How would you parent this situation?

[User920202]

So my child is 2 and we recently went to a family members birthday party (a 5 year old).

Obviously the birthday child is getting presents, there's balloons etc. My child being a typical 2 year old wants to play with the balloons and touch the older child's presents and play along with them. Not opening them, breaking them or anything but the birthday child is playing with toys and my child wants to play pretend too. Problem is the birthday child is snapping at my child telling them that they aren't allowed to touch, constantly telling my child that it's not their birthday so they're not allowed to touch anything.

I ended up pulling my child away from the toys and having to hold them on my lap because this kid keeps snapping and telling me that I have to make my kid stop. Obviously this upsets my kid cos how do you explain to a 2 year old that they can't touch these things cos the other kid doesn't want them to? My kid is a big sharer and loves to play imaginary with other kids and adults so they can't grasp why this other kid won't share.

How would you approach this situation?

I'd distract my child with something else. Not easy but children with birthdays can often find things overwhelming abs behave in odd ways. Don't dwell on it too much.

Yes agree with the poster above. It is tricky but I agree that birthdays can be overwhelming for children, and actually 2 year olds are quite often better at sharing than slightly older children as they haven’t developed the possessive instinct yet! I know my older DC didn’t care who touched his toys when he was 2 but as he got older and especially if they were new birthday gifts, he might’ve been a bit stroppy.

I would have just taken my 2 year old home. However I say that now as a mother of a 6 and 9 year old. When my oldest was 2 maybe I would have reacted differently. However experience and wisdom has taught me that the 2 year old won't have cared and will have forgotten about the party ten minutes after leaving. The 5 year old possibly didn't chose to invited the 2 year old in the first place so wouldn't have cared either. For me it's a non issue, take your kid out and go for an ice cream or to the swings or something instead.

Have something else available to distract the 2 year old - their own toy, food, a book, a balloon, etc. If that doesn't work, take them out. Try to think about the 5 year old's experience - it's their 'special day' (they're old enough to understand birthdays), their shiny new things to explore (some of ehich they might have specifically asked for)... It's ok for them to not want to play with your child this time. They might benefit from a gentle reminder about sharing later in the day, but that's their parents' job.