Health Controversy: Babies in Bars--Do Sippy Cups and Cocktails Mix?

Do you guys remember that funny line from the movie "Sweet Home Alabama" where Reese Witherspoon's character sees an old friend in a bar and comments on her baby, "you have a baby! In a bar!" Well, it seems that babies in bars are becoming a more usual fixture in some cities. In New York, in fact, there's a debate raging about whether kids should be allowed to accompany their parents. Do sippy cups and cocktails mix?

CNN recently ran an article about the great debate over whether babies and kids should be allowed to accompany their parents into bars. (Call me crazy, but I sort of thought that anyone under the age of 21 wasn't allowed inside a bar--accompanied by a parent or not!). But, apparently this is a case-by-case basis (and maybe a state-by-state issue), which a lot of people are buzzing about. Take New York City, for instance.

(P.S. You have to click here to see a photo, from CNN, of one dad with his baby in a bar. The sweet little 14 month old has tears streaming down her face. Maybe she'd rather be at the playground, or maybe she's just camera shy?)

According to CNN: "Single hipsters and others without (and sometimes with) kids complain about being asked to watch their language, to not smoke outdoors near strollers and to keep their drunk friends under control so as not to scare the little ones. They don't want to feel pressure to play peekaboo. They want to cry over their beers, they say, without having an infant drown them out. If anyone is spitting up, they want it to be them."

Many are downright angry about seeing kids in bars: "I will get up on the subway for kids. I will be tolerant of them kicking the back of my seat while seeing a G-rated movie. But let me have my bars," said Julieanne Smolinski, 26, who feels guilty sucking down suds in front of staring 5-year-olds. The adults who bring their offspring to bars, she suggests, are "clinging to their youth."

If you want to know my opinion, I'll tell you: I'm a huge believer in integrating kids into your life in almost every way. And you can call me a hippie mama, but it's also why I "wear" my baby in a carrier everywhere! But, but, but, but--I don't think bars are places for kids. Sorry, I just can't get on board with this. Do I have a glass of wine at restaurants with my kids present? Of course! But do I want to lug them into a bar where others are getting all chummy and rummy? Nope!

Your thoughts on this?

P.S. Here's an actual excuse to have a cocktail tonight (you're welcome!), and the lycopene-rich watermelon cocktail that I'm crazy about!