To think that school plays bring out selfish behaviour in some parents?

[BaconFrazzles]

This morning DH and I went to our youngest child's school xmas play. The school our DC go to doesn't charge for tickets, but you have to book tickets as due to space restrictions, and for fairness, there is a limit of 3 seats per child. You are given confirmation of your tickets but there is no policing of the tickets at the door, and every year some families seem to bring loads of people with them, and take no notice of the ticket rules.

This then means that many parents that have stuck to the rules end up with no seats, and standing at the back or crammed at the side of the hall, with a rubbish view. The ones that break the rules are generally there first of all and reserve rows of seats, and get all the front row seats for their grans/aunties/next door neighbours.

This morning at DS's play, I saw that one family had taken up a total of 12 seats: the mum, the dad, both sets of grandparents, the mum's auntie, the mum's 3 cousins, and the family's next door neighbour and her daughter! Another family had a good 6 or 7 seats reserved in the front row.

I know it's only a school play and not that important in the grand scheme of things, but I just think it's so bloody selfish. Everyone wants to see their child perform, and it's unfair that some are blatantly breaking rules, meaning that others don't get to see much of their child. I also noticed today that many people in the front few rows kept standing up to take photos and video their children/grandchildren, meaning that those of us stuck in the rows behind got no view at all for much of the show.

[OddFodd]

YANBU - it's ridiculous

I think I'm going to email the HT to ask her to ban tablets next year. I was in the 2nd row (got there about an hour before the thing started) but even so, my view was entirely blocked by the people in front of me holding up their ipads next to their heads.

And next to me kneeling on the floor was a mother with a telephoto lens SLR, clicking away. It was like being at a bloody celeb press conference, not an infant school nativity

[farrowandbawlbauls]

Ours is supposed to be organised but it's not. The number of seats and tickets never adds up to the number of people attending.

Despite the no photo rule - the kids are being filmed & photographed.

For 3 years so many people turned up, several of us were left to watch through the double doors to the hall...try explaining that to an autistic child who just doesn't understand why people don't follow the rules. I've got there an hour before hand and still couldn't get in.

Ever since the last play, where not only was I stood outside, kids were screaming and crying - it was impossible to hear anything and the play had to stopped twice for the head to get people to move their cars that were either parked illigally or blocking other's driveways, neither of the kids have bothered to take part in any plays or performances and I've not bothered buying any more tickets. It's not just me either - there's another 2 families that I know of who have given up. I've explained why to the head only to be fobbed off with promises that they will be harsher the next year. They never are.

[scottishbelle78]

Yanbu. The pta at our school always got the front seats reserved. Fair enough if you are helping out etc. However they reserve them for their whole family, grandparents etc.