You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:It's so rude OP and I don't understand why the majoiry of posters here side with them. Call or txt the host if you are running more than a couple of minutes late for whatever reason, that is the polite thing to do.

I agree it is rude BUT three out of the boy eight kids had parents pick up 20 minutes late. That is unusual and there might be some reason that isn’t clear here.

Based on the careless, rude posters in this very thread, it sounds like the "it's no big deal" crowd is prevalent in this area, and enjoyed their extra 20 minutes of free babysitting to which they felt so entitled.

It IS no big deal.
I spent saturday with my friend who is dying and wasting away from stage 4 cancer and has two young kids. that is a big deal. being 15 minutes late to pick your kid from a party is NOT. get over it and get a life.

I hate when people post shit like this. Apparently no one can ever complain about inconveniences because some PP somewhere knows someone who is dying. Don’t we all?

DP. It's because of how angry the OP is. I mean she sounds like she's ready to punch someone. It's over the top. I think the response would be different if she even just took out the all caps words. Like stop shouting lady. This is an inconvenience, and not a bad one at that.

IDK, I guess you're a much more Chill Mom than me. Good job. I think it's the height of rudeness to be late to pick up your kid from a birthday party with very set time parameters. And I still think that, despite other bad things happening around me in the world.

If OP is this distressed by an extra 20 minutes with 3 of her child's friends, she shouldn't be hosting a party - anywhere. Again, not excusing the lateness but the reaction is over-the-top. Some parents are really really miserable and don't see it or think it's normal or something. Heads up - it's not normal to be this miserable as a parent. Time to rethink your life - not the parenting part obviously, but the other demands you are putting on yourself that you obviously can't handle, like hosting a large birthday party.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think OP needs to relax. To come here and complain about 20 minutes when it's her kids party is just off. I dislike people who can't be punctual but the tone was totally off.

Agree. Obviously the late parents were in the wrong, but to view this as anything more than a minor annoyance is very off. It was 20 minutes of OP's life. She seems like a grumpy, uptight, very overwhelmed parent and I feel sorry for her spouse and kids.

(And no I'm not late, I'm always early and my kids complain about that.)

There was nowhere for OP and her family to be and nothing for them to do with this kid for 20 minutes. They couldn't return to the bounce area or to the party room. Standing around in a lobby not knowing what is going on does not sound fun. Party hosts have already done a lot of work to prepare and plan and execute, so the LEAST you can do when your child was included (especially in an expensive activity) is to say thank you and be prompt when dropping off and picking up.

This is all fine and true and OP is STILL way overreacting and needs to CTFD.

It's truly sad that so many parents are so rude and thoughtless. And to be honest, it shows in their kids' behavior, more often than not. Entitled, selfish, self-focused, no manners, overall rude and graceless.

Again, ALL of this can be true and still not excuse or explain OP's over-the-top reaction. Talk about graceless and self-focused!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's so rude OP and I don't understand why the majoiry of posters here side with them. Call or txt the host if you are running more than a couple of minutes late for whatever reason, that is the polite thing to do.

I agree it is rude BUT three out of the boy eight kids had parents pick up 20 minutes late. That is unusual and there might be some reason that isn’t clear here.

Based on the careless, rude posters in this very thread, it sounds like the "it's no big deal" crowd is prevalent in this area, and enjoyed their extra 20 minutes of free babysitting to which they felt so entitled.

It IS no big deal.
I spent saturday with my friend who is dying and wasting away from stage 4 cancer and has two young kids. that is a big deal. being 15 minutes late to pick your kid from a party is NOT. get over it and get a life.

For all you know, the mom or dad has a serious illness or is caring for a loved one and needs rest and recuperation, or to get back to the hospital to be with granny. You don't know, now do you? You don't know if their next activity is to pick up an aunt at the airport who flew into town for a birthday. You don't get to decide what is and is not important, or whose time is and is not important. Spoiler alert: everyone's time is important, so if you can't respect it, don't accept invitations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With several parents being late, I would assume unexpected traffic or something and try to be understanding, *however* if I was one of the late parents the onus would be on me to either text or call the host to let them know and to apologize, as soon as I realized I might be late. The host should not have to hunt down these parents and find out exactly how late they’re going to be.

