While in Idaho Falls for a Babe Ruth baseball tournament we went to watch the local minor league baseball team, the Chukars, play. This was only nine days after my wife left me. The baseball was good, the night was warm, and a beer sounded good. When I ordered one, Sam Adams Summer Lager, Jake looked at me with absolute disbelief. "A beer, dad?" He said, "have you ever had a beer in your whole life?"I told him that I have had three or four but only a few. Then added, under my breath, since you've been around.
My question is this: Did I ruin my son's image of me or is he better off knowing that I might drink a beer here or there and having the opportunity to see someone drink alcohol responsibly?
I ABSOLUTELY believe that responsible drinking is a good thing to show him. My reasoning is that hard-core anti-alcohol preaching just creates the forbidden fruit issue. Extremism is not a good way to teach ever IMHO.
ReplyDeleteNo, I think that you should be true to who you are. If you are convicted that you should abstain, you should abstain in front of your kids. If you are not, you should not. I wouldn't hide your college "Achievements" from them either.
ReplyDeleteI am convinced that kids learn more from our mistakes as they do from our successes -- So long as they believe that they truly know and love their dad, and not some facade that he built to impress them.
"Josh R" that is a beautiful comment. It really is right on. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you. I guess my question was more directly related to the moment of lost innocence. I have had beer in front of Jacob before but it has been few enough and far enough between that he was unaware of it. He had an image of me, not because of anything I intended rather because of my natural actions, and now that image has been turned upside down for ever. I guess we all had these moments growing up as I'm sure all kids do. It was just a bit sad to watch it happen.
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