Restaurants are one of the main places families go to spend quality time together. It’s a good way to get everyone out of the house and be able to sit together at the table and enjoy a nice meal without having to cook. Plus, you can bring the kids and let them choose something they actually want to eat. It’s a laid-back and safe environment for everyone...right?

Not quite. What if your children were accidentally served alcoholic without your knowledge? Earlier just this month, there have been three cases where Applebee’s, Olive Garden, and Chili’s have mistaken alcoholic beverages for something nonalcoholic. Instead of apple juice, a 15-month-old received a margarita. Instead of orange juice, a 2-year-old received sangria. And instead of a chocolate milkshake, a 4-year-old had been given a mudslide. Their parents had no clue until they realized something wasn’t right and tasted the drinks themselves.

Umm, hello? I believe this should be a wake-up call to all restaurants out there! Getting alcoholic beverages and kids’ drinks mixed up is inexcusable and those restaurants need to make a change so that something like this will never happen again. If alcohol is dangerous to adults, what more with little toddlers? These kids had to go to the hospital because of the restaurants’ mess ups. If I was one of the parents, I would be absolutely livid.

This also raises another question. Does this mean parents should always taste their kids’ drinks before letting them have it? In my opinion, it’s a little over the top to have to always taste-test what their kids are being given, but what happened with these three kids could very well prove that it is absolutely necessary. No one likes to be a worry-wart, but these restaurants have ruined it for us.

Though I know these were all just genuine mistakes, serving alcohol to kids still shouldn’t happen....ever. The restaurants apologized for what happened and the kids were all fine in the end, but you can’t deny that this does cause a red flag to go up. I think as long as restaurants do something to ensure it won’t happen again, it will be okay. As for parents, however, I would be a little more wary of what your kids are drinking. You never know.