There is no such thing as "unexpected traffic" anywhere in the greater DMV area. We all have Google Maps, Waze, and working knowledge that yes, things get busy, construction, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's so rude OP and I don't understand why the majoiry of posters here side with them. Call or txt the host if you are running more than a couple of minutes late for whatever reason, that is the polite thing to do.

I agree it is rude BUT three out of the boy eight kids had parents pick up 20 minutes late. That is unusual and there might be some reason that isn’t clear here.

Based on the careless, rude posters in this very thread, it sounds like the "it's no big deal" crowd is prevalent in this area, and enjoyed their extra 20 minutes of free babysitting to which they felt so entitled.

It IS no big deal.
I spent saturday with my friend who is dying and wasting away from stage 4 cancer and has two young kids. that is a big deal. being 15 minutes late to pick your kid from a party is NOT. get over it and get a life.

I hate when people post shit like this. Apparently no one can ever complain about inconveniences because some PP somewhere knows someone who is dying. Don’t we all?

DP. It's because of how angry the OP is. I mean she sounds like she's ready to punch someone. It's over the top. I think the response would be different if she even just took out the all caps words. Like stop shouting lady. This is an inconvenience, and not a bad one at that.

NP. If OP is "shouting" and you're playing the shame-shame cancer card, I think you're the rude one in this scenario.

And yes, I, too, have someone who recently died of cancer. So you don't get to play that card on me. Knowing someone with cancer does not mean you are important and nothing else matters. Rude people are still rude, no matter what else is going on in the world. OP vented on a relevant topic in a parenting forum; she did not barge into the chemo ward to complain about how hard her life is. Grow up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's so rude OP and I don't understand why the majoiry of posters here side with them. Call or txt the host if you are running more than a couple of minutes late for whatever reason, that is the polite thing to do.

I agree it is rude BUT three out of the boy eight kids had parents pick up 20 minutes late. That is unusual and there might be some reason that isn’t clear here.

Based on the careless, rude posters in this very thread, it sounds like the "it's no big deal" crowd is prevalent in this area, and enjoyed their extra 20 minutes of free babysitting to which they felt so entitled.

It IS no big deal.
I spent saturday with my friend who is dying and wasting away from stage 4 cancer and has two young kids. that is a big deal. being 15 minutes late to pick your kid from a party is NOT. get over it and get a life.

I hate when people post shit like this. Apparently no one can ever complain about inconveniences because some PP somewhere knows someone who is dying. Don’t we all?

DP. It's because of how angry the OP is. I mean she sounds like she's ready to punch someone. It's over the top. I think the response would be different if she even just took out the all caps words. Like stop shouting lady. This is an inconvenience, and not a bad one at that.

IDK, I guess you're a much more Chill Mom than me. Good job. I think it's the height of rudeness to be late to pick up your kid from a birthday party with very set time parameters. And I still think that, despite other bad things happening around me in the world.

If OP is this distressed by an extra 20 minutes with 3 of her child's friends, she shouldn't be hosting a party - anywhere. Again, not excusing the lateness but the reaction is over-the-top. Some parents are really really miserable and don't see it or think it's normal or something. Heads up - it's not normal to be this miserable as a parent. Time to rethink your life - not the parenting part obviously, but the other demands you are putting on yourself that you obviously can't handle, like hosting a large birthday party.

Let's review: OP successfully hosted a party where kids had fun. The failures are the late parents. How about don't take on commitments you obviously can't handle, like having your kids attend a large birthday party.

[Anonymous]

Agree that its rude, but the rage over 20 mins after a fun party is an overreaction. Hope you were nice to these kids and their parents, seeing as it was half the party!!

Oh, and if you hit traffic leaving, maybe that is what they were dealing with getting there???

[Anonymous]

News flash, they weren’t late. They were on time but decided to gather outside of the trampoline park to talk about you before entering and getting their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Late parents were rude. If the venue isn’t near home, run errands close by or go for a nice long walk with a podcast or something. This isn’t hard.

