I am sad for DD--this past weekend

[Anonymous]

It seems like every kid we know went to Viva Vienna with someone this weekend and no one invited or included my DD (13) or DS (15). They both reached out to friends and no one got back to them but they know from the socials that they were there. It's so disheartening when your teens aren't inclusive. They have friends and we host plenty so it's not a regular issue but it was very much in their face this weekend.
I don't have a question but a general sense of sadness for my kids and putting this PSA out to parents to teach your kids to be inclusive.

I offered to go with them to Viva Vienna but they said they'd rather die than be seen with their mom there.

[Anonymous]

I have a 17 yo DD who was excluded plenty during her teen years. It’s better to teach her how to grow/bounce back from it than insist other people include her just for the sake of inclusion. Maybe there’s valid reasons they weren’t invited. Maybe there isn’t. But no matter how much you teach your kids to be inclusive, there are times where they won’t be.

Learn to deal with that now and your kids will be better off in the long run.

[Anonymous]

I was at Viva Vienna with my younger kids later in the day on Saturday. Do you want to know what the 14&15 year olds were saying to eachother?

And I quote...
"Hey there! Pop a t*tty!"
"Damn, you were right, the a** around here is awesome!" (Referring to some girls who looked about 14 with short jean shorts on)

Consider it a good thing that your kids weren't in that low brow crowd.

[Anonymous]

It sure was a low brow teen crowd there this weekend. The girls were barely clothed. SMH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems like every kid we know went to Viva Vienna with someone this weekend and no one invited or included my DD (13) or DS (15). They both reached out to friends and no one got back to them but they know from the socials that they were there. It's so disheartening when your teens aren't inclusive. They have friends and we host plenty so it's not a regular issue but it was very much in their face this weekend.
I don't have a question but a general sense of sadness for my kids and putting this PSA out to parents to teach your kids to be inclusive.

I offered to go with them to Viva Vienna but they said they'd rather die than be seen with their mom there.

You should have sent them together. I saw plenty of pairs not groups of friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like every kid we know went to Viva Vienna with someone this weekend and no one invited or included my DD (13) or DS (15). They both reached out to friends and no one got back to them but they know from the socials that they were there. It's so disheartening when your teens aren't inclusive. They have friends and we host plenty so it's not a regular issue but it was very much in their face this weekend.
I don't have a question but a general sense of sadness for my kids and putting this PSA out to parents to teach your kids to be inclusive.

I offered to go with them to Viva Vienna but they said they'd rather die than be seen with their mom there.

You should have sent them together. I saw plenty of pairs not groups of friends.

We do this with my kids. They are on the periphery of their friend groups so often left out. They manage to have fun, especially if we give them money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sure was a low brow teen crowd there this weekend. The girls were barely clothed. SMH.

Stop the misogynistic body shaming. And you sound pathetically unaware of contemporary fashion/culture.

[Anonymous]

My DD didn't go either because she had no one to go with. VV is a big to-do in Vienna and it brings out the worst in the kids. Is it that hard to reach out to friends and say "meet us there"???

I am glad to see this weekend over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like every kid we know went to Viva Vienna with someone this weekend and no one invited or included my DD (13) or DS (15). They both reached out to friends and no one got back to them but they know from the socials that they were there. It's so disheartening when your teens aren't inclusive. They have friends and we host plenty so it's not a regular issue but it was very much in their face this weekend.
I don't have a question but a general sense of sadness for my kids and putting this PSA out to parents to teach your kids to be inclusive.

I offered to go with them to Viva Vienna but they said they'd rather die than be seen with their mom there.

You should have sent them together. I saw plenty of pairs not groups of friends.

+1 Isn't the whole point of having 2 or 3 kids giving them a lifelong friend to grow with?

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry, OP. I'd be sad for my kid too. Stuff like this is another reason that I hate social media - the getting left out of events.

As adults, most of us have learned some lessons with this but it's such a bitter pill for kids.

I don't post anything on social media that could be exclusionary because I'm hyper aware of this.

[Anonymous]

My kids enjoyed going to Viva Vienna with me at that age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sure was a low brow teen crowd there this weekend. The girls were barely clothed. SMH.

Stop the misogynistic body shaming. And you sound pathetically unaware of contemporary fashion/culture.

Go back to your Kumon worksheets.

[Anonymous]

Similar thing happened to my 19 yr old DS this past weekend.

I felt sad for him, but you cannot control every aspect of their friendships.

[Anonymous]

Yes - VV is such a BFD in Vienna and it's very stressful if you don't have someone to go with. I'm sorry for your kids. My DD (13) is often left out of things with her friend group and it is so hard to see.

[Anonymous]

A neighbor on our cul-de-sac had a huge teen party this weekend as part of Viva Vienna. It's such a big deal for teens. My heart does go out to the teens that didn't have someone to go with.