Poor Behavior/No birthday party

[Anonymous]

For me it is too harsh and too separated from the behavior. Not to mention a high possibility of no follow through. Are you really willing to possibly cancel the party at the last minute, having to call/email a bunch of families and explain? It sounds like your husband might not be on board.

Have you tried a daily behavior chart where she earns privileges in small increments? I found it very effective at this age.

[Anonymous]

Taking away the birthday party is like the death penalty. I don't believe in it.

We saw a 6-year old's party taken away, and she was devastated.

[Anonymous]

I feel like if I have to explain why it's an inappropriate reaction, you don't get it at all. Five year olds, new to kindergarten, are beastly. They have a lot of pressures put on them to behave in school, way worse than we had as kids. They are also separating their identities from the parents more, and are testing boundaries.

To a five/six year old, their birthday is the biggest thing, and magical. So you want to blow up that experience because your kid is behaving in a normal (but annoying) range? Parent the daily problems with daily responses. But to pull a birthday party makes me wonder about YOU. What did you think having kids was about?