My Daughter’s Birthday is Making Me Look Bad
Dear Mouthy Housewives,
My daughter is turning 7 in a month. She wants to invite several friends to go to a water park near our home. But she wants it to be “girls only.” This means one of her best friends (a boy) won’t be invited.
I’ve tried to convince her that she should just include him but she won’t budge. I don’t want this boy to feel left out plus we are close friends with his parents.This could get awkward really quickly. Should I just force her to include him?
Signed,
Political Correct Polly
____________________________________
Dear Polly,
You could force your daughter to include him and then when your birthday rolls around, she can force you to celebrate it at American Girl Place with a tea party for all your friends and their overpriced dolls. Not your idea of fun, right?
It’s her birthday. And it only rolls around once a year. And a year to a 7 year-old is like 10 zillion years (unlike our birthdays which seem to come around every 30 minutes). So your daughter has been waiting a very long time for this big day. If at all possible, let her celebrate it HER way.
Who knows why she wants a girls only party? Just accept that kids are sort of insane and you’ll save yourself a lot of energy. Let her have her girls party but tell her to come up with a special way to celebrate her birthday with her friend that’s a boy. Maybe a playdate with birthday cupcakes? Have her think of an idea she likes and will be excited about. All of a sudden she has two birthday celebrations!
As for your friends, just tell them your daughter wants a girls only birthday party, roll your eyes in that my-daughter-is-crazy kind of way and apologize that you can’t include their son. Then suggest a adults dinner out and pick up the alcohol tab. Nothing awkward about buying your friends a few drinks. Unless a swingers scenario follows. In that case, write back. We Mouthy Housewives will help.
Good luck!
Signed,
Kelcey, TMH
7 Responses to “My Daughter’s Birthday is Making Me Look Bad”
Comment by dusty earth mother.
Good advice, kelcey. I agree, let her have the girly party and I really think the male-child’s parents will understand. An eye roll does wonders.
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Comment by StephanieG.
The eye-roll, when well executed, is the perfect answer!
Let’s be honest. As the parent of an about to be 7-year old daughter, I am TOTALLY over kids’ parties. I’ve been to Chuck E Cheese, the water park, a crafts store, McDonalds, a girly dress up place, and a huge building filled with bounce houses. Regretfully, none of these served martinis, and I wasn’t allowed to play with the kids. Not fun for the grownup.
Now your friends don’t have to come to a party where they really can’t participate and they don’t have to buy a gift for a child of another gender, which is its own challenge.
Have a private get-together with your friends, maybe the weekend before. Serve nice food, nice drinks, a nice cake for the birthday girl. Let her hang with the boy who is her friend, then get all girly the next weekend with a bunch of squealing 2nd graders in adorable bikinis. Problem solved!
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Comment by Lisa.
Huh? Because it’s her birthday that means she is allowed to be mean and hurtful? If she wanted to punch and kick the boy for his birthday, we’d all agree that’s not okay, right?
So why is it okay to hurt his feelings but not his body? Why are we talking about explaining to his parents and not him?
I would put this right back in the daughter’s lap. I would ask her how she thinks “Bobby” would feel. I’d ask her how she would feel if Bobby did the same to her. I’d ask her if she could enjoy herself, knowing he was home and upset.
I’d give her the choice between inviting him or having no party. There is no reciprocal “she can force you to celebrate it at American Girl Place with a tea party for all your friends and their overpriced dolls.” Who is the parent here?
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Comment by Here's Some Plastic Garbage! Enjoy! | The Mouthy Housewives.
[...] truly believe that most parents planning a birthday party would welcome skipping the goody bag and the paying for the goody bag [...]
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Comment by Louise.
Have you ever read “Where Rainbows End”, also known as “Rosie Dunne” by Cecilia Ahern? It starts off with a situation similar to this.
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