It seems a lot of parents don’t know the dos and don’ts of having a birthday party for their kid and this latest story has us scratching our heads. A mom recently wrote to the“Boston Globe‘s” Miss Conduct column for advice about another mom who asks guests to pay a cover charge to come to her kid’s birthday. As in, she wants parents to fork over cash for their child to come celebrate her kid’s birthday at a party she invited them to.
The mom says her close friend, Cover Charge Mom, is a “lovely and kind person,” but that she pulls this every year. “If it’s a venue, the email will say something along the lines of ‘please bring $20 to cover the cost of your child.’ If it’s at her home, there will be an envelope or basket asking for ‘donations.’” So she even asks people to pay when the party is at her house! The advice-seeker explains that the family isn’t struggling financially, but she continues to do this and it has other parents talking behind Cover Charge Mom’s back, naturally.
So what was Miss Conduct’s suggestion? Advice columnist Robin Abrahams (aka Miss Conduct) advises speaking up “before her poor daughter has to, since sooner or later the girl will realize what her mother is up to and be humiliated.” Sounds like solid advice because Cover Charge Mom is out of control.
