What is Mommy Wine Culture?
“Mommy wine culture” has spread its way almost completely into modern day culture. While the idea of a mom having a glass of wine when she needs it seems harmless enough, it actually can be quite a slippery slope.
So what is “mommy wine culture”? In short it is the social acceptance that moms can abuse alcohol, particularly wine, to deal with the burdens of motherhood.
It does not take a genius to understand that treating mothers and motherhood in this way can have terrible repercussions for moms, their families, and their social lives.
Negative Effects
Alcohol companies have been marketing to moms aggressively for years and all of that money and messaging has resulted in a world that accepts mothers drinking wine at all hours of the day, slipping into alcoholism. This culture also can be extremely exclusionary for moms who do not partake, making it socially difficult for sober moms to maintain friend groups.
Moms
Obviously the biggest downside to this culture shift has been the declining health of mothers everywhere. Often the encouraged consumption of wine starts innocuously enough, with a glass of wine after a hard day. Unfortunately, when left unchecked, this consumption can turn into multiple glasses a day just about everyday.
Infact, high-risk drinking, which is defined as drinking four or more drinks a day at least once a week for a year, is up 58% among women. While that statistic is for all women, not just mothers, it is safe to assume that high-risk drinking in mothers has also increased significantly.
As you know, high-risk drinking is a one way street to alcoholism, liver disease, heart disease, and countless other health risks.
Family
Acceptance of “mommy wine culture” also has negative repercussions on the family as a whole.
Moms who are buzzed for many of their children’s events and accomplishments will have trouble recalling major life events their children experience which will hurt their bond going forward.
Additionally as their kids get older they will start to pick up on the fact that their existence leads their own mom to drink. While this is obviously not the whole picture, to the child it will feel like it is all their fault.
Kids are also heavily affected when their parents have marriage issues. When a mom finds herself drinking every day it can quickly start to have a negative effect on the relationship with her partner.
All of these reasons show why “mommy wine culture” is having a negative effect on mothers, children, and families as a whole. Unfortunately avoiding this culture as a mother can be more tricky then one would think.
How To Avoid
Whether you are someone who has dealt with substance abuse issues in the past or you simply want to avoid the dangers that “mommy wine culture” presents there are a few things you can do to stay out in front of it.
Professional Support System
Whether you are already in a life of recovery or are just feeling stressed out about being a parent it can be very beneficial to see a professional. Therapists and group therapy are both excellent ways to avoid the pull of “mommy wine culture”.
These professionals can help you get out in front of the problem and will help you build confidence in yourself that will help you stay in control of your lifestyle. Unfortunately some social situations can get tricky, so it will be beneficial to find some close family members or friends that you can trust to have your back.
Personal Support Systems
These close family members and friends will come in handy when you head to events that promote “mommy wine culture” even more than society as a whole does. Things like book clubs and dinner groups can sometimes push you to do things you may not want to. Trusting someone to help you excuse yourself from a party that you don’t feel comfortable at will make leaving when you want that much easier.
“Mommy Wine Culture” And Its Correlation To Alcoholism
As we have discussed, mommy wine culture has a direct relation to alcoholism in mothers as well as a plethora of other negative effects on families and friends. Kids are smart enough to see the patterns of their mothers drinking and may even begin to blame themselves. Meanwhile partners can feel like you are drifting away or not being yourself.
To fight back against the societal push towards mothers drinking wine to deal with difficult parenting moments you will need to develop both a professional and personal support system that will help you get out of or avoid the grip of “mommy wine culture”.
