Dd choosing friend over our outing together

[Whatsthepointhey]

Dd is 6.
She’s not been well for a while, but started to get better in the last few weeks.
I arranged to go to a special Christmas show as a treat, booked the tickets, we read the book and she got a fancy new dress. I was really excited about this special mother/daughter outing as it’s something I’ve always wanted to go to and to take dd felt really special.
I started to get ready earlier and was asking her to get dressed, whilst I did my make up and would do her hair. She was running around saying she was playing etc. I then heard her calling to her friend over the back, who comes to stay with her auntie some weekends.
She came running upstairs saying how she didn’t want to go to the show, wanted to play with this friend and could she please play with her as she didn’t want to go to the show, she said sorry and pleaded.
What would you have done?

Really?

She's 6, not 16.

You need to tell her to get ready to go to the show. It’s paid for, she’s 6, and she does what you say. 🙂

My teenage dumps me near enough every single day for her friends. At 6 it wouldn’t be happening.

This is also the kind of thing my autistic son would have done at that age and if we'd pushed him to go there would have been an awful meltdown so even though normal parenting would say put your foot down and take them, experience has taught me that sometimes backing off is the best thing to do

Children don't get to make decisions in the family.

In the usual run of things of course a parent would insist. However as she has been ill and this I part of a pattern I would let her have her way. This is a case of pick your battles. It would be awful if she was actually sick on the outing.

Exactly. There is "what should I have said" scenario as it's so blindingly obvious.

You can go and play with Agatha another day. Go and get changed, we're leaving in 20 minutes.

How?

Played with her friend here, now gone over to hers, very happy

@OneLemonPanda With her father, no siblings

This is absolutely typical of a typical 6yr old 😂. It's what's happening in the moment , that's what they live in. She is absolutely normal in that respect.
I would take her to the show. If she wants to go home during it because she feels unwell then, come home. (As long as it's not too far away)
Enjoy

What did i just read?
She's six!
It's a non issue.
Mum can i play with my friend this afternoon?
No love we're going out you can play another time.
End of discussion

So, you don’t care if she infects this child then?

Sorry, meant "normal", whatever that is😂

Exactly. And besides that good luck in the tween years op .

Not a contagious illness
I’ve said that before

I’d let her play with her friend and see if another child or friend wanted to join you. The special show sounds more like a treat for you OP than your DD.

That seems a silly choice, but it’s moot now.

”No, we’re going to the panto now. Shall we ask Olivia to play here tomorrow?”

She either goes to the show or goes to bed if she's ill. Those are the only two options.

I don’t understand what the problem with her going was, she’s little, it’s would be hard for her to imagine what a Panto is, but once she gets she will love it. Surely you just tell her she can play with her friend later.

I spend years getting children to leave the house, but once they were there it would take ages to get them to come home.

This is bizarre.

If the child is too ill to go to a show, she is also too ill to be off playing with children in their houses.

You are letting your 6 year old call the shots which is shit parenting however you try to slice it.