AIBU to think this children’s party was a bit over the top?

[Lordofthebantams]

We went to a 6th birthday today. Bouncy castles,face painting, animal man etc. also a candy floss stand and a popcorn stand. Then it was party food lunch. Afternoon tea style cake stands with sandwiches, cakes, biscuits marshmallows and an additional cupcake tower. Fruit shoots & jugs of squash.Then party games to win lolly pops. Then we took home small sack of pick n mix, chocolate bar and a slice of birthday cake.

My kids eat really quite healthy most of the time with plenty of treats opportunities. I'm not against eating sugar at parties but surely there should be point that maybe you are putting a bit too much on. Yes it's my job to parent. It's not that easy at a party.

I half expected the tortoise and the owl to be decorated in Haribo

The OP was trying to gauge if the stress she felt from the party was more because it was a “more over the top party than usual” or if it was more because of her children’s v difficult relationship with food. So she asked if others would also find the party excessive - and respected that they on the whole wouldn’t find it much too excessive.

OP it sounds very hard. What others would do or how they’d react with their children isn’t going to be v helpful for you as your circumstances are more extreme I think. There are plenty of kids who would go silly with food but quite possibly not to the extent you say yours might. Lots would have “eyes bigger than their bellies” and pile plates up, but then not eat it. If my kids were of the age I was still at parties with them, I’d give them a certain amount of free rein, but if it got silly I’d tell them to put things back that they weren’t going to eat. Only one candyfloss. I don’t think they’d go for more than one or 2 hotdog rolls usually. If they were large muffin type cakes I’d steer them away if they were going for more than 2 (usually it’d be one each but parties are different). That sort of thing. I’d stop them if they were taking more than their share, or if I thought they’d make themselves sick.

Best wishes with helping your children through - it sounds v tough.

Sounds lovely

Thank you to the few people who understood that I'm not horrible and I didn't drip feed information. If I'd led with my children's circumstances then that would have been the focus.

No pythons were stroked as the marshmallows were more exciting. I didn't dare let her pick the tarantula up as she might have thrown it if a hot dog walked past. She does now want a pet owl.

i get you OP I would be a bit UGH inside. Cake and squash would be enough of a treat for my kids. And a candy floss. They don’t need sweets and popcorn and cupcakes and chocolate and fruit shoots as well. It’s almost ruins what could be a nice normal treat

And that’s fine but I don’t think there are many children who would be satisfied with cake and squash.

In any case what’s wrong with catering for everyone? I am sure it was obvious that it was going to be a bit of an event, and I presume attendance wasn’t compulsory.

You don’t think many children would be happy with cake and squash? How sad

Gosh, why stop at cake and squash? How sad. I'm sure your children would have been happy with a glass of tapwater and half a party ring. 🙄

Kids don’t need everything for basic happiness. You don’t need popcorn and chocolate and fruition and cake and squash and candy floss and cupcake to be happy. Thats bonkers

But 'basic happiness' has nothing to do with a birthday party. All rules are off. It's once a year. It's fun, silly non-nutritious junk in amounts not seen in day to day life. It's not exactly a day to day thing.

I used to be rather uptight about sugar and E numbers etc when mine were small .... fast forward to 11/12 years old and they're making their way to and from school with friends and went completely mad about sugar. The friends whose parents were more chilled were generally not like that.

I didn't have a particular sugar policy either way, and now that DS is fourteen, he's obsessed with football, trains all the time and often refuses sweet stuff saying 'I'm an athlete.'

Drip feeds are a worst - strange they always come out when the responses aren’t going the OPs way… and OP you sound fun at parties 🥴 - sounds like a great party and you sound really ungrateful.

Agreed, I hate boiled sweets generally- majorly give me the heebies.

I think the party sounds great.

It’s a kid’s birthday party that happens once a year for that birthday kid. I hope your kids had a fun time there. It was two hours of fun and sugar then when you leave, back to normal eating.

I would think most children can only eat a certain amount before they are full and stop so there is no need to curtail anything at all party. No child can eat 7 hot dogs surely you are being over the top. Personally I am grateful when my children are invited to lovely parties where there is plenty of entertainment and food laid on.

It’s not once a year. It’s sometimes every other weekend

You surely understood the poster meant for the birthday child. Even if it was every child in the class which it never is, that's at most 29 parties which won't be attended by everyone and realistically it lasts for a few years.

I agree. It's too much. We normalise eating crazy amounts of sugar and other crap and then wonder about obesity and cancer rates! Everyone thinks it's normal and just a "party" but the kids just learn it's okay to ingest sugar at an alarming rate.
It's very hard to limit your kids intake during a party as well as you don't want to stop them from eating what their friends are eating.

My kid wouldn’t touch the sandwiches!

Except this isn’t ‘normal’. It’s a party. Your children might get invited to four or five a year. You obviously don’t have to accept the invitations, either, if you’re that perturbed by the likely food offerings. Outside of those times, it’s up to you what your young children are fed.

I’d have provided a bit more savoury food but otherwise seems typical for a kids party 🎉

If you don’t like it then don’t take your child in future. No one has to change their plans to fit with your thinking. I think you are rude

Sounds like a normal party where I live now and I grew up in different beginnings ! I’m always grateful when my children get to go to things like this - makes my inner child happy .

sounds like a fun party.

This is why I hate entertaining people. Someone always has to comment that something is 'too much' or 'not enough'.

Makes me so tense anytime I invite people around to mine for holidays etc.

Why can't people just be grateful and move on? I will never understand it!

I was a neglected child and I do have issues around hoarding food. My cupboards and freezer are always stocked up with months worth of food. I get very anxious about my stocks running low, so I do understand your fears.

That said, my DCs don’t have the same issues and have been raised on very healthy, home cooked diets. They would still go mad and overeat on sugar when they were young, given half a chance! Most children do. I don’t think it does them any harm as an odd treat. They are perfectly healthy adults now. Try not to worry about it.