OT- Do you drop 6 yr olds off at a birthday party or stay?

[BellePrincessBelle]

They kick 'em out at the curb here. We live in a small community so everyone pretty much knows everyone else at the party.

 

[Lisa_Belle]

In our group parents stay. Not so much to keep an eye on the kids but because we have our own parent "social hour." I hate to say it, but even though we are at the party, we rarely seem to know what your kids are doing. Half the time we don't even know where they are. :

ETA: Anyone who has 15 6-year-olds at a party in their home is certifiably crazy. Definitely stay.

 

[rt2dz]

What I have noticed is it depends on a host of factors. It depends on where the party is. How large the party is. How well you know the parents of the birthday child. Etc., Etc.

When DS turned 6 last month, I put on the invite that they had to have an adult with them. It was (1) a large party and (2) at a venue where there is no way to watch them all at once. Most parents would probably not have left anyhow due to the venue.

DS6 has been to a few parties this year (most his friends are all turning 6 now) and it has been a mix. Good friends of the parents might leave, others are sure to stay. I've been asked if I'm leaving or staying many times and I've asked once or twice if you mind if I stay (and the parent always says happily/with relief "stay").

I've always stayed; either I don't know the parents well or the venue/size of the party makes me think I should. At one little boys party, the parents were shocked at how many dropped off their kids. They didn't mind it, but it did surprise them (and their son was the youngest of 4!). It's also how I've been able to get to know some of the other parents or the kids. Many times I've also just been helpful.

 

[CampbellScot]

It tends to be a New Jersey thing to stay at parties. I had never encountered that in my entire life until I moved here and married a man with kids! My husband or I will stay with with my step son when the party is held at a large venue...

I don't think you are doing anything wrong wanting to stay with your son at a home you aren't familiar with. Nowadays you have to be extra careful. If it had been someone you knew I'd probably have left him for a little bit.

On the two occasions that my step son (4) has been dropped off at a party and we left, he ended up with a black eye! (running around like a maniac and running into another boy, both times) Unfortunately he is one of those little guys who takes the energy of the room and goes nuts with it. He is very bright and knows when there are no adults around that are going to enforce rules. Stinker...it seems all little boys are like that! The last time we picked him up from a "black eye" party, we made him apologize to the hostess and to the boy he smacked into. The other boy's mom had her son do the same. Then we let him know that he wouldn't be going to the next party he was invited to as it appeared he couldn't behave. We had a pretty long talk about making good and bad choices and being responsible for your actions. He was pretty sad the next week when a swimming party came up and he couldn't go...but he hasn't misbehaved at a party since.

 

[Tinkabella]

When my daughter was four we had a pool party for her in our backyard. I hired a lifeguard and we had a bunch of adults there (my husband/my sister/ my brother/ mother-in-law and myself). As some of the kids were her classmates I didn't know their parents at all. I prepared a lunch for the mom's and dad's assuming that they would stay. Who would leave there four year old at a pool party with people they don't know...Right ??? WRONG, not one of the classmates parents stayed ! Some of the kids couldn't swim and their parents did not seem the least bit concerned ! It really wasn't a problem, but I was sooo shocked because both my kids are good swimmers but I am still always worried about drowning.

 

[Elmo888]

I stay if it is at a public place (mall for Build A Bear, Chuck E Cheese, for example), but I drop off if it is at someone's house. I'm just not comfortable that one or two adults can watch 10 or more kids in a public place like that. I'm on the fence at a closed in public place, like Pump It Up, which is a room of bounce equipment and then a different room for the cake. I would hang for a few minutes to make sure that she understood the setup and then go. DD is in the first grade, and I've been doing that since last year.

I just read the post about the pool - I would never have dropped DD at a pool party at 4 years old! I'm not sure that I would do it at 7 years old, and she can swim fairly well!