6pm is ridiculous right?

[lils888]

Just received an invite for a 5 years olds party. 6pm at a social club.

AIBU to assume this is an adults piss up rather than a child's party?

"Sadly it's not a declinable invite."

Of course it is!

Are the parents expecting you to childmind whilst they party do you think?

Wouldn't bother me. DS went to quite a few parties with me when he was that age and he loved it.

It is not a kids party. It is a party for the parents with the kids strapped on.

They won't be tired, they will be wired on sugar and over excited.

If it is a school night, I wouldn't go, would consider a sat eve if I liked the parents and wasn;'t going out already. Be prepared for a long night.

It's always a declinable invitation, maybe you already had something in the diary.

My DC have been to the odd late disco at that age, which we worried about but was totally fine in reality, but this does sound different.

Sounds a bit uptight to be stressed about a 6pm party for a 5 year old! Stay a couple of hours and go home! It'll still only be 8pm 😳

I couldn't bear to be so rigid about sleep/home time. Don't you ever go out to eat/parties/cinema in the eve with your kids?

It's a bit late but I would assume it's so family members can come attend after work. I made this mistake with DS's first bithday actually - the ones at work (who had INSISTED on being there) were all late anyway, and DS passed out before his cake was cut. Never again.

But at 5 I think it should be OK.

There's no such thing as an invite that's not declinable.

The party will still go ahead without you and everyone will have a good time regardless.

Yes, it's a little late but then again I have many happy memories of my parents taking me to the British Legion and various working men's clubs on a Saturday night. I used to dance/play with their friend's kids and my cousins.

If you don't want to go, just tell them the truth - that it's too late for your child.

For our kids parties (and adults for that matter) we tend to book a local pub/hall/sports centre that has space for a bouncy castle or doesn't mind animal encounters. Then after the kids party we all pile back to my sisters as she has a gorgeous garden and has the youngest kids. Because family travel down to these events it would be a waste of we didn't take the party back to hers. So we do the party 1-3 and then decamp to hers so the kids can all play on the trampoline, consoles etc and the adults have a bbq and some beers. Its great, I bloody love it!

BUT I wouldn't host a kids party in a pub after 6pm. We did once have a runover, our kids party food was delayed and that meant the kids didn't start leaving until 6.45pm. This was in the middle of July, blistering hot day where the beer garden was heaving and I had to make several complaints as people were doing cocaine in the cubicles as kids were lining up for the loo.

Meh - can't get too worked up about that. If you don't want to go - don't.

Problem solved.

Or go for an hour or so and go home.

Problem solved (again)

OP I'm with you, I think its very late. My kids are that sort of age and are in bed shortly after 7, weekend or not. They're exhausted from school and need the sleep. They've never been invited to a party finishing later than about 5.30 as far as I can recall.

@fannyfelcher

nice pub eh? I lead a sheltered life!!

I don’t think 6pm is a problem for 5yo’s. All schools in our area do bi-yearly discos for students (p&c fundraising). The disco for the infant section of the school which is 5-7yo’s is always 6-7.30pm. Then they come out, are excited monkeys, run around with friends before being dragged off to the car, drive home, out of disc gear, settle down, late night. The unlucky ones get to hang around with chatting mums while older primary age sibling (8-12yo) then does their session ending at 9.15pm. Always on a Friday night so plenty of recovery time before school on Monday. No one has died yet.

... do their session ....

6pm is fine...

til late... hmmm, we would just go with the flow at that age - turn up, go home when tired or cranky. But... we never had set bedtimes, kids went/still go up to bed when they are tired.

If there's a bit of music mine (when 5) would go til midnight!

Nothing wrong with parents socialising with each other or with kids falling asleep at a party when there's no school the next day. Maybe they have a big family or large circle of friends and wanted to do something that would involve the adults too. If you don't like the idea but feel obliged to go then just stay until 8 and say your child is getting a bit tired and cranky.

Honestly it's fine. It's a one off and I presume at the weekend? My dc have been to soft play parties at 6-8pm when they were tiny and survived.

Unclench a bit.

At 5 years old, ours we in bed a 6:30 (and yes they slept until 6:30-7 am) so I personally think it is too late x

Just go along at 6 and show your face, give present and card.
Then see how it goes!
If Dc gets tired, take him home.

Those of you that have children that go to bed at 7pm won't suddenly drop off to sleep at that time during the party! They'll be having too much fun. It's not going to have any long lasting impact either.

Baffled at some of the replies.

I couldn't bear to be so rigid about sleep/home time. Don't you ever go out to eat/parties/cinema in the eve with your kids?

What I was thinking, my 3 and 4 year olds have probably stayed up past 10 over 10 times this year already. They would miss out on so much fun if they had to be in bed every single night at the same time.

I agree upside, once in a while staying up later than normal will do no harm, much worse rove the only child not at the party imo.

Rove the = than being

Mine have been to a few parties like that - you just stay until it suits you - like lots of parties. School functions such as fetes, scouts, shows, cinema nights all start at around 6- 7pm where I am so the time wouldn't bother me and social clubs such as sporting ones are as cheap as chips to have a function room and they're very flexible re food so that would suit too. I'd rather take mine to a party like that than go to the local soft play/cinema/bowling alley at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon.

most of my local soft plays don't offer exclusive hire until 5:30 or 6pm, it's hardly unusual.

much better than the 11am parties which finish too early for everyone and too late to really do anything else.

Swerve it OP.