What is expected of parents for childrens birthday parties?
As a father of four, who has much experience in children’s parties, I’ll give you my spin on it… I am not sure when the requirement of parents staying became the norm. I guess with all the weirdos out there in the world, a lot of people who may not be well acquainted with families prefer to stay and make sure their children are safe. Also, if they are new to the area, perhaps they are hoping to have an opportunity to meet you and find out more about the region and perhaps see if you get along well enough and are compatible as friends. In our instance, usually either my wife or I stay if it is with a child who we do not know the parents. It’s a safety thing and a social thing – if we are going to a party, we don’t expect to be fed – we make sure we take our own or eat enough before we attend. We also take along our own refreshments; but that is because we don’t want to feel rude. If we both go together, we just chat between ourselves – and if the hostess is not busy, or does require h
I think it depends on how many kids. Personally I don’t believe in huge birthday parties for kids. If it were just 2 friends that would be one thing, but some parents invite every child their child has ever met. You can’t expect to leave your child at a party that large. I wouldn’t just dump my kids off at someones house especially if I didn’t have a relationship with that person. I would go and stay. This is a party not a daycare center. By the way, your friend could just not go if she thinks it is that big of a deal.
I think it depends. Personally, if it is a school-aged party, the kids can be left…UNLESS the parents of the birthday kid would like some assistance in keeping an eye on a bunch of kids. If they are younger, you can pretty much guarantee now that the parents will stay. I always ask. “Would you like me to stay & keep an eye out? Or just come back at the end time?” Once I was asked to stay, all the other times they just said, “Whatever you’d like.” I always go…b/c my daughter seems to behave better when I’m not around. One reason many parents may feel the need to stay, is because of safety issues. It’s hard to know every kid your child knows, now. If your kids were at a public park…anyone can walk in there & snatch a kid. Ditto for a large arena or mall. Maybe not so much of an issue at a private home. Now, I would call rude for a parent to eat & participate in the party. If you are just keeping an eye out for your kid…you don’t need to eat pizza & birthday cake! Could also be a
I hear you, and I agree with you about what you said to Ahimsa too, that’s no attitude for someone to have. The kids are the invitees at a kid’s party, not the parents. If you don’t want to have to look after other people’s kids, you don’t invite them to your house in the first place. When I was a kid, birthday party invitations from my friends were addressed to me, not my parents, so why should they have been expected to do anything more than drop me off at the party and pick me up afterward? Kids parties are not supposed to be for the adults, they’re so supposed to be for the kids, so when you invite other kids to a birthday party for your child, by default, you are offering to provide supervision for them during that time. Honestly, I think kids’ birthday parties are starting to become alot more about the parents of the birthday boy or girl wanting to impress their OWN friends more than it is about providing a special day for the child and his/her friends.
My guess would be because kids now days have so many behavior problems or have adhd or add. back in the day when parents could just drop off their kids at a party kids didn’t act disrespectful and now they do. Another reason could be a safety issue. If you dont know the person that well then why would you trust your child with this person? why wouldn’t you want to stay and make sure nothing hurts your child. Their is alot more worries now in 2000’s then back in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s. Their have been more cases of molestation and child abuse. This is just my guess though. I know if my child was invited to a birthday party i would stay if i didn’t know the parents because i could never forgive myself if something happend to my child. And if i knew the parents i would still stay so i could help out if needed.
