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AIBU?

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AIBU to not compromise on my daughters birthday dinner for the sake of my niece and nephews

708 replies

randomcar1990 · 24/07/2026 12:19

My DD is turning 12 tomorrow, I also have a DS. Me and my DH have decided to let our daughter plan the entire day. She is having a birthday party with her friends next week, so on her actual birthday she wants to spend time with her cousins. So the whole family is coming over for the day. We are all going to the cinema and then we are going to dinner. My daughter loves seafood, and there is this one restaurant she wants to go to for her birthday. The restaurant is a bit more fancy than where we would usually go with the whole extended family, but it's her birthday and I'm willing to pay a bit more money for dinner because it's her birthday.

I did send my family a text and I told them about the restaurant. I also told them that I don't mind helping pay if some people think affording this restaurant would be difficult for them. Because I don't expect everybody to be able to afford the prices. Everybody was okay with the price and they were excited to go. Except for my brother, he told me that he looked at the kids menu and he said there was nothing in the menu that his kids would like. To be fair, the kids menu is more limited, there are options on the kids menu but because the restaurant is more fancy the kids menu is basically just smaller versions of the main dishes. The few non-seafood meals on the kids menu are also foods my brothers kids do not like. His kids are 11, 9 and 6.

So I did ask my daughter if there was any other restaurant she wants to go to. She said no.

I told my brother that I'm sorry but it's my daughters birthday and this is the one restaurant she wants to go to. I told him that his kids can eat something before we go to the restaurant but I also told him that surely there has to be something his kids like at the restaurant. I've looked at the menu and the kids menu still has things like fish and chips but his kids don't like fish. So I told him that his kids can have chips. But he is telling me it's not fair that his kids only have have the option of eating chips at this restaurant.

However, I am not changing the restaurant, my daughter wants to eat dinner at this place so that is where we are going to eat dinner

OP posts:
Ohthatsabitshit · 24/07/2026 12:25

Not liking fish is fairly common. Surely there are some non fish dishes?

ListenToTheAirport · 24/07/2026 12:25

I think YABU because your daughter has said "on her actual birthday she wants to spend time with her cousins" but she has also chosen a place where they will be miserable. She can have one or the other

VIII · 24/07/2026 12:24

I wouldn't want to eat at a seafood restaurant so I would decline the invite. I also wouldn't go and only eat chips. If she's understanding that her cousins might not attend the meal then that's fine but personally I would have saved the restaurant for a 1-1 meal or a family trip for her birthday and chosen a different location if the purpose of the day was to spend an enjoyable time with her cousins.

Bonkers1966 · 24/07/2026 12:24

Guessing your brother likes everything to be about him.

Octavia64 · 24/07/2026 12:23

You can insist on the restaurant. But you cannot make them come.

my kids were fussy abd honestly we just said no if there wasn’t anything they could eat.

it’s an invite not summons

TheresMillionsOfGeoffreys · 24/07/2026 12:22

But he is telling me it's not fair that his kids only have have the option of eating chips at this restaurant.

They have the option of lots of other things but they have rejected it.

AgnesMcDoo · 24/07/2026 12:21

I think it’s fine to insist on the restaurant.

But you need to accept if they chose not come.

Fish is just not something everyone likes. I’d struggle to go to a fish restaurant myself.

rubyslippers · 24/07/2026 12:20

They can eat before and have chips and a dessert
I wouldn’t be changing the restaurant