10 Most Controversial Parenting Practices
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2. Allowing your kids to drink alcohol
Why is it controversial?
For one thing, it’s illegal (though in many states you can consume alcohol with your children). And if you buy alcohol for your kids, and any other children consume it, you will be held financially, legally, and morally liable for any negative consequences, including alcohol poisoning, drunk driving, and angry parents.
Is it really that bad?
An occassional glass of wine on a special occassion probably won’t do much harm, but it’s not a great idea to host keggers in your basement. What about the argument, "They’ll do it anyway?" Maybe so, but do you really want to be permitting it?
NEXT: SODA OVERLOAD
Just gotta try this Creamy Avocado Dip recipe via Momables.com - love how you can spread it on a sandwich in lieu of Mayo! 
Comment by Krista on Dec 04 2009 01:37:51:
Such a pity that spanking causes lower IQ’s and aggression. My older brother could have been the next Einstein instead of the 145 IQ, professional opera-singing, pacifist that he became. My mom really screwed up.
Comment by allie on Dec 04 2009 01:55:56:
too funny what Krista said. Thank you for writing that comment. Seriously.
I am so grateful for my childhood and the way i was raised. I definitely deserved ALL the spankings I received and I don’t believe I am aggressive or violent in nature because of them. I learned a valuable lesson and I most definitely learned to respect my parents–something that MANY children in this current generation need to learn!
And heaven forbid I start talking about the Babywise Method. As you said, YOU make the call but don’t bash it until you’ve tried it (have you tried it? because, again, the parents in my daughter’s playgroup consistently remark on how well behaved and respectful, not to mention how SMART and funny, my 15-month old is). Here is a useful website for people who are intrigued by Babywise but want to see what it really looks like first hand: http://babywisemom.blogspot.com/2009/11/blogreflections.html
I realize now that this website is much more liberally-minded than I am and I’ll only be frustrated by visiting a biased website like this one. I love living in my hip, urban, intown, liberal neighborhood but I am thankful that the people we interact with are OPEN to how we parent.
Comment by a on Dec 04 2009 03:21:03:
Gee, putting underage drinking in the same controversy category as bottle feeding seems like a good editing decision to me. Seriously? For some people bottle feeding is not a choice for convenience. It should not be a “controversial parenting practice” and by including it in your article, you’re only serving to fuel the mommy wars. This is making me reconsider receiving any of your information.
Comment by melissa on Dec 04 2009 03:48:06:
Our parents might have spanked us, but anybody who spanks their children now has a problem. If you did something wrong, and your husband slapped you, would THAT be correct? No. So why is it acceptable for children? So…@Krista….maybe your brother would have been that much more of an amazing person had your mother not spanked him. While I don’t agree that people who were spanked ALL have a lower IQ, I’m sure there are ramifications…such as problems in relationships, dealing with aggression, etc.
Comment by megan on Dec 04 2009 03:56:49:
Really?? You think those all stemmed from getting spanked? REALLY? Lets obviously show that their research is not that great on this subject… people who have been spanked can turn out perfectly fine but where’s the info on that?
Comment by Aub on Dec 04 2009 04:53:20:
1 – Co sleeping, I don’t know, I have 3 kids and all are very different I chose not to sleep in the same bed as a rule but breastfeeding 2 of them I ended up sleeping with them after the midnight feedings, but not every night. 2 – drinking – I say absolutely not! I understand the logic of “they will anyway, I’d rather it be a safe environment” but honestly, I think it’s important that they realize I am serious about my standards and if they do make a mistake they can always come to me, but I will not compromise what I believe is ok and not ok. 3 – soda – we don’t have it in the house really and I’m big about dental health and I don’t want them to have to deal with the pain dental problems can cause. If they have it somewhere else I’m not bothered though as it’s so rare it’s not an issue. 4 – Spanking – I think it depends on the situation, and most importantly your attitude when you do it, seriously – smack a kids hand if they are about to touch a stove, I’d rather have my girls afraid of that then remembering a horrible burn experience & I believe in when you discipline make sure you have yourself in check when you do it – really, what will you teach them by getting “fed up” and angry??? And it breaks my heart to think of a child confused about why Mommy or Daddy doesn’t like them and hurts them. Are you trying to tell them That you need to be able to ignore them or that you care about their safety & development. 5 – bottle feeding – I totally agree not to judge. I breastfed 2 of my three children but my middle child just would not latch and I wasn’t able to produce milk. It doesn’t mean I was lazy (I kept trying till she was 6months old) or selfish. I do believe mothers should try if they can as it is best for baby, but if you’ve really given an effort and can’t – it is what it is and as long as your baby is loved and cared for that’s what matters. My sister in law was anemic, my grandmother had a strange blood issue and my friend tried pumping at work but her supply only lasted about three months that way as her son got too used to a bottle and she just couldn’t fiscally stay home with him.I also know people who just didn’t want to be bothered with it or didn’t try because they didn’t want saggy boobs later, which I don’t agree with. So, that is a case-by-case issue I think.
Comment by moses basket on Jan 06 2010 06:30:48:
I am on board with a no soda regiment for children. Not that sugar filled juice boxes and even diet sodas are much better. Avoiding massive amounts of caffeine and sugar is not a bad thing afterall. Bad teeth and dental bills for sugar rotted teeth should be enough to pass on soda for most parents anyways.
Comment by Dana on Jul 08 2010 12:09:10:
hmm… personally I don’t think we should be criticizing anyone’s parenting practices unless the child is in danger. It only makes one person feel that they are inferior to the other. However, I must say, I am extremely disappointed that you would even suggest that underage drinking could be considered okay. What type of society are we raising? Additionally, to allow a child to start swearing at such a young age is not something that I would ever allow my child to do. I live on a military base and all I hear around me is swearing. It makes a person sound unintelligent; it also makes them seem uneducated since they can’t think of another word to use.
Come on people…
Comment by Val on Jan 13 2011 10:15:43:
Guilty of the co-sleeping thing. My son slept with me until he was 3 and then when I bought him a bed of his own, he couldn’t wait to get away from me! Complete surprise!
Comment by Caitlin on Feb 02 2011 11:39:09:
I am so guilty of co-sleeping, partially because I love the closeness it bring between my little guy and I and because our heater sputtered out near the end of winter.
Alcohol, like any other potentially dangerous thing, should be supervised. I persoanlly believe that if you teach your children responsible, mature ways to handle alcohol and make it clear that drinking out of the home is a huge no, you will see less problems with it in their adult life as they will skip that experimenting with drinking until I drop phase.
Spanking, in my opinion, should be used as a last-ditch resort to laying down the law. It should NEVER be used in anger or frustration but truly as a specific punishment. There are some things I would rather my son be spanked than try. Spankings are much less dangerous than many things in the world. Spankings should also be accompanied by an explanation of why that happened(in truth, I believe all punishment should).
Swearing just seems distasteful for children. Perhaps there are better words we can supply children with for their frustration.
In general, children should not be left for long periods of time to cry. Occasionally, I believe it is a good lesson for children to learn that sometimes they have to soothe themselves. But as a general rule, you should ensure baby is safe, clean, and healthy before using any type of CIO method.
Comment by Parenting Smarts on Nov 22 2011 08:05:09:
Remember – the bottom line is always…"is it working?" Is it working for your child in the longterm? Is it working for your family in the short and longterm?