behaviours in the home from a very young age, so it is important to be aware of the effect drinking can have on the whole family.

Tips to moderate your drinking

  • If you find yourself uncorking the wine bottle or reaching for the lager every night, try making a concerted effort to drink soft drinks instead at least two or three nights a week.
  • Change your evening routine. For example, if you've got into the habit of drinking in front of the TV, turn it off. Listen to music or read a magazine instead.
  • Eat. If you usually hit the bottle the minute the kids are in bed try waiting until you eat dinner instead, as the food will help absorb the alcohol. If you simply can’t wait, have a few healthy nibbles, like olives, carrot sticks, or oatcakes and hummus with your drink.
  • If your partner is at home in the evenings, try and do something different together once or twice a week. Do the crossword, or light some candles and try having a proper conversation.
  • If you are tired and tense in the evenings, step into a relaxing bubble bath or an invigorating shower.
  • Don’t buy booze in bulk. It may be tempting to throw special offer bottles of wine in with the weekly family shop, but if you have a lot of alcohol in the house you’ll be tempted to drink more of it more often.
  • Keep a note of your intake. It’s easy to drink a lot without noticing, so keep a drink diary of how much you are consuming.
  • Sip slowly! After a day chasing after your toddler you may be tempted to down the booze, but sit down, take a deep breath and try to enjoy your drink.
Page last updated by
Root User, 19 Apr 2010.
Page checked on
16 Sep 2008.