If have a child and you are on Soberlink by court order, here is what you need to remember: you are on Soberlink (a form of breathalyzer to detect alcohol use) because concern has been raised about your drinking. You may be convinced that your drinking is just social: a glass of wine with dinner, a beer at a game or a picnic, but at some time, something happened that raised concern that your use of alcohol was impairing your parenting ability.

If you were ordered not to drink or you agreed not to drink when you have your child, there are no exceptions. You don’t get to have just one beer or make just one toast. If you have been ordered to use Soberlink, neither the judge nor the Guardian ad Litem will believe that it was just one beer, just one drink. No matter how truthful you are, history is against you. You will not be believed. Ever.

Soberlink detects the presence of alcohol. Unless you gargle with scotch or red wine, mouthwash will not produce a positive on Soberlink. Nothing aside from a very rare, as of yet not identified medical syndrome will trigger Soberlink to detect alcohol, except alcohol.

If you drink a beer or a glass of wine while on Soberlink, talk to your family law attorney before claiming that the positive Soberlink was because of your mouthwash. I counsel clients on Soberlink to just admit a lapse rather than blame the mouthwash. Dishonesty about drinking is a giant red flag.