Was DS2's birthday today. He had his party last week. He had his presents this morning, and we had a little family birthday 'coffee party' this morning with cake etc.
I had already told him that this afternoon (c. 3.30 pm) we were going to some friends house for a BBQ.
7 kids at the BBQ: 4 boys, and 3 girls (all younger than boys). DS2 was youngest boy by about 6 months.
Kids split into boys/ girls to go off and play. Boys playing cricket with Dads. DS2 wouldn't join in. After being there about 1/2 an hour he came up to me and said very loudly in front of the hostess, "I want to go home". I muttered not to be so rude and sent him off to play on a swing.
He then proceeded to complain ALL afternoon - about the BBQ food; about sittign outside; about various of the children who he said weren't sharing/ or had bumped into him etc etc (all fairly spurious complaints IMHO).
I got more and more exasperated with him.
After tea he was in the playroom with the other boys - they were playing on the PS2. He wouldn't join in, but just kept annoying them instead - being silly in front of the screen, wrestling them, making silly noises - all stupid attention-seeking stuff. DS1 kept coming to complain to me, and I kept having to tell DS2 to stop it (which he didn't)or remove him.
Finally he obviously bugged DS1 too much and they were having a shouting match and pushing each other around, so I just decided I'd had enough, so I apologised to the hostess and others and left.
I was FURIOUS with them both, but especially DS2 and shouted and shouted at them about how embarrassed I was with their behaviour; how I was sick and tired of DS2 acting like a baby; how ungrateful DS2 was after all the effort into his birthday; how they had ruined mine and DH's afternoon....and so on...
I am so frustrated and embarrassed. And this is not the first time this sort of thing has happened. I look at other people's children playing nicely and wonder where I've gone wrong .
Do yours do this? What would you have done?