OP, you should have collected all of the phones from the girls. That is what I would have done. Everyone puts their phones in a basket and gets it back when they leave. I mean c'mon....this is terrible, your poor daughter.


This is a way to make sure these girls never come around again. I’ve never actually heard of phones being collected IRL

That's not the case. My son is in 9th and part of a neighborhood activity for teens and tweens. The mom who runs it collects everyone's phones. He doesn't love that aspect, but since he overall likes the activity, he continues to attend.

A crafts place for 12 year old sports friends? Sounds really boring, I'd be on my phone, too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cannot believe all these 6th graders have phones. Bad parenting

Do you have a child in pubic middle school? I can think of one kid who doesn't have a phone. K-8 agree they aren't needed.

Yes, two. They are fine. There close friends don’t have phones either

I think a craft party may be boring for 12 year olds?

My son and his friends still run around. He has had all active parties like sky zone, laser tag, paintball, etc.

I got my son a phone after 7th grade started this fall. He kept saying he was the only one without a phone. He still has a few friends without phones. They have Apple Watches.

Girls seem to get phones faster than boys.

Anonymous wrote:Cannot believe all these 6th graders have phones. Bad parenting

Do you have a child in pubic middle school? I can think of one kid who doesn't have a phone. K-8 agree they aren't needed.

Your kid needs a phone, OP. Sorry. I also hate it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe most of the girls has grown out of the event and were bored?

This. It’s still rude of them though.

+1. My DD would never do this with her close friends, but I could see her doing this in a larger group of kids she doesn’t know as well. In reality, she would be texting me telling she was bored or felt awkward. I think the group was too large, personally.

Cannot believe all these 6th graders have phones. Bad parenting

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry this happened OP - but honestly, 15 is probably too large of a group for the age - plus 2 worlds colliding with 2 friend groups could be tough to manage. This was probably a reflection of teen awkwardness as much as anything. Live and learn … I had a similar situation with my daughter and for my daughter, smaller is a better overall experience for all.

This. Also, not everyone enjoys crafts at 12. A smaller party, 4-5 girls who actually love crafts would have had a different feel.

As a teacher who deals with this at school, you can perhaps relate to the frustration we feel at how the parents themselves create this problem. No, your kids don’t need to be reachable by you at every single second, including while they’re at school or birthday parties. You’re actually greatly impeding their lives and their ability to exist without their phone in their hand at all times.

Anonymous wrote:Were they completely silent while on the phones? I hate that my dd (15) and her friends are often on the phone while hanging out, but they are FAR from quiet. They're talking constantly, sharing music, laughing at memes, taking photos, being goofy with filters.

This is what I see if they are on phones and with friends.

15 is a large group and they probably felt uncomfortable for some reason. Still rude though.

Were they completely silent while on the phones? I hate that my dd (15) and her friends are often on the phone while hanging out, but they are FAR from quiet. They're talking constantly, sharing music, laughing at memes, taking photos, being goofy with filters.

Anonymous wrote:My 11yo has a phone but wouldn’t have taken it with her to a party like this. I could see it happening with some of her friends though. I agree with the posters saying you should have taken all the phones.
Maybe on the evites we now need to write “ this is a phone free event, if you child has one please ask them to keep it in a pocket or their bag”

I like the phone free event idea and I think other parents might be relieved at the idea.
I have a 6th grader with a phone and I typically ask him to leave it at home for sports/parties. His friends will be there so he doesn’t need to contact them. I can text coach/parent if needed. I think that’s probably only a 6th grade solution though.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe most of the girls has grown out of the event and were bored?

This. It’s still rude of them though.