Help Young Kids Survive Birthday Parties

Just by preparing kids, having a sugar strategy, and limiting time, parents can help youngsters have a good time at birthday parties. Email this post now to all your friends with little kids!

We use these techniques for a friend's party that we attend, and our own kids' parties at our home. Many times children are more nervous about their own party.

Preparation: We all know that mental preparation and setting clear expectations helps parents and kids to be happier and more relaxed. Parents should decide ahead of time (and not 10 min before the party) a list of rules to review with their child. It is also good to discuss what will happen and possible scenarios. The preparation time and content will be based on your family, the age of your child, and your child's personality. In our experience, just the fact that we discussed the party ahead of time with our kids and some general expectations (both theirs and ours) was enough to create a more enjoyable experience for them.

Sugar: What about the sugar? We like to limit sugar intake in our kids, but don't forbid them to have cake and candy. Our rules are one piece of candy, cake, etc. The other thing we do to help kids survive is by serving them high-fat foods before we attend the party. Try to load them up with full-fat cheese, milk, eggs, before you leave the house. We also keep cheese sticks in the car for the drive home. In our personal experience, kids and parents are much happier when the kids were given a high-fat meal before birthday parties.

Time: Limit the time. Two hours is a long time if you are 4. Make sure you stay at a party only 1-2 hours for any child under 6. Don't overbook your kids! Make sure your child has down time before and after "big" events like this. If you overbook your kid, and she acts up or has a behavior issue, that's her signal to you that she is stressed out.

Below are some of our rules for young kids. You will need to add and modify based on the situation (e.g., is the party at a public park, at a pool, restaurant, etc.).

• If there is candy we may have one piece.
• When someone gives us a piece of cake or glass of milk, our family says "Thank You."
• We wash hands before eating cake.
• You will leave without complaining when mommy/daddy asks you (make sure to give them a 5-min warning prior to leaving event).
• You will cooperate when mommy/daddy asks you to go to the potty.
• If we get candy when we leave, we don't eat it in the car. We save that for another day.
• We are nice to friends and a share toys.
• We do not whine, we talk in a normal voice.

If you have tips for helping kids survive b-day parties, send them along for all to share!