Ever notice we invented “family-friendly bars”?

As moms, we tell ourselves it’s fine.

The kids are playing.

We’re just having a couple.

It’s casual.

There’s chicken tenders.

But here’s the truth: they’re watching.

Watching us order drinks. Watching other adults get louder, looser, more uninhibited.

And what they learn?

Alcohol is always there.

At brunch. At the park. At birthday parties.

Good weather. Family gatherings. Everywhere.

We think we’re teaching moderation.

We’re teaching normal.

But that “normal” becomes their baseline.

By the time they’re teens?

Drinking isn’t rebellion. It’s just… what adults do.

I’ve coached thousands of people who grew up in “moderate drinking” homes.

Their parents weren’t alcoholics they just always had a drink.

Now as adults? They can’t imagine social life without it.

Family-friendly bars don’t exist.

What they teach our kids is dependency.

Moms, we can do better.