Mom Teaches Child to Beer Funnel: When Do Parents Cross the Line?
By Charlotte Hilton Andersen, REDBOOK
Imagine my surprise when my 2-year-old son lifted his shirt and "nursed" his Glo Worm right in front of me. (Yes, they still make Glo Worms!) Once I overcame the strangeness of seeing its plastic face glowing each time it "got a drink", I figured this was probably a good thing. Obviously, my son had watched me nursing his new baby brother, and hopefully this means he'll grow up to view breast-feeding as normal and natural.
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Children are natural mimics, after all. How else would we expect them to learn if not by example? But when do children participating in adult activities cross the line from precocious to obnoxious… or even dangerous?
A Florida mom made national news recently when she posted a video (which has since been removed) of her teaching her preschooler how to "beer funnel" during a tailgate party. While the adults had beer and the kid received a Capri Sun, everyone got to chug together. Hilarious- or irresponsible? About half of respondents to a Huffington Post poll thought this was a bad idea (although the mother was criticized almost as much for letting her kid drink a sugar-laden Capri Sun as she did for teaching him how to slam it) demonstrating how torn people are on the issue of children acting like little adults.
Indonesian toddlers chain smoking? Entirely reprehensible. A little girl shouting an Adele song about a tragic breakup? Adorable. But what about everything in between? The media widely criticized a dance group of 9-year-olds for dancing a sexy Beyonce number, yet the video received over four million views. A dad videotaped his son slurring hilariously while waiting for the medication used for a dental procedure to wear off. Let's be honest: Children are the stars of YouTube because they're so funny, unpretentious, and innocent-even when they're lip-synching to an adult song or dressing up in Mommy's Spanx.
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It's becoming harder and harder to gauge when it's appropriate to laugh and when we should be offended. For one thing, we lack context and background in a 1-minute YouTube video. Is it even fair to judge someone else's parenting style based on a short video clip? But maybe, when it's a kid sucking on the end of a beer funnel, that's all you need to know.
Quick: Someone bring back the Charlie Bit My Finger kid! At least that we knew was pure, hilarious fun.
Do you think it's okay to let a child use a beer funnel (minus the beer)? What is your opinion on your children doing adult activities? How do we know when it's okay to laugh, and when things become inappropriate?
Charlotte Hilton Andersen is a mom of 5 and the author of the book The Great Fitness Experiment: One Year of Trying Everything and the blog of the same name.
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