Do you leave your small children at a BD party or stay?

[roliepolieoliefan]

We DS (5) and I went to a neighbor's childs birthday party at Chuck E Cheese last night. The little boy turned 6. Another little boy came (goes to school with the birthday boy) he is 6,. The mother asked the birthday boys mom, how long will this last? Kissed her son goodbye and left. She returned 2 hours later. Now this is at a Chuck E Cheese at a shopping center and the little boy was 6. Would you leave your child at that age by himself? I couldn't imagine. I know they stamp hands but I really think if you wanted to steal a kid out of there you could. What do you think? Or am I just overprotective?

 

[preshi]

I would have stayed. Esp at Chuck E Cheese, it's a big place and you can't watch all kids at all times if you are alone. I think it was irresponsible or her to do that.

 

[Desnik]

I most certainly do no think you are over protective!!! My DD just went to a B-day at Chuck E. Cheese and she is 6yo and I stayed there with her.

I use to own a children's birthday party facility. You wouldn't believe how many parents would just drop off their small children. I would have people leave their 3yo!!!! I would get so mad. They didn't know what kind of person I was. Most of the time they didn't even know the parent of the b-day child too well. I was so shocked at this. I would have numbered ID bracelets for the child to wear and then the parent would get a ticket with the matching #. I would tell them they had to have the ticket to pick up their kid if they were leaving. I would get rolled eyes, nasty comments and more. You would think they would be happy that measures were taken for their childs safety! Do these people not know that it only takes a few seconds to kidnap a child? Even with stamps, bracelets a person could still get away with it. This really bothers me. Sorry for the vent!

 

[Serena]

I'd stay.

 

[CEDmom]

No, I don't think you're being over protective. I wouldn't do it and I don't think DD would want me to. Chuck E Cheese is completely different than Gymboree for example. The staff isn't running the party so who does the mom think will be watching her child.

 

[JESW]

I'm one of those Moms who stick around and my kids are 5 & 9. I was always surprised at the number of parents who would just drop off and leave...

Jill

 

[Gupsmom]

My son (6) went to a Chuck E Cheese party when he was 4 and again this year. At 4, I stayed WITH him (I followed him around). This year, at 6, I told him that a friend's mom (kid was at the same party) and I were going to grab a booth over in the play area and chat. I was there if he needed me, but I didn't feel that I needed to follow him around. I did ask him to tell me if he was going to the bathroom though. Our Chuck E Cheese is not in a mall and the people that work the gate (check hand stamps) have never failed to check when I've been watching.

I'm not ready to just drop him off unless I know it's a controlled/safe area with a mom I really trust....I do want to let him enjoy the party with his friends, so I try to give him some freedom.

Jess

 

[piglet too]

I never left my oldest at ANY function. There has been two times that he has been left (besides at someones house), once when he was four, the other this past November. The time he was four, DH and I went across the parking lot to eat, making sure the other parents there (who we knew pretty well) knew where we were going. Than in November, it was moving day and he had been invited to go bowling with a friend from soccer. He is 9, and I still felt bad leaving him.
When we have had parties at a party place, I actually ask that the parents stay, or they better have a cell phone where I can reach them. When my husband and I were running a youth football league, we would have parents leave all the time at practices. We had a child get hurt once and could not get ahold his mom. It was so panicky when we still could not find her and her son needed to be taken in the ambulance. She did not even come at the end of practice, she sent her sister. That was one panicky aunt when we had to tell her what happened. Fortunatly the kid was ok, but what if he had not?

 

[ckmommy]

I always stay. Even if I am the only mom that does stay. You can never be to safe!

 

[Hillbeans]

I'd stay also. That place can get nuts on a weekend and I find lots of wild kids trying to take things from my son (like his basketballs or skee balls, tickets he won, or even push him off a ride, etc).

Just because it's a party doesn't mean they should be left alone. It's different perhaps if it's at someone's house. I'd probably stay 99% of the time regardless.

 

[TinkBoo&ElliesMum]

I stay - DS has some rather uhhhhhh questionable friends - half of them have parents that let them run around and never check in (they're 7) This just isn't ok with me!! We've been to several parties where his friends parents drop them and run - one of the times it was a pretty big party at a place like Chuck E Cheese (without the big rat) and at least 6 parents dropped and ran. The birthday boys parents were so happy that there were parents that stayed that they bought all the parents that were hanging around beer/pop and food.

