To be annoyed play centre held a party at the same time as open session?

[Hohohoididnotgo]

I went to a little role play cafe today with my children. It’s only small so probably only capacity for about thirty kids. Fine except today there was a birthday party which was pretty much the whole centre. So after an hour or so of play pretty much every other child there went and sat at a table with food, balloons and cake and were playing party games.

I have had this before at soft play and obviously it happens but at soft play it’s bigger and less obvious and when the children go to eat and play games it’s in a separate room. This wasn’t.

AIBU? I felt a bit sad for mine as they’d struck up friendships with some kids playing and then they were left almost alone!

It would be different if these were kids they @knew having a party in front of them ,but they are strangers to your kids attending a patty .

If they had closed the centre, then your kids wouldn’t have been allowed in at all. Surely that would have been even worse?

Well yes they could because a party may take place there.

Do you actually get out much because you seem very surprised by a very normal experience

Would you rather have been turned away?
Maybe that play party was better than those we've been to but I know my kids would rather continue to play, coming and going for m from the table to grab snacks and drinks than be herded into a room to eat.

I'm not sure I understand. What would you have liked to happen?

Oh my word. Did you expect your kids to be invited, or something? The play centre did nothing wrong. Sorry that your kids felt left out but that’s life! Teach them to be resilient and deal with disappointments like this.

This is one of the most batshit things I have ever read on this site.

So this is the point isn’t it, the session cost £30 plus fuel getting there so not cheap at all. If I had taken then home after an hour (session was 2 and a half hours) it’s a waste of money, and I do think that it should be clear when there’s a party on and how big it is as it really wasn’t nice when the room emptied.

I have been to parties where this sort of thing happens but the ‘party’ goes on in a separate room whereas here it was too small so the party was literally in front of them.

This is an opportunity to be thankful to the play centre for teaching your child resilience in an incredibly low stakes environment.

Child had small disappointment, learned they won't always be involved in everything on account of the world not revolving around them (which isn't obvious to young children) and they were able to deal with some negative feelings and move on with absolutely zero consequences.

We should be seeking out opportunities like that for our children to encounter every single day. Resilience is an underrated skill that I think we are fast losing as we try to protect children from negative emotions.

Well yeah but it's a party they haven't been invited too and don't know the kids
If you had stumbled across a party from your kids school/ nursery and they did know the children you might have more of a point.

No of course I didn’t. I do think the play centre should just have had the party on and not accepted any additional bookings. That’s all.

Then you should have explained in an age appropriate way, or if your children are very young just said “ say goodbye, it time we went home” and left.

Op, you’re being a little shall we say unusual? Did you want your kids to attend this party??

Do you always feel so....entitled?

Yabu, do you have an issue telling your kids that there’s a party going on? Surely they don’t expect to be part of a stranger’s party.

You seem annoyed that your kids were not included in a birthday party for kids they didn’t know

I thought you were gonna say you were the party host and were annoyed that random kids had been allowed to help themselves to the chips or something. That would be a fair annoyance. But in the situation you describe I don’t think there’s an issue.

The play centre is a business. If they have capacity for other children as well as the booked party then they’re going to fill that capacity. High demand periods make up for the lean periods where they aren’t very busy. If they didn’t make the most of it, they’d go bust. It isn’t for the play centre to preempt that your children might make play with some of the party children and then be sad when they had to leave. Many children would be delighted to have the play centre more or less to themselves, no queuing for the best areas and loads more space!

They're a business, and businesses can't afford to turn paying customers away just because one set of parents might get upset that there's a party going on as well that their child isn't invited to, or a child who (understandbly) might be confused/upset at first but isn't told what's happening in an age appropriate way

Wow you seem very entitled that your children SHOULD have got some food and joined in the party. Get a grip

Cross posted, and yeah, what you said!.

Based on the poll currently, 96% of people disagree with you.

Does that change your thinking at all, @Hohohoididnotgo?

YANBU OP. I think that must have been quite awkward! We've been to soft play when parties have been going on, but as you say, the invited children ate in a separate party room. Also, there are normally lots of children playing who aren't at the party.

In future, I'd phone up beforehand to ask if there will be a party on at the same time. Or go to a bigger venue.

It's your job as a parent to tell them it's a private party and if they don't understand then leave.

YABU and a bit ridiculous . This is a business trying to make money .