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Hmmm.....my take on this is very different. I would have never "expected" a parent to remain at the party unless they choose to do so. They would certainly be welcome. I would have assumed since it was my kid's party I was responsible for the other children while they were there-just as I would if they were in my home. But I also would not have invited that many children to a 5 year olds birthday party.
My rule was 1 friend for every year of age. It was manageable for me and for the birthday boy or girl.
When our son was that age & invited to birthday parties at public places I always hung around at the party location.
When it was his birthday party most parents would stay & supervise their kids. There were a few who consistently would just leave the kid on his own. Those are the kids that would cry when they realized their parent was nowhere to be found.
I suggest telling all the parents that each parent is responsible for supervising their child. Make sure they understand that you can't supervise anyone else's child in a public place, nor should anyone expect that of you.
Just a quick clarification, this is an indoor bounce house place where they charge you one fee and you can invite 15 kids.
I see everyone's point. I do like the idea of one friend per year of age, and this is our first party outside of our house since the past few years our house was left in shambles and we decided it was worth the $$ to have it somewhere else.
I've done several parties at these type of places. Normally there is at least one adult employee watching and interacting with the kids. I too feel it is well worth the money to not have it at my own house. At 5 years I think it is up to the parents to decide if their child would be comfortable without them there. I wouldn't expect all the parents to stay. That is a lot of extra people. They may not even fit in the party room.
In my experience, some stay, some don't. I would normally check with the host to make sure it was ok to leave, but I've never been told no and I've never told a parent they had to stay. The few who stay are more than enough to keep an eye on everyone. 17 kids + 17 parents is overkill.
Just a quick clarification, this is an indoor bounce house place where they charge you one fee and you can invite 15 kids.
I see everyone's point. I do like the idea of one friend per year of age, and this is our first party outside of our house since the past few years our house was left in shambles and we decided it was worth the $$ to have it somewhere else.
We've had those parties before. Just because you CAN invite that many kids doesn't mean you should, especially at that young age.
Now you know, so just do the best you can and be sure they leave cell numbers if they leave.
As they get older, most parents will want to leave. They will have other kids who either aren't welcome to stay, or have other activities to go to. The choice is often drop them off or they don't get to go at all.
When my kids are invited to parties, I look very carefully at the invitation to see whether it specifies "drop off" or not. If I'm unclear, I'll ask. My kids (8 and 9) both received invitations recently that said, "Sorry, not a drop off" and I respected that. I'd rather know in advance than plan to do something during that time and find out I have to stay. If I don't want to hang around somewhere for 2 hours, I would regret the invitation. It might be too late to reverse course for this year, but think about that for the future.
When my kids are invited to parties, I look very carefully at the invitation to see whether it specifies "drop off" or not. If I'm unclear, I'll ask. My kids (8 and 9) both received invitations recently that said, "Sorry, not a drop off" and I respected that. I'd rather know in advance than plan to do something during that time and find out I have to stay. If I don't want to hang around somewhere for 2 hours, I would regret the invitation. It might be too late to reverse course for this year, but think about that for the future.
It is good that they specified because I wouldn't expect to stay for an 8 or 9 year old's party.
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As they get older (older than 5), most parents will want to leave. They will have other kids who either aren't welcome to stay, or have other activities to go to. The choice is often drop them off or they don't get to go at all.
There is always that assumption unless the parents are personal friends of yours, many parents might drop kids off intending to come back after. That is why most people would not invite that many kids at a time. If you wanted parents to stay for the party, you should have said so specifically on the invites.
At this point, I think you should make sure there are additional relatives, Grandma, GrandPa etc to help. Unless the fun house has staff that is included w/ the rental price.
And, the parents speaking about going to lunch were giving you your clue....If you didn't want them to leave their kids alone w/ you for the duration of the party, that was the time to say something.
Last edited by JanND; 06-16-2013 at 06:49 PM..
Reason: edit text
Tell them at least one parent is required to stay. I wouldn't normally say that for a party, but a bounce house is different. Every bounce house party I've attended has had at least one injury and multiple kids leave in tears. My high school kids were at one recently where a 16-year-old broke his leg.
It galls me when people leave siblings, too. Usually it's a sibling who causes the most trouble.
Honestly, IMHO, you have too many kids invited, and the age range is not safe for that activity.
At least get all parents' cell phone numbers before they leave. Hopefully the place required parents to sign a waiver.
What if the only choice is stay and bring an extra sibling, or take the sibling and go?
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