Am I crazy to have a birthday party for my 5-year-old son at a pool this summer?

[Anonymous]

We have never had a party for him and did not want to spend a lot on a venue so we thought it would be nice to have it at the pool we belong to but now I am wondering if I should reconsider this. I was planning to say that parent supervision is required if the child attends.

It will be in the afternoon around from 3-5 and we plan to order pizza and have cake. He wants to invite his entire preschool class plus some of the neighborhood friends -around 25 invited but I'm sure there will only be 15-20 who can come (if he is lucky). Please advise if I am not thinking about some factor....

[Anonymous]

Sorry but it sounds like a bad idea.

[Anonymous]

i have been to several of these w no problem

[Anonymous]

I think it would be okay as long as you are very clear that parents are responsible for supervising their own children. Will there be a lifeguard there?

[Anonymous]

You need 1:1 adult supervision in water at that age unless the kids are on swim team!

[Anonymous]

Sounds awesome!

[Anonymous]

This is PP... At 5-years-old, we had a backyard party with squirt guns and a hose and sprinkler & water balloons. Had beer for parents. We have a small backyard. Kids had a blast!!

[Anonymous]

Weekday 3 - 5 most families couldn't come. Weekend, I'd imagine everyone will be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i have been to several of these w no problem

Same.

[Anonymous]

I have found that swim parties when not in a dedicated shallow pool are usually not done for younger kids given the risks.

[Anonymous]

We did this but and it was great (make perfectly clear adults are responsible for their kids). But at our pool, the party/guest fees really added up to more than $200. You could also consider a backyard water party with little pools, a sprinkler, a slip n slide etc.

[Anonymous]

I've been to both a 4 year old party like this and a 5 year old. It is really not a problem at all and was actually a total blast both years.

[Anonymous]

Did it last year for my 5 yr old. Invite was addressed to child and 1 adult guest. Adults stayed with their children. I can't imagine any parent feeling secure enough to drop off at a pool party at that age.

[Anonymous]

Please dont make me spend 2 hours in my bathing suit with all the other preschool parents.

If this was a friend party, id be ok with it.

[Anonymous]

In general, my entire life with young children (my kids are a bit older now so we dont "do" birthday parties anymore thank god), I was so perplexed by people who had birthday parties for their kids that required my attendance. Sometimes I would go, sometimes not-depending on how awful the time spent was.

What makes anyone think that your childs birthday is so important that you feel the need to take up MY weekend? Unless we are friends, I am not going to your kid's birthday party, whether its at a pool or not. I think kids birthday parties should be hosted by people who intend to supervise the kids attending. And at a location that allows for that.

But I am sure if you decide to have it at a pool you'll get some kids to come and everything will be fine. Do what you want, its your kids party right? If people dont want to come, so be it...right?