Birthday party options - WWYD?

sunnydays99

DS has been asking to have his upcoming birthday party at the ymca for months now! They have 2 party options; one with gym time (bouncy house and sports equipment) and party room, the other with gym time, swimming pool and party room. He has his heart set on swimming and that is his main reason for having a party at the Y.

 

My dilemma with having the party there is that we would then have to ask parents to stay and swim with their kids. He wants to invite a few friends from kindergarten and it feels weird to ask random adults to come swim at my kids party! Lol I'm probably way overthinking this, but I was really hoping to have a "drop off your kid and go" party this year. 

I've suggested still doing the party at the Y and just do the gym then party room, but the only reason he wants to go there is for the swimming. Should I "suck it up" for his happiness or would you think it was weird to have to go swimming at a kids party? 

Our alternative is an art party at our local gallery. He said he'd prefer to do that if he can't swim. 

funchicken

Would the adults have to swim or could they just hang out while the kids are in the water? Our rec center does parties like that and you only have to go in the water with them if they're under four (I think). There's a water playground area where the water is only 18 inches deep, and that's where most of the kids hang out.

sunnydays99

funchicken said:

Would the adults have to swim or could they just hang out while the kids are in the water? Our rec center does parties like that and you only have to go in the water with them if they're under four (I think). There's a water playground area where the water is only 18 inches deep, and that's where most of the kids hang out.

The kids have to be 7 there to swim without an adult. It's a deep pool with no area for kids to just stand and play. So, yes the parents would have to actually swim. 

meldoo2002

I wouldn't mind, but I don't think that would fly for most Kindergarten parents. 

74dragonfly

I have a 5.5 year old and she can't swim. Despite lots of lessons. Sigh. We recently turned down an invite like yours. I agree with the others that I would choose a different party at this age.

neverblushed

When my kids were that age, my least favorite types of birthday parties were swimming pools and roller skating parties.  If the rule at your Y is that parents must swim with kids under 7, then you should probably not have your son's birthday there.  It's just too much of a hassle.

The art party sounds great!

skategirl128

I would do the art party. It sounds super fun! I dislike having DS in deeper water without me and it's hard for the children to play together when there are tons of parents having to be in the water because the kids can't swim.

My y has a small pool and that's where we are doing DSs 7th birthday party. But, parents won't have to swim as they will all be able to touch and walk in the water. The pool goes from zero depth to about 3 feet. I am paying to have extra lifeguards and parents are welcome to stay and swim if they wish. We went to a party here before and had a blast!

rsd12

No way. I don't care about staying for a bday party but there is no way I want to spend my time inside the pool. Wait till he is older. Personally with a bunch of kindergarten boys you are better off with the gym time than the art party. Coming from a mom with three boys.

sunnydays99

Well I talked to him and we discussed how it would be best to do a swimming party when all of his friends are older and would be able to swim by themselves. He was disappointed but got over it quickly.

He did choose to still have the party at the Y though just in the gym. He said he wants the art party next year and swimming when he turns 7! Lol. We'll see if he changes his mind over the next few years! ;-)