Is It Ok to Stay with My 4Yr Old at a B-day Party?

I would call and RSVP and ask! My guess is that they are doing pizza, cake and presents for the kiddos, but you could certainly let the mom know that you are a little nervous about leaving him. She will likely give you the "agenda" and invite you to stay.

If she does invite you to stay... don't bring any siblings. If she doesn't... up to you. It's probably not all that different from leaving him at the preschool, thhough- when you get there if you get an "unsupervised" vibe... offer to help serve food and stay.

Yep at that age, parents have stuck arond whether at someone's house or at some other location. These days you can't be too careful.

At this age it is usually expected that a parent will stay with the child, or that a parent staying is at least an option.

My son is 8 and to date I still post on the invites that "Parents are welcome to stay or drop off"

Yes.

MOST Hosts of a party... will be okay with that.
At this age, especially.

Yes, its fine to stay. I think at that age parents expect other parents to stay.

Absolutely I would stay. DS just turned 5 and we have always stayed. DH and I have finally decided to alternate who goes so at least both of don't have to :)

Stay with him. We never left our son or had parnets leave their kids at parties until much older. At this age parents should stay.

Where I live, everyone stays at the birthday parties with their child until the child is in Kindergarten or 1st grade. Even then, some parents still stay. When my son was 4 he was invited to a party by an older Kindergarten aged boy and I was the only parent that stayed. He just was not ready for me to drop him off yet! The mom giving the party did not mind at all and I helped out.

In addition to all the other great responses you have received, I would add that it might be a fantastic opportunity for you to become more friendly with the birthday child's mom, and/or another mom or two that is also hanging around during the party. Often, schools are not allowed to give out information to parents about other families(confidentiality issues and all that), so this could serve as an opportunity for you to get to know some of your son's classmates and their moms, exchange some contact info, and maybe talk about setting up a play date or two in the future. Be sure to find out from your son who in particular are his closest friends at preK, so that you know which moms you will want to be sure to chat with. :)

I would absolutely stay...doesn't make you seem crazy, it makes you seem responsible, and good for you! My daughter (almost 6) has NEVER attended a function like this alone, especially not with someone I don't know. You never know what kind of people they could be!

We only recently let her go to the neighbors house by herself, and we've lived next to them and have known them for four years.

Who knows, the parents might even appreciate other adults around to help supervise...I bunch of pre-K boys can be a handful!

I had quite a few parents stay for a while at my son's B-Day Party. I had no problem with it and think it is better to have more then just my husband and I looking after so many kids at once. Some would stay the whole time and others stayed a few minutes and left and came back. I think it is sometimes nice to have other adults to talk to as well. How else will you get to know the parents of the other child if you don't see them and talk to them at other times. Of course I have always set my son's partys to be 3 hours long so they can all play a while after having cake and ice cream. That way they have time to run and play and get some of the sugar worked out of the system. I think it is great if you stay. I bet nobody will think anything of it.

D. P.

For all of our kids parties in Pre K we stayed with and the parents never said a word, all the parents stayed.

We've always played it by ear with our daughter. If she wants us to stay, we do....if she tells us to go, we go. She's 4 and in preschool for the first time this year. It depends on what you and your son are comfortable with.

of coarse it would be ok to stay with him. most of the time with kids that age, parents stay and get to know each other. also the host parents i'm sure would appreciate any kind of help...
go and have fun

Stay with your child!!! Think of the host too. Don't think they want to be responsible for multiple 4-5 year olds!!! We have ALWAYS stayed with our children.

Have fun and meet new parents!

I have a 7 yr old and i still stay with her. We are very protective and feel that in the world today you cant trust anyone. Sad but true. When we have birthday parties, i expect parents to stay with thier kids. I dont want to babysit. I want to have fun with the kids and parents. HTH

Definitely stay! All of the parents stay at the birthday parties we go to. A lot of times both parents are there. It is a nice way for the parents to catch up or meet some of the parents they don't know yet.

I would expect the parents to stick around, especially if there were a number of children invited. My son is turning four next July and when I send out the invites I will be assuming that parents will stay. I mean, I can't handle a bunch of four years old by myself! I think you are perfect to stay. And also, like you I would not leave my child at a house where I didn't know the parents, unfortunately I don't think we live in a time where that is safe. Good luck!!

I would stay for mine. I think was around 6 or so we might not. But only if we already knew them and were certain the parents were fine with me doing so.

I would definitely stay. I didn't let my daughter stay until she was 6, and that was only with parents I knew very well. Chances are your son would be fine--but it's not worth the worry. Just be sure to stand back and let him be independent. I would assume the parents would expect other parents to hang out during the party given the young ages of the children. I know that when I had parties for my daughter at that age more than half the parents stuck around--and that was fine with me.

stay. Usually at this age parents DO stay.

I would have assumed the parents expected me to stick around. At least that has been the case with the parties my son (same age) has been invited to.

No your not the crazy over protective mother...My son was invited to a few I was also asked to stay but I also told them that i'll be staying not the drop off & pick up kinda mom same with others I have had them stay if they wanted to didn't bother me at all & yes they did stay & ate with us.