To say no when asked if sibling can come to party?

YANBU but be prepared for other siblings of other kids to turn up because their parents never even thought to ask you.

If you want parents to stay with their 3yos, then I think it's reasonable to allow siblings to come. What are parents meant to do if they don't have childcare? I can't really see how a 5yo will change the dynamic.

An older child?? She's 4 not 14! Literally just a year older than the 3yr olds attending.

Tbf, asking to bring a 2 year old to a 7/8yrs olds birthday party is not the same as asking to bring a 4yr old to a 3rd olds birthday party!

When my DD 7 gets invited I never take her sibling who is 2 and don't ask either. 9/10 if they wanted other siblings they would say "welcome to bring siblings" etc but hosting a birthday party for kids is stressful enough and I wouldn't want anyone to add extra stress to me either. If it's a small baby that's different maybe because they would be supervised by their parents but any older it's not really acceptable. I don't think you're being unreasonable.

At the age of 3 I’d expect the parents to stay so you wouldn’t be solely responsible for the kids. I’d say yes to a sibling but that’s me. Also, I do appreciate if it’s the first time you invite nursery friends, it can get overwhelming with all the what ifs and an extra child can feel like way too much. It’ll be fine, I promise.

I think it's pretty mean spirited tbh, as are some of these responses. I always try to put myself in other people's shoes. If I was a single mum who just wanted her 3yo ds/ dd to have friends and attend a party, I'd hope that someone treated me with kindness if I couldn't get childcare for my other child. She may be a cf of course, but when all is said and done you're talking about one extra child. Had it been a soft play party, with accompanying extra cost, then that's a bit different (and I'd likely expect the other mum to offer to pay, even if I rejected the offer). But it's a garden party. And it's one extra child.

Indeed...if you say no to stuff like this in primary school years op, the school mums will freeze you out and you'll have a fairly unpleasant few years

And every party I went to when they were little, it was pretty much a given that siblings could come too. Asking was polite but I think saying no would have been looked at oddly (unless it was a paid event, but to be honest it was often even the case then).

Seems a bit mean to me to say no - siblings are the norm at 3/4 year old parties round here, when they're the kind of flexible party you have at a house or church hall. Usually younger rather than older but while it's only one I don't really see what the problem is?

Another one thinking adding the odd extra sibling to a home birthday party is no big deal. OP genuinely, you're into a shock when this turns into whole class birthday parties at primary. Biggest stress then is the number of people who don't RSVP and turn up (and sometimes turn up with siblings - I was at a party once where someone brought 5 siblings of various ages!), and not having enough party bags and ending up having one just stuffed with fun-sized mars bars.

Ah such lovely memories.

‘Only’ 2 weeks ago? How much notice do you need?? 😄 I tend to RSVP the day I receive an invite but not everyone does and she may have been trying to work out logistics. One 5 year old won’t make much difference. I don’t think it’s cheeky to ask given masses of people would be fine with a sibling coming. Wait until you’re doing whole class parties and whole families show up 😂

This. Happens at every party I have. And at least she asked. Half the time they just show up with siblings 😁

I agree

Seriously? Obviously the woman has been looking at other options, 2 weeks notice is hardly grounds for being called a CF.

You will get this request every time you host a party. It's hardly a big deal. If you can't accommodate then say no. I think you are being a bit mean personally.

I think you’ll find over the next few years it’s quite common to bring siblings to parties. I think if it’s not an individually paid for thing I personally think it’s a bit harsh to say no. Do you have other children? If not, once you do you’ll be in the same boat…

I think it’s unnecessary to say no. The reality is that many parents can’t get childcare so one sibling can attend a party – she’s not cheeky, that’s the reality. Since you are having a lot of kids round anyway, I don’t see the issue. An older girl is ideal too as the kids will likely look up to her and she will like helping out.

You’re in for a long future of people asking to bring siblings to parties for this reason – in my experience it’s almost always happily accommodated.

I've only come across siblings not being included where it's something like soft play or trampolining where it's booked out and there's a number limit. All the hall or at home parties my daughter has been to over the last 3yr included siblings. I'd also say 2 weeks is loads of time to RSVP. 2 days is a bit short notice but a fortnight is absolutely ages for a kids party.

We always used to say yes to siblings, but this got more difficult as we met many families with twins, who were additional siblings. I’d have thought at home you had the flexibility to invite more, as you don’t have hall hire / cleaning costs.

I can honestly say that if someone did say this, their card would be marked fir the rest of primary 😂

I have occasionally asked to bring my 2 year old along to parties with my 4 year old. I’m a single parent with very few childcare options. Occasionally their dad agrees to have one of them but is very flaky so I am sometimes asking at last minute. I’d be completely fine if the parent said no and always feel bad about asking but the alternative is trying to find a paid babysitter for two hours on a weekend morning, which can be really difficult, or my 4 year old never going to parties. In reality parents have always been really nice about it and there’s usually a few siblings there. I don’t expect the youngest to join in party tea or get a party bag or anything.

I second this.