But it’s not something to spend a lot of energy on. It happens and you assume the risk when you host a party.

It’s life.

+1

Yes people should be on time.

But also things happen. People are juggling multiple kids and activities and often the venues are not close by or convenient. I appreciate that they made the effort to come celebrate with my kid - that's the most important thing.

I am SO TIRED of the “juggling multiple kids” bs. You don’t have to say yes to everything. If you have so many kids that you don’t have enough people to cart them around so they get to every single party/sport/activity you’re doing something wrong. It’s not on the party host to help with that. Figure it out without inconveniencing anyone else, or simply say no.

This. Right. Here. An invitation is not a summons. If it doesn't work for you, simply decline. The end.

This! And as a parent who had a party like that once, I had a couple of parents let me know of their juggling difficulties and asked if I could take their kid -- #1 reason I had a 7-seater SUV with an only child. They are a pain in the neck, but if you can't/don't want to make it work, then decline the invitation. Not freaking hard. Or reach out to the host and see if they have room in their car for one more. Everyone in the DMV knows how these parties work.

Not understanding where the crime is in asking you to take one kid so they could attend your child's party . . .

[Anonymous]

I am surprised you made it to late elementary school without this happening, OP! Agree it’s rude but I do try to focus on the kids, because it stinks to be the kid who doesn’t have a reliable ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Late parents were rude. If the venue isn’t near home, run errands close by or go for a nice long walk with a podcast or something. This isn’t hard.

But it’s not something to spend a lot of energy on. It happens and you assume the risk when you host a party.

It’s life.

+1

Yes people should be on time.

But also things happen. People are juggling multiple kids and activities and often the venues are not close by or convenient. I appreciate that they made the effort to come celebrate with my kid - that's the most important thing.

I am SO TIRED of the “juggling multiple kids” bs. You don’t have to say yes to everything. If you have so many kids that you don’t have enough people to cart them around so they get to every single party/sport/activity you’re doing something wrong. It’s not on the party host to help with that. Figure it out without inconveniencing anyone else, or simply say no.

This. Right. Here. An invitation is not a summons. If it doesn't work for you, simply decline. The end.

This! And as a parent who had a party like that once, I had a couple of parents let me know of their juggling difficulties and asked if I could take their kid -- #1 reason I had a 7-seater SUV with an only child. They are a pain in the neck, but if you can't/don't want to make it work, then decline the invitation. Not freaking hard. Or reach out to the host and see if they have room in their car for one more. Everyone in the DMV knows how these parties work.

Not understanding where the crime is in asking you to take one kid so they could attend your child's party . . .

NP. The point is, you don't burden hosts. If you can make the invitation work, great. If not, fine. That's what the "regrets" on the RSVP form is for. If you are going to ask someone for a ride, ask another attendee. Don't ask the host who has already spent lots of time and money planning, and who is juggling with getting there early to set up, bringing in fruit and vegetable trays, checking in with the staff, decorations, etc. The fact that this doesn't even occur to you shows that you are rude and entitled. First rule of being a guest? Don't burden your host.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Late parents were rude. If the venue isn’t near home, run errands close by or go for a nice long walk with a podcast or something. This isn’t hard.

But it’s not something to spend a lot of energy on. It happens and you assume the risk when you host a party.

It’s life.

+1

Yes people should be on time.

But also things happen. People are juggling multiple kids and activities and often the venues are not close by or convenient. I appreciate that they made the effort to come celebrate with my kid - that's the most important thing.

I am SO TIRED of the “juggling multiple kids” bs. You don’t have to say yes to everything. If you have so many kids that you don’t have enough people to cart them around so they get to every single party/sport/activity you’re doing something wrong. It’s not on the party host to help with that. Figure it out without inconveniencing anyone else, or simply say no.

This. Right. Here. An invitation is not a summons. If it doesn't work for you, simply decline. The end.

