Anonymous
Post 07/01/2024 14:00     Subject: You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
It's not OK on any level to pick your child up late. It causes the parent who's hosting the party stress (they want to clean up and get out of there, or clean up and relax if at their own home), anxiety for the kid who's being picked up late (did mom forget me? Is mom OK? Where is mom, they were supposed to pick me up?), and is unnecessary.

The only plausible excuse is an accident that shuts down the road while you are en route, and then you call, explain, and profusely apologize
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2024 13:34     Subject: You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
next time put 3:45 instead of 4 problem solved.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2024 13:30     Subject: Re:You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
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.


The numbers gave me pause too. I agree it’s rude. But that’s almost half of the guests. I wonder if there is a culture in OPs crowd that she missed.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2024 13:22     Subject: You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
They suck.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2024 13:21     Subject: Re:You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
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.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2024 13:18     Subject: You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don’t see the issue. Why did you have to babysit? They probably figured the kids would go bounce after.


Paid by who?


Op, of course.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2024 13:07     Subject: You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
Anonymous wrote:Team OP. Everyone knows how these places work. You have to clear out when your slot is over. It’s not difficult to be on time. You just have to care enough about it to make it happen.


+100000
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2024 13:02     Subject: Re:You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
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
Post 07/01/2024 12:58     Subject: Re:You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
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?
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2024 12:56     Subject: You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
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
Post 07/01/2024 12:47     Subject: You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
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
Post 07/01/2024 12:46     Subject: You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
Anonymous wrote:I don’t see the issue. Why did you have to babysit? They probably figured the kids would go bounce after.

Do you even have children? Have you ever even been to one of these parties? They are ALL the same. Once you have eaten, you are not allowed back in the venue.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2024 12:44     Subject: Re:You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
Anonymous wrote:Gosh you're very unforgiving. People have so many things going on, And some people have truly very difficult things going on, and I can easily see how people could get there 15 minutes late.

You sound very highly strong to have found that to be a big deal. Seriously, in the grand scheme of things, this was 15 minutes for you to sit around on your kids birthday and let them frolic for a few more minutes with some other kids. Life is short, try not to be so miserable about it.


I'm not sure what sort of frolicking you are expecting to happen in the boring lobby of a party venue? There is nothing to do, and OP's kid probably wanted to go home and open and play with their presents! 100% agree that it is rude and inconsiderate of parents to show up late for any sort of pick up. People have plans, OP laid out the timeline. I always plan to show up in the last 15 minutes of the party so I can grab my kid and go when the party is over.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2024 12:40     Subject: You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
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.)


this
also I am grumpy and overwhelmed and a ball of stress and angst and I feel sorry for my husband and kids but even i would not think to gaf about this.
Anonymous
Post 07/01/2024 12:38     Subject: Re:You pick your kids up from a drop-off party ON TIME
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.