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!

Omg are you joking? Imagine thinking your children are entitled to a strangers party 🤣
Also these things are charged per head so I absolutely wouldn’t invite some random kid to join in.

I don’t think that you are being unreasonable and think it’s quite funny that people are falling over themselves to try to make you feel bad.

I get exactly what you are saying.
Its a shame the venue didn’t appreciate how hurt kids can be when they so obviously will feel left out.
If only your kids ( plus a few others maybe ?)were being left out that’s very sad.
Why open it to other members of the public if it was basically filled up with a booked party.

Seems like the venue aren’t really thinking about all the kids.
So sad OP
Id avoid it in future

Not fair?! It’s another child’s party FGS! It’s not a class event where your kids are being excluded! Someone has booked the venue and paid for their child’s friends to have a party there. They don’t know you, they don’t know your kids - you are so entitled it’s unbelievable! Almost like this is a fake post TBH.

They can't just close to the public every time they have a party. They'd hardly ever be open. I can see why it's disappointing for your child to be the only kid not in the party, but it's just one of those things that doesn't really have a solution.

Some of these replies are veering into playground bullying territory.

Its absolutely ok to feel sad, and to feel sad about being left out.

Surely a reasonable compromise would be for the cafe to say on entry ‘we’re quite full today, there’s a whole class party’.

To turn around the ‘entitled’ accusations, I’d absolutely give a random child a slice of cake and a class of squash or left them chat. I’d just forewarn mum there was no meal or party bag in it, but they were free to cafe and buy their own food to eat alongside kids.

Ive never gained anything by making a child sad, and life is more fun with happy people. Mum of 5 if anyone asks. Have given random kids in park parties the odd snack with parental permission. No one was bothered.

There are going to be incidents throughout their lives where they feel confused and upset because something happens in a way they don’t like or don’t expect, and it’s just an important but normal part of parenting to help them learn how to navigate these incidents so that they have the emotional resilience to deal with them.

Just read this update
Yes if it’s booked out for a Party of 25 and only has capacity for 30 then the kind thing to do is not take bookings outside of the party.

I didn’t blame the parents as they just booked a party for their child, totally fair enough, but I did blame the venue. As you say, it was really awkward.

Kind post 👏

Over 90% of people think you’re being unreasonable. Maybe this is a learning opportunity for both you and your child?

If they had said at the desk when you pay to get in 'we have a party on just now but you're still welcome to play' would you have said 'actually no thank you we will not play today', wouldn't that scenario have been even more disappointing for your children?

TheY probably can't close entirely for parties or they'd be operating at a loss, unless the party is for the full 30 kids.

I'm going against the grain and agreeing that I would have found that situation awkward and wouldn't choose to take my children in those circumstances. I agree it's a completely different scenario to a large soft play where only a fraction of the children are at private birthday parties.

93% of posters disagreed with you the last time I looked, there was one other child there and you. You could have got involved or were you just hoping for a coffee while your kids amused themselves.
Honestly expecting the business to close because of your children is unbelievable.

So sad? Fuck me. OP's children are clearly from a relatively comfortably off family with a mother who thinks their needs and desires trump everything else so I don't think they've got it too hard in life. They'll survive not dancing at a stranger's party and eating cake, I'm sure. Although, my God, can you imagine the trauma if they had been allowed to join in and there was no...<gasp>...party bag for them at the end?! However would they cope? 😱

I agree with you. I think they should have let you know and you are being perfectly reasonable to be annoyed/upset.

If the party children went into another room then that would be fair enough but to have a party with almost every child there involved in the play space then that just makes things awkward for the children not involved as it was almost the entire group of children in the setting.

I understand that businesses need to make money but they should also be upfront with their customers so people return to their businesses.

@UprootedSunflower but then you'd have a kid who is a total stranger to your kid at their own party. And that kid might be a pain in the arse! No way I'd make my own children put up with that and potentially be pushed or hit at their own party, kids I know only.

Op ...I don't think I've been to anywhere that doesn't hold parties at the same time as having it open to the public. They are a business. Yabu I'm afraid.

Sorry, but that's ridiculous - you can't just invite random other kids to the party just in case they miss out! You have to pay per head before the party anyway, you don't just add others on - unless you feel that the parents should cough up the cost for yours too?!

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

That is LITERALLY how play places work... did you expect to take these kids home with you? lol. Its a child your child met and played with for a short while (only because they shared a space by coincidence) and will likely NEVER see each other again.

Even in a non party situation people leave at different times, kids get called to eat, kids get board, want to do opposite things or meet another kid they know and wander off.

Sounds a bit like pfb syndrome.

PFB I honestly do not know any parent who would feel the same as you.

No need to attack …..etc….
We are all allowed our opinions.
I am however Shocked that you seem to think your assumptions on OPs status in the world has anything at all to do with this thread.

I love the idea that a company should lose profit, have you done the sums?

You said it cost £30? So £15? X 5 spaces x 8 hours of being open=£ 600 potential loss of revenue per day.

Any business that can afford to say no thanks to potentially £600 x 6/7 days= 3600-4200 per week!

Of course we’ve experienced determined toddlers. It doesn’t mean you just let them gatecrash a party though.

Why didn’t you just leave?

To be honest I'd have encouraged mine to enjoy the space without 25 other children there once they were busy,what a treat. If I'd twigged it was a party I'd would have tried to steer mine towards letting the party children get on with playing and told them to remember the others are at a party. Also mightve talked about parties and future parties for them.