You're 4 Today! Have A Cold One!

Tonight, I was picking up a few things at Target. We happened to walk down the birthday aisle; all the stuff that makes a Bday so cool for kids! Streamers, cone hats, confetti, wrapping paper, napkins bearing big numbers, that sorta stuff.

There was also a collection of the big candles in the shape of numbers. Remember those? You're turning four, so there's a giant quatro number stuck in the cake and icing, ready for you to aim your breath it's way and accidentally blow spit all over everything (except, of course, the candle itself.)

Well, in the midst of these numerically shaped candles, there were a few oddballs. One was a question mark (we put this one on my Grandma Bernie's Bday cake before she finally revealed her age to we four grandkids), but that wasn't the disturbing one.

There, in the midst of everything which makes a kiddo's eyes light up on their big day, were candles shaped like beer cans and bottles.

Is there anything wrong with a 21 year old having beer can candles on his/her Bday cake? Not in my opinion. The law says you're legal at 21 and that's good enough for me.

Take a second to think of the message those candles send to little kids...

Doesn't it hurt your soul just a little to think of a kid, so young and innocent and longing for his/her birthday, being confused by the presence of beer can candles? Don't those seem a little out of place there with so much childhood innocence?

Adults need to be very, VERY careful about the images linked to alcohol consumption. If Dad has a beer every time the family goes bowling, kids learn to associate being an adult to beer and bowling. What happens when beer isn't involved with bowling? Is it still fun?

Or what about Christmas? If Mom and Dad get all excited about the spiked eggnog, but everything else about Christmas seems an irritant, what message does that send to kids?

Target-you have an area for beer and wine. Why not put the beer birthday candles there? I can control how alcohol is perceived in my household, but in the outside world, I'd prefer not to have innocent birthday fun of children tainted by the message of alcohol in celebration.