To think that doing fun things for/with your kids is part of being a parent

There’s a balance to be had though.

Go to the park even though it’s incredibly boring as an adult because your kids love it, yes. Go to the park everyday for hours on end and in all weathers, even though you hate it at the expense of something else? No.

There are a lot of things I don’t like doing as a parent and some I put up with and some I refuse to do. For example, I plan on taking my child to see Santa and doing some Christmas themed crafts and painting. It’s not exactly how I would choose to spend my time but it’ll make my kid happy. However, I’m not doing Elf on the Shelf because I can’t be arsed committing to it for years to come and I don’t like the idea of it. I’m not doing Christmas baking because I find baking with my kid stressful and really unenjoyable. I’m not stopping other people from baking with them but it won’t be me.

It’s not a cool mum thing to not do literally everything with your kids, even if there are no budget restrictions. It’s good for kids to know they are part of a family and sometimes we do things for them but sometimes you do things that other people want to do/not do.

Parents?
You mean mum gets guilted into doing all the admin and organising and if there is a dad he either bemoans the whole thing and opts out or leaves the graft to mum and ends up doing the bare minimum performative bit or acts like a 3rd, 4th child and gets to enjoy the end result whilst mum is knackered And ends up doing the clean up at the end also.

I don't think parents should feel pressured into doing loads of stuff just because their kids ask for it or because it's all over social media.

Presumably they mean that they're not going to feel pressured into doing every single thing, they're going to pick the ones they want to do.

What difference does it make to your life what other people do? Genuinely asking. It seems like you're somehow worked up what other people do? Just
Carry on with what you want to do for your kids?

YANBU unfortunately, kids get excited, I’d hate for mine to be disappointed at not being able to do fun things.

No is the short answer to that. I do know quite a few who just sort of do their own thing and the kids come too but it’s rare they do something that’s just for the children if you like.

A lot of influencers try to be relatable, I suspect plenty of them do those things but it's easier to make content/grift harping on about not wanting to do it than doing it. It's fine to not want to do something as it is to do it.

This.

just ignore them.

It depends - there seems to be an awful lot of pressure on parents (and let's face it - mostly mums) to do anything and everything with and for their children these days. Halloween was very minor when I was a child but it has turned over time into almost a mini-Christmas, with events, lights trails, parties, etc. I don't think there's anything wrong with a parent choosing to focus on some things and not doing others especially if there are costs involved.

I don't think parents have to do everything with their children, especially once the kids develop more and more autonomy - I feel the constant round of activities driven by parents has taken away a lot of play creativity from children.

They're not influencers, they're grifters and you're rewarding their grifting with your clicks which brings them money.

Go to the park and see normal parents instead.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying doing things with your kids like making halloween costumes or cupcakes.

What IS wrong, and what I assume these people are protesting about, is the general feeling that if you are not running yourself ragged doing every event and activity going, that you are a bad parent.

It's fine to say that yes, you're up for making cupcakes and taking the kids to a pantomime, but that you're not up for boo boxes, santa trains, elf on his shelf, north pole breakfasts and the rest of it.

Just step away from the influencers and do your own thing.

Odd post? Don’t most parents?