Unless my name is on the invitation I typically don’t make a habit of hanging out at other people’s birthday parties.
But what happens if the party invite is addressed to your preschooler?
Are parents required—or should I say, welcome—to attend to?
Since the bulk of my preschooler’s party invites have been for children (and subsequently, parents) that I know very well, I usually do one of two things:
Ask if the birthday child’s parent(s) needs help during the festivities and stay
OR
Drop off my daughter and hightail it home to see how much I can accomplished in three hours.
Personally, I wouldn’t care one way or another if my daughter’s friends’ parents attended her birthday celebration. If it makes a young child more comfortable having his mom or dad around, then so be it. The more the merrier, right?
Apparently, not for some parents.
The mother of my daughter’s BFF recently informed me that her youngest child received a party invite that stated in no uncertain terms that parents were not allowed to attend the kiddie festivities. Actually, I think the invite was a bit more tactful and said something about keeping the ratio of adults to kids down and strongly encouraged moms and dads to merely drop off their kids at the party, and then move along.
I smirked a bit upon hearing about the request, but not all together shocked. After all, I think by the time your child is in preschool he can fend for himself for 2-3 hours in a safe place that is filled with sugary treats, games and other kids his age. I’m sure this child’s parents just want to throw their kid a simple party without having to worry about entertaining tag-along grown-ups that hover on the sidelines.
Do you make a habit of attending parties with your young child? Or do you believe that there is an unwritten rule in the world of kiddie parties, which states that unless the birthday boy or girl is a close friend of relative, the invitation is for the person listed on the envelope only?
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