{"id":7178,"date":"2014-04-29T14:01:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-29T14:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/index.php\/2014\/04\/29\/party-pooper-prevention\/"},"modified":"2014-04-29T14:01:00","modified_gmt":"2014-04-29T14:01:00","slug":"party-pooper-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/party-pooper-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"Party Pooper Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIf, as the classic childhood ditty has it, every party really does have a pooper, how do you prevent drama from ruining your child’s birthday party?<\/p>\n

\n\tParents today invest considerable effort, time and money into planning the “perfect party.” With expectations so high, a host’s day can be particularly stressful even before you factor in the possibility that young or sensitive guests will act out or melt down amid all the excitement.<\/p>\n

\n\tThese eight steps will help you prepare for a tear-free party where the kids behave and the enjoyment level remains high for every attendee — you included.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n\t\tHow many guests?<\/span> When sending out invitations, follow the classic rule of your child’s age plus one. Not many 3-year-olds can handle the stimulation of a huge party. A short guest list limits the potential for emotional overload.<\/li>\n
  2. \n\t\tTiming is everything. <\/span>Schedule the festivities during your child’s peak times. Avoid naptime for <\/span>toddlers. Plan a morning event for early birds. And if your tween gets cranky when she’s overtired, steer her away from the idea of a slumber party.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. \n\t\tOutsource the site.<\/span> After watching daughter Tatiana get stirred up by all the pre-party prep, only to pitch a tantrum during the big event, mom Shandy Tilley stopped throwing parties at home. “Having parties offsite allowed us to have a real start and finish time,” she explains. “It made the transition <\/span>easier for Tatiana if everyone came to  and left the party at the same time.”<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. \n\t\tPresent prep. <\/span>Manage your child’s expectations about presents to <\/span>prevent an embarrassing or hurtful response to an unwanted gift. To avoid a random “I hate it” or “I already have that,” role-play a couple of days before the party. Put silly things like a can of peas or a pair of socks into a box. Then have your child open it and respond <\/span>graciously with the requisite “thank you.”<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. \n\t\tOut-of-the-box gift openings. <\/span>Who says presents must be opened only after the cake is cut? My son pushed back at this concept one year <\/span>and we let him open his gifts as guests <\/span>arrived. This freed him to enjoy the planned activities instead of bothering us every two minutes to ask when he could rip open all those glorious gift-wrapped boxes. This tactic also allows the giver to have some one-on-one attention when her gift is opened.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. \n\t\tDon’t pit guests against each other. <\/span>If your child’s buddies tend to rough-house, stay away from physical group games. Even age-appropriate activities such as musical chairs can backfire if you’ve got a competitive crowd that gets riled up easily.<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. \n\t\tOverplan. <\/span>You’d be surprised how quickly kids finish with party games and crafts. Plan more activities than you think you need to make sure every minute of party time is accounted for. <\/span>Remember, every free second you give guests is an opportunity to misbehave. (Get craft, snack and game ideas here<\/a><\/span>.)<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. \n\t\tNo peer pressure. <\/span>Neighborhood “supermoms” set a high bar when it comes to parties. Don’t worry about keeping up with the Joneses; just invite them along in good humor and know <\/span>that the key to success is to plan a party <\/span>that’s tailored to your child’s personality and interests, not theirs. And if tears do perchance occur, take heart; it will all seem funny at the parties you’ll throw in years to come.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \n\tSue LeBreton is a freelance writer and mom of two. She is always happy to survive a birthday party without tears.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    8 ways to host a kids’ birthday party without tantrums, meltdowns and bad behavior<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[537,1074,477,564],"tags":[20271,478,20269,480,20275,20274,20278,20276,20277,20273,20270,20272],"yoast_head":"\nParty Pooper Prevention - Metrokids<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"8 ways to host a kids' birthday party without tantrums, meltdowns, party poopers and bad behavior\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/party-pooper-prevention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Party Pooper Prevention - Metrokids\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"8 ways to host a kids' birthday party without tantrums, meltdowns, party poopers and bad behavior\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/party-pooper-prevention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metrokids\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-04-29T14:01:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/MetroKidsSadParty.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"199\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MK Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MK Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/party-pooper-prevention\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/party-pooper-prevention\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"MK Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e57323642027d183d526ad194735aa02\"},\"headline\":\"Party Pooper Prevention\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-04-29T14:01:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-04-29T14:01:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/party-pooper-prevention\/\"},\"wordCount\":630,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/party-pooper-prevention\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/MetroKidsSadParty.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"bad party guests\",\"birthday party\",\"happy birthday party\",\"kids birthday party\",\"kids opening presents\",\"kids party guest list\",\"party crafts\",\"party games\",\"party gifts\",\"party meltdown\",\"party pooper\",\"party tantrum\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Home Life\",\"Parenting\",\"Party Features\",\"Play\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/party-pooper-prevention\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/party-pooper-prevention\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/party-pooper-prevention\/\",\"name\":\"Party Pooper Prevention - 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