A bewildered mother has turned to an online forum for advice after she was charged £25 (NZ$51) for her daughter to attend a friend's birthday party.
"My 10-year-old daughter has been invited out for a friend's birthday, there's about 10 of them going and we've only been given two days' notice," the mother began her post on MumsNet.
- Would you give your baby a tag to ward off strangers?
- 'You need to relax': Forum divided over mum's baby hygiene fears
"The mum messaged me and asked if she could go, to which I said yes. She then replied with the price it would cost. Altogether, I'm going to be expected to pay around £25."
The mum says she wouldn't have minded if the cost was made clear in the beginning, "but it was only after I accepted the invite".
On top of the unexpected party fee, the mum wanted to know if she should bring a gift for the birthday girl.
"Maybe this is a done thing, but I personally wouldn't dream of inviting my DD's (darling daughter's) friends to a party and asking for a contribution! If I couldn't afford for her to do something with that many friends, we wouldn't do it, or we'd cut the guest list down!"
She ended by asking other mothers for advice, admitting, "maybe I'm just being unreasonable".
The post has started a furore, with commenters expressing their disbelief at the request.
One said: "Oh that's odd? If I was inviting other kids to go out with my son for his birthday, then I would fully expect to foot the bill!"
Another commented: "I'd be p****d off. The parents throwing the party should pay, and tbh it seems like your daughter is only a last minute invite, to make up numbers."
"Hell no! That is insane! Be completely blunt and instead take your child out for ice cream," posted a very angry fourth person.
Newshub.
