Drinking during playdates: Bad parenting?

The video: Playdates aren't just for kids. Many moms use them as an occasion to unwind with each other over a glass of wine, according to a Good Morning America report by conservative talk show host Elizabeth Hasselback. (Watch the segment below). Most of the mothers Hasselback interviewed said they saw no harm in having a drink or two while supervising playtime for their children. One mom, Holly Mitchell, said parents can be so consumed with parenting duties that they overlook their own needs. "To have a little sense of ourselves," she said, "that glass of wine does it." But another woman, Nicole Profis Dalvin, said alcohol would make it hard for her to focus on the job at hand. "My boys are so active, I have to watch them constantly," she said. "And I would never, obviously, do anything to put them in harm's way."

The reaction: "Bottoms up, ladies!" says Whitney Jefferson at Jezebel. Raising kids is so stressful — having the occasional "relaxing drink with friends" can only help. "I'm no prude," says WendyM at Babble, but "kids learn by example," so why not keep the boozing to a moms' night out? Indeed, infusing playdates with wine is "a recipe for disaster," says Jo Ashline at the Orange County Register. "There's a fine line between using booze to relax and using it to cope," and alcoholic playdates can be the first step down the path to abuse. Watch the report below:

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