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?

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.

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 . . .

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.

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 . . .

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.