...my 10 yo dc's party? The party is at home/ in the garden. They play out together practically everyday as my dc is very versatile and can play with boys or girls, older or younger. The child in question is 2 school years younger and the opposite sex. Although my dc is having boys and girls to the party, they are all 2 school years above my neighbour's child. My dc wants to have this party with peer group alone and not invite the younger child or their even younger sibling, who would likely tag along. However, there is another neighbour who is older than my dc who i feel we must invite as they will be able to see the party in progress from their house and as they are older, they will not really need any supervision.
AIBU to exclude the younger neighbour? The mum and I are friends and I really don't want to cause upset, but equally, I feel that my dc shouldn't be forced to have 2 much younger dc present. What should I say to them? It is highly likely that the dc will call for my dc during the party. So as not to drip feed, we did invite them previously but in a low key 'pop by if you're free' kind of way...and it slightly backfired.