This! And as a parent who had a party like that once, I had a couple of parents let me know of their juggling difficulties and asked if I could take their kid -- #1 reason I had a 7-seater SUV with an only child. They are a pain in the neck, but if you can't/don't want to make it work, then decline the invitation. Not freaking hard. Or reach out to the host and see if they have room in their car for one more. Everyone in the DMV knows how these parties work.

Not understanding where the crime is in asking you to take one kid so they could attend your child's party . . .

NP. The point is, you don't burden hosts. If you can make the invitation work, great. If not, fine. That's what the "regrets" on the RSVP form is for. If you are going to ask someone for a ride, ask another attendee. Don't ask the host who has already spent lots of time and money planning, and who is juggling with getting there early to set up, bringing in fruit and vegetable trays, checking in with the staff, decorations, etc. The fact that this doesn't even occur to you shows that you are rude and entitled. First rule of being a guest? Don't burden your host.

Meh if you host at one of these big venues that is a pain to get to I don't really think its the end of the world for someone to ask for a ride. Agree the host could suggest asking another attendee and decline and that isn't rude either. Although re-reading this it seems like this person is saying they were just attending and put out by the ask, as they suggest that they ask the host, which I can see your point that it may be a lot when hosting.

Some other posters saying the late parents see this as free babysitters is very telling in how they treat babysitters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Late parents were rude. If the venue isn’t near home, run errands close by or go for a nice long walk with a podcast or something. This isn’t hard.

But it’s not something to spend a lot of energy on. It happens and you assume the risk when you host a party.

It’s life.

+1

Yes people should be on time.

But also things happen. People are juggling multiple kids and activities and often the venues are not close by or convenient. I appreciate that they made the effort to come celebrate with my kid - that's the most important thing.

I am SO TIRED of the “juggling multiple kids” bs. You don’t have to say yes to everything. If you have so many kids that you don’t have enough people to cart them around so they get to every single party/sport/activity you’re doing something wrong. It’s not on the party host to help with that. Figure it out without inconveniencing anyone else, or simply say no.

This. Right. Here. An invitation is not a summons. If it doesn't work for you, simply decline. The end.

This! And as a parent who had a party like that once, I had a couple of parents let me know of their juggling difficulties and asked if I could take their kid -- #1 reason I had a 7-seater SUV with an only child. They are a pain in the neck, but if you can't/don't want to make it work, then decline the invitation. Not freaking hard. Or reach out to the host and see if they have room in their car for one more. Everyone in the DMV knows how these parties work.

Not understanding where the crime is in asking you to take one kid so they could attend your child's party . . .

OP here -- sorry, typing lagged behind my thoughts. It wasn't a crime or burden, and I happily took them. I'd much rather know up front of potential issues and circumvent them if I can -- in this case, I could, and didn't have to wait for said parent to show up. The parties that are 45 minutes away are the pain in the neck, not the parent who asked for a ride. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With several parents being late, I would assume unexpected traffic or something and try to be understanding, *however* if I was one of the late parents the onus would be on me to either text or call the host to let them know and to apologize, as soon as I realized I might be late. The host should not have to hunt down these parents and find out exactly how late they’re going to be.

There is no such thing as "unexpected traffic" anywhere in the greater DMV area. We all have Google Maps, Waze, and working knowledge that yes, things get busy, construction, etc.

Bullshit. You’ve never gotten stuck behind an accident that happened a few minutes earlier?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With several parents being late, I would assume unexpected traffic or something and try to be understanding, *however* if I was one of the late parents the onus would be on me to either text or call the host to let them know and to apologize, as soon as I realized I might be late. The host should not have to hunt down these parents and find out exactly how late they’re going to be.

There is no such thing as "unexpected traffic" anywhere in the greater DMV area. We all have Google Maps, Waze, and working knowledge that yes, things get busy, construction, etc.

Bullshit. You’ve never gotten stuck behind an accident that happened a few minutes earlier?

Yes, and with my 15-minute cushion, I was fine. Or if I were going to be a bit late, I would, gasp, TEXT THE HOST so no one was wondering if and when I'd be showing up.