I'm just too paranoid to leave my kids anywhere and DS knows it, he takes a two way radio outside to play in the backyard and checks in frequently.

 

[Karel]

Oops. Read that wrong. I was going to say 'they have beer at your Chuckie Cheese?' and then went back to read that it was a place like Chuckie Cheese.

Interesting though, a place that has children's parties that serves beer.

 

[atlnewf]

I let both my kids loose at Chuck E, but I"m at a booth where they can find me (and I can see the door). My son gets a few tokens at a time so that he HAS to come back and check in regularly.

Ashley

 

[JerseyJanice]

I have a child who is 7 now, turning 8 in August. I only just recently started letting him stay at parties on his own--since the party I threw for him at the local bowling alley last summer. Almost every kid I invited--all of the kids from his class--were dropped off by their folks.

I was a little bugged out by it because the bowling alley is open to the public, has a bar (though I don't think it was open that early in the day), and regular public restrooms.

I figured this is the age where parents start leaving them, but I didn't do with my own child when he was 6. And at his 6th birthday party, as I recall, all of the parents stayed (Burger King with kid's playroom).

 

[Nancy]

Our Chuck E. Cheese serves beer..it was the only way I could get DH to go there when the kids were little. I have left my kids at parties...but only if I was very friendly with the parents and knew others that were staying. My kids used to tell me to leave becuase so many parents would just drop off they thought I was treating them like babies. So I would sit in a corner away from the party..but where I could see. That would make them feel like I wasn't really there.

My pet peeve would be the parents that would show up so late to pick up their kids. Did they think I had all day to be their babysitters while they did whatever they felt they had to do. If I was picking up I was alwasy early.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Originally posted by Karel
Oops. Read that wrong. I was going to say 'they have beer at your Chuckie Cheese?' and then went back to read that it was a place like Chuckie Cheese.

Interesting though, a place that has children's parties that serves beer.

Our Chuckie Cheese serves beer too. I would leave dd at a party depending on where it was. DD recently went to a friends party (turning 7) and I felt comfortable leaving her there but it was at the friends house.

 

[TinkBoo&ElliesMum]

Originally posted by Karel
Oops. Read that wrong. I was going to say 'they have beer at your Chuckie Cheese?' and then went back to read that it was a place like Chuckie Cheese.

Interesting though, a place that has children's parties that serves beer.

Our Chuck E. Cheese sells beer and wine too though It's the only way my step-dad made it through DS' one party there.

The other place has areas geared for adults too so they have drinks for adults.

 

[HappyMommy2]

I've never left my son at a birthday party (he's 4) and it may be a while before I do.

I knew someone who loved giving her kids wonderful, big birthday parties, and I heard her complain several times about parents who would "stick around" during the party--and this would be a 4- or 5-year-old's party. Her complaint was that the parents expected to eat and drink at the party so she had to pay for them too, and they would get in the way. I felt bad when I heard that, and now if I take DS to a party I try not to eat (unless the invitation specifically included parents, which it usually does at DS's young age), and I always try to help out as much as I can so I won't just be in the way!

 

[mom2boys]

Depending on the activity I will leave my boys - they are now 8.5 & 10. I never did until they were at least 7. My oldest used to get upset with me because I was always back at least 1/2 hour before the party ended. When he complained that I was always the first Mom back, I pointed out that I did not make him leave when I arrived. We made a deal that I would still be there before the party ended but that he didn't have to leave just because I showed up. He was fine with that. (Lucky for him because I will never be late to pick up my kids - barring a major unforeseen catastrophy.)

 

[KimRaye]

I've done both but, for different parties. For an at-home party, I left her once (5yo at the time) and, at another I stayed. This past week she had a party to go to at Jeepers (like Chuck E Cheese) and, I stayed there also. Those places get tooo wild and crazy and, it's impossible for one BD mom to watch EVERY kid. Heck, I've lost sight of my own when they go into those tube things with numerous openings!

And, my reasonings for staying and not staying at the at-home parties were, one party was not just a kids party, they had family, friends and neighbors...a house full PLUS, so I stayed. The other party was solely a kids party with classmates in the home...I left but, some other parents stayed.