Bunchland

Our long weekend Bunch Poll in the National Post.

As the first long weekend with (hopefully) warm weather, Victoria Day unofficially kicks off the Canadian summer. People trek up to cottage country, head to patios and are finally allowed to wear white again. In addition to cottages and fireworks, one of the most dominant images of a long weekend is booze. After all, despite its shifting date, Victoria Day is commonly referred to as the May Two-Four. But does partying end once parenthood comes along? We asked some moms and dads how much drinking, if any, is permissible when there are little ones around:

“Parents like to think their kids don’t notice when they’re drunk but let’s cut the B.S. We all remember seeing our parent’s friends at parties reeking of booze and doing that cross-eyed smile where they seemed way too into our stupid toys and they’d hang out for so long, the other spouse would say “Charles, put down the Spider-man and come back to the table for chrissakes.” We didn’t know they were high on alcohol per se but we knew something was up and it was pretty disturbing. So no, you cannot be wasted around kids.  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. “Does this have alcohol in it?” “Oh, God, honey, no! What kind of mother do you think I am? Why, do you want a little bit? Because if you’re going to drink I’d rather you do it in the house.” — Mean Girls. A recent study shows that supervised drinking does not help kids learn appropriate drinking habits.

2. Does a pregnant woman’s diet dictate whether or not her baby grows up to be obese?

3. Salon writer Caroline M. Grant says that raising kids means always living on a fault line, whether or not you’re actually living on a fault line.

4. So, there was this wedding this morning that is kinda hogging all the arts&life/style-type sections. Bookies in London, in addition to placing odds on what the Queen wears, bet that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will announce a baby next year.  Read more...

You test it with Milkscreen

Bunch reader Stephanie passed along this interesting link from Mommy beta which addresses an important concern for many young moms wanting to resume aspects of their pre-baby lifestyle: After one’s been moderately boozing, when is one’s breast milk safe for consuming? Turns out there’s an at-home test that will detect the alcohol level in your breast milk.

And where did Mommy beta Alex learn of this at-home test? Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami:

Mommy beta reports that Milkscreen inventor Julie Jumonville came up with the idea when she was on Matron of Honour duty and didn’t want to miss her sister’s wedding festivities, but also didn’t want to do anything to compromise her baby’s health.  Read more...