Who normally pays?

[destina]

Just curious really if your kid was invited on a playdate to the zoo for the day who would pay entry for your kids entry and food?

Is there an assumption that the inviter pays? Are you meant to offer?

I would expect to pay for entry and send money for food.

Inviter pays I send money for my child to buy them icecream

I’d expect the person inviting to pay entry and lunch. I’d offer them money of course, but I’d expect them to decline.

Hmm. I'd never invite a child on a trip like that if I wasn't prepared to pay for them.

But equally, I'd never send my child on a play date like that without offering to pay their way.

I guess I'm just too free and easy with my money lol 😂

I would expect them to pay if they invited our child but I would always offer money and give spending money to our child. My opinion may differ though as I went to private school and my parents and friends parents could afford days out with friends. I think if I couldn’t afford to pay for the friend of my child I would say to the parents little Tommy and I are off to the zoo on Tuesday I can’t afford for to pay for James to come but if he would like to join Tommy it will be ex amount. As long as you make it clear and don’t just invite the child and invoice after the parents have said yes

It depends. If you’ve invited them on a family day out with you and it’s reciprocal then they pay.

If it’s for example like I do, where I take a group of kids to do the parents a favour whilst they work and have no child care- they pay for everything but I pick up and take and organise.

I’d offer but expect to be told that the inviter pays. In which case I would send enough ice cream money for my kid to buy for the whole group.

this is my friends current situation and as her kid is 5 it's the first time she's been in this situation.

She doesn't know if they're offering to pay but since the zoo is expensive, she wouldn't want to spend her money that way. She's not in poverty but she budgets carefully. She also doesn't want the other mother to know she's budgeting or that money is tight.

I’d pay if I invited another child, for everything. But if my child was invited, i’d offer to cover their costs.

I've noticed a few threads about a zoos recently, as a child i never went to a zoo and my children have never been invited to go to one

Are posters using it as some kind of code, how many zoos actually are there in the UK?

Anyway the problem with a situation like this is that there's no way to know what the other parent intends, there's no universal law of invitations

Might be better to decline than unintentionally end up with an expensive day you can't afford. No point in posters telling you want they would do

The inviter should pay, but there's no guarantee so in your friends' position I would just decline.

Your friend should just ask if money is required for entry/food, if it is then politely decline, if not, then send money for food/both kids to have a treat in the gift shop.
Most zoos have family deals (or adult pays but child enters free) so not likely to be an expensive day out to contribute towards

I always offered money if someone else was talking my children out, but it was never accepted. If we were taking someone else’s child out, some parents offered, some didn’t. I never accepted anyway.