Alcohol at primary school disco

[tiredoutgran]

or am I just being a miserable old fart? My children attend a primary school that has mainly 'well heeled' families. There is to be a welcome disco for the reception families with the whole school invited, the invite states that alcohol will be available or you can bring your own. Am I wrong in thinking that alcohol does not belong at what is essentially a party for children. I get the impression that all the parents will be sat glugging beer or wine and chatting away whilst totally ignoring what their children are doing. Don't get me wrong, if you have a family/friends party at home and have the odd glass of wine then that is different but I really think that at this sort of thing the booze should be kept out of it.

worra. I think if children are invited to weddings then their parents shouldn't drink.

I think that whenever you are in charge of a child you shouldn't drink.

Alcohol, even a small amount, impairs your judgement.

4 yr olds need parents who are on the ball.

MrsWinnibago I would say the vast majority of adults don't act silly after they've had a drink. A load of drinks, yes, but not after a couple of beers or a glass of wine at a school social event.

That sounds hilarious beachy

So, MrsW, your basic position is "I don't like drinking". So don't drink. Nobody's forcing you.

MrsWinnibago, onions give me heartburn but I know for a fact they don't do that to everyone

Surely you understand that how alcohol affects you, isn't the same for everyone?

Trying it's perfectly possible to have a glass of wine and still be 'on the ball'.

Never been an issue at my boys' south London primary school where there are a lot of Muslim parents. Never seen anyone the worse for wear. Most people have one or maybe 2 beers/ glasses of wine. Its a good money spinner. Most people walk to the school, so there are no drink driving concerns, and they also sell soft drinks / coffees / teas.

Very inclusive. My DM had alcohol issues, so maybe I am more sensitive than some to the damage it can cause, but I certainly have no issues at all with serving alcohol at school discos...for parents.

Just because you are a lightweight or respectfully hold any religious belief that bans alcohol does not extend to you preaching to other adults about their choices

I can see next it will be no parent should drink incase they need to drive pfb to casualty.

Oh just read your post Trying

Yes gods

Username Alcohol can become addictive for a small number of people who use it, for most people it isn't a problem.
Exactly the same for gambling - the vast majority of people can do the odd scratch card or bet with no problems but a small number of people can develop an addiction which ruins their lives. Does that mean schools should stop doing raffles and tombolas?

I think splat the rat could invoke cruelty to animals.

I've had children attend schools in several countries (due to DH and my jobs). In France there was alcohol served at every school event, typically wine, beer and cider rather than hard liquor. Never ever saw any problems occur as a result. Wine was also served with the teachers' lunches.
At the UK schools, there was always booze and that was a key factor in encouraging people to spend more money on raffle tickets, auctions etc. Plenty of children present, never a problem.
Now I'm in the US there is a horror about alcohol on school premises, to the extent that I got my ds into trouble by giving him a very nice lanyard to keep his school id on, which happened to be from jaegermeister. But once you get to a PTA events, there is a lot of alcohol served.
I do not understand the problem about "normalising" alcohol. Because alcohol is a normal part of life!
Trying I can only assume you don't drink if you think one glass of wine makes any difference whatsoever to someone's parenting abilities.

There's lots of money to be made for the PTA when the alcohol's on sale.

Trying - are you advocating we should be giving up alcohol for at least 18 years to ensure we're constantly on the ball?

I wouldn't drink at a school thing because I would need a lot of wine to get through it.

I will save it till I get home and the kids are tucked up in bed, I can't relax when my children are awake.

Stinkle Really? At a school event!? the parents all went off to the CoOP for beers and wine!?

Yes. A school social evening and parents nipped down the co-op for a bottle of wine. I don't see a huge problem in it.

It was an event where alcohol would have usually been sold (quiz night with fish and chips served half way through) we forgot to apply for a licence so parents bought their own.

stinkle sounds perfectly fine to me.

Quiz night - yes that is normal to BYOB.

If I really thought half the parents were going to get off their faces because there's alcohol available, I'd rethink sending my children there.

thebody my SIL's PTA had a new parent join and she did actually object to splat the rat at the summer fair for that very reason even after it was explained that it wasn't a real rat

The best quiz night my kids' primary did involved curry and beer. It was a night out, really, for lots of people.

I think you'll find 'well heeled' people get a tad squiffy rather than drunk off their faces

Oh my God Sleep you do wonder what these people do for light relief!

This thread reminds me a bit of that mummy character in the Catherine Tate show where a family brought savers eggs, by mistake, for the egg and spoon race and all the posh families grabbed their kids to get them away from them

Oh yes and the Catherine Tate where the posh mummy forgot it was French week. That was quite funny.

And the one where they had a stand in nanny with a Geordie accent.

So you don't like the sensation of drinking alcohol Mrs but there are plenty of people who do, and manage to remain sensible and able to look after their children at the same time

I think you're being silly. One of the best attended events in our reasonably naice primary is the summer barbeque, which has beer and is completely brilliant. Nobody gets drunk, or even the teensiest little bit, but we all enjoy ourselves and it makes an otherwise potentially dull event quite passable.