“Nothing better than spending an entire morning staring into my baby daughter’s eyes, whispering, ‘I can’t do this’.”
So tweeted Ryan Reynolds displaying his trademark black humour. The Hollywood actor’s Twitter account has often reflected the strained reality of parenthood. Which probably isn’t surprising given that Reynolds has three daughters aged five, three and one.
Reynolds has described the sense of powerlessness that every man feels during childbirth.
The time he selflessly lent out his car.
And the heart-felt pride that his daughter has inspired.
Reynolds’ latest advertisement for Aviation Gin: Homeschool Edition mines a similar vein of parental ambivalence. In the process, it reflects the desperation of any dad with a school-age child during the pandemic.
“It’s just like the classic Aviation Gin that you love,” Reynolds says earnestly. “But more ounces!”
“It can help with a variety of subjects: 4th grade geography, whatever the fuck new maths is and revisiting your own long-forgotten middle school trauma.”
It’s funny because it’s true. A recent study from the Alcohol and Drug Foundation shows that more than one in four (29%) parents have started drinking more since lockdown.
And while this isn’t a wildly positive development, it adds credence to the age-old saying: “It takes a village to raise a child, it takes a distillery to homeschool one.”