WWYD??

[Laura_A]

We had a big party at our house yesterday to celebrate DH's bday and promotion. We rented a bounce castle and had about 25 adults and 10 kids. Our new neighbors, whom we haven't met yet, have 4 children and they play with our girls outside quite a bit. They play in our back yard now and then, but we always keep the gate open when they're back there...just in case. Anyway, they were having a birthday party for their son at the same time as our party. They invited our older daughter who is in a couple classes with him. She kinda went back and forth between the two. Anyway, at one point, I realized there were way more kids in the bounce house than should be and discovered that all the kids from the neighbor's party were over at my house!!! Not sure if I was just tired or maybe had too many zesty adult beverages, but this really annoyed me. And worse yet, they kept coming into our house to use the bathroom and get drinks!!! I was very uncomfortable with that since, as I mentioned, we haven't ever met their parents and some of those kids I'd never seen before. I finally told Riley (my DD) that they had to go and I locked the gate behind them.

So, was I overly sensitive about the situation or was that just plain rude?

[bexy]

Ummm, no you weren't overly sensitive. That's weird.

[clearskies]

Very weird. You have every right to be upset. Not to mention that if I was the parent of one of their party goers I would not be cool with finding out that my kid was in the neighbors house...

[MamaBee]

No - that was rude!

[SeattleSheri]

That is super rude! I agree with you that it's kind of a tricky situation since you don't know the parents. Such a tough situation! .. but you're definitely not being too sensitive. I would never allow kids from a party I was hosting to go to someone else's house ... for many reasons, but especially since those kids don't even have permission to do so from their parents. If they'd gotten injured in the bouncy house, you could be held liable.

[jk703]

I think you handled pretty good. Your explanation is logical, and well thought out! Don't berate yourself for trusting your feelings. You never know and you don't know all those kids/people.

~Jenn

[tanyiadeskins]

yea...that is weird. You were definitely not being overly sensitive.

[lovely1m]

Not over sensitive at all. If they had gotten hurt or something had happened, you could have been held accountable. Plus like someone else mentioned, I would be mad if I found out my son was a party and had been sent to a neighbor's I have never met before.

[AmberK]

Exactly this.

Originally Posted by SeattleSheri

That is super rude! I agree with you that it's kind of a tricky situation since you don't know the parents. Such a tough situation! .. but you're definitely not being too sensitive. I would never allow kids from a party I was hosting to go to someone else's house ... for many reasons, but especially since those kids don't even have permission to do so from their parents. If they'd gotten injured in the bouncy house, you could be held liable.

[Beebo]

I would have done the same thing you did!

[DawnMarch]

I always find it odd that parents let their kids just head over to someone's house who the parents have never met. So that bugs me. I guess whether I'd be annoyed might depend on whether the parents knew about it (which they should have in any event) or whether the kids just did it themselves. A lot of kids don't really have a good sense for social etiquette.

I guess, all in all if it were my house, that yes I would be annoyed.

[lorigaud]

I echo what everyone else has already said. Not overly sensitive AT ALL. Either the parents are clueless or totally rude.

[joelsgirl]

I wouldn't be annoyed. What kid can resist a bouncy house? And what are the chances that your daughter said, "Come over to my house! We've got a bouncy castle!"

I'm not saying I would let the kids from my own party go crash our neighbor's party, but if they all started running out, I might feel a little helpless to stop them. (Though I'd definitely go over and make sure it was ok, andnot just be all like THREE CHEERS THE KIDS ARE GONE!)

[mrshobbes]

Originally Posted by joelsgirl

What kid can resist a bouncy house? And what are the chances that your daughter said, "Come over to my house! We've got a bouncy castle!"

This was my first thought, too. Until you can confirm this with your daughter though, I agree, it's rude to just barge into essentially a stranger's house to use their fun toys!