Poll Finds 1 in 4 Parents Have “Parenting Hangovers” After Holiday Parties

Raise your hand if you sip on some eggnog or a glass of wine at holiday parties this time of year. Well, you aren't alone.

By Erica Loop December 18, 2018

The holidays are here—and that means parenting hangovers after holiday parties are here, too. If you just went, “Huh?” then take a look at what a recent poll conducted by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital found out about special events, alcohol consumption and yes, parenting practices.

Raise your hand if you sip on some eggnog or a glass of wine at holiday parties this time of year. Well, you aren’t alone. According to the poll, 27 percent of parents and another 36 percent say they drink alcoholic beverages “often” or “sometimes” during special events, respectively. (17 percent of parents polled said they drink “rarely” at special events.)

Photo: Sarah X Sharp via Unsplash

While the majority of parents planned ahead for a boozy holiday party—73 percent were very likely to make plans ahead of time for someone else to watch their kiddos and 68 percent were very likely to arrange a designated driver—they didn’t necessarily plan for the next day.

Forty-seven percent of parents surveyed said they were very likely to take how much they were drinking into consideration. So yeah, slightly more than half of the parents polled don’t think about how much they’ve had to drink— And that may make next-day parenting (with a hangover), kind of tricky. But plenty of parents probably won’t end up in this not-so-pleasant situation. Yep, 64 percent of parents did say they were very likely to plan child care for the day after a party.

Image: Courtesy of C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health

Only eight percent of parents admitted they couldn’t parent adequately due to alcohol-related impairment. In other words, only a small fraction of parents surveyed had gotten so drunk that they couldn’t care for their kiddos at all.

So what does this survey tell us? Holiday parties require more planning than creating a menu or a seating chart. Hey, plenty of parents indulge—especially around the holidays. Just consider planning ahead to avoid the next day parenting hangover.

—Erica Loop

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