Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So they don't want *any* kids to have parties because they don't want *their* kids to have a party? And they don't want their kids to feel left out by not having a party they don't want to give, so they're trying to make sure no one has parties?
Yes. -OP
And how exactly are they “strong arming” others or influencing them? I really don’t get it. Other than vocally expressing their own opinion- which they are allowed to do, how can they possibly influence anyone on what they do for their own children?
OP said other families are spreading the word that birthday parties are only for little kids. That is bizarre. It is one thing to choose not to have a party for your kids but to tell your 7 year old that nobody their age should be having a party is not normal behavior for parents.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Have a party with school friends. Don’t invite your sour grapes neighbors
School friends are neighbor friends. They all play in the neighborhood, attend school together and play on sports teams together. -OP
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So they don't want *any* kids to have parties because they don't want *their* kids to have a party? And they don't want their kids to feel left out by not having a party they don't want to give, so they're trying to make sure no one has parties?
Yes. -OP
And how exactly are they “strong arming” others or influencing them? I really don’t get it. Other than vocally expressing their own opinion- which they are allowed to do, how can they possibly influence anyone on what they do for their own children?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So they don't want *any* kids to have parties because they don't want *their* kids to have a party? And they don't want their kids to feel left out by not having a party they don't want to give, so they're trying to make sure no one has parties?
Yes. -OP
Anonymous wrote:So they don't want *any* kids to have parties because they don't want *their* kids to have a party? And they don't want their kids to feel left out by not having a party they don't want to give, so they're trying to make sure no one has parties?
Anonymous wrote:There are some parents in my neighborhood who are trying to stop the birthday party habit. Basically they are sick of hosting and attending birthday parties, so they're trying to "spread the word" that birthday parties should stop at age 7. I understand that birthday parties are expensive to host, and they can present a logistical challenge with weekend sports and other activities. The parents have convinced their kids that birthday parties are only for little kids. These are all parents with multiple kids, so I can see how this benefits them cost and logistics wise, but we're not all in the same boat as them. We don't find attending birthday parties to be a chore (yay drop off!) and hosting one every year for our only child isn't a financial issue for us either.
The issue is that my son is turning 8 in a few months and really loves to have birthday parties. Because of the new trend in our neighborhood, he's not sure if he should have one or not. I told him it's his birthday and he gets to choose and shouldn't worry about what other kids and families are doing. If he wants a party, we'll be happy to throw him one.
Has anyone else seen a group of parents try to strong arm everyone else into following what they want? They can choose whatever they want to do for their families--it's their trying to influence what other families do that I have an issue with.
So now my son doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to be seen as a baby, but he also really wants to have a birthday party. We do the birthday party, correct? It's an invitation, not a summons, so anyone who has a conflict doesn't have to come. But I'm sure the other moms will be unhappy that I'm "ruining" their plan to get the kids their age to stop having birthday parties.
What is a typically natural age for birthday parties to stop? Before all this started happening, we were thinking one more big party this year and then starting at age 9 a fun activity for a smaller group of kids. The issue is that my son isn't good at paring down the group of kids--he has friends from a lot of different places and wants to include them all.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So they don't want *any* kids to have parties because they don't want *their* kids to have a party? And they don't want their kids to feel left out by not having a party they don't want to give, so they're trying to make sure no one has parties?
Yes. -OP