Why do people keep asking if they can bring their kids?!??!

It's not uncommon to go through this.

Honestly I think part of it is that people don't like being told what to do. You leave out little Johnny and they freak.

We went ahead and invited kids and I braced myself. With the exception of close family, EVERYONE else left their kids at home.

I have kids and don't have a problem hiring a sitter for them. The only weddings they've been to are the ones they've been in. People have weird attachment issues anymore with their kids.

Because everyone thinks the world revolves around them, and your wishes don't matter.

Just say no.

I've said it once and I'll say it again (and it echoes Paris), if you slap a "no kids allowed" style line on your invitation, you're going to get people who say, "well, wait, no, I want to bring my kids! That's so stupid! I don't care if they aren't allowed!!!"

If you just DO NOT say anything, you end up getting LESS kids than you probably even expected, if not, NO KIDS AT ALL.

If you "boss" people around, their immediate reaction will be to "fight back," and it's been seen time and time again here that if you have a line like that on the invitation, you'll get some bad responses.

We just didn't include kids who weren't of immediately family/in the wedding party. We had one person ask if they could bring their 2 unruly kids, but they aren't close family, so they just aren't being included.

Sometimes I wonder....if we added "your children MUST be in attendance due to our desire for a family event" to your invitations, how many people would say " but we want an adult night out!! How dare you request us to bring our kids!"

^ exactly!

You're exactly right, Andrea! Haha.

I can understand the mentality that weddings are a family event, and as such the entire family should be included. But unless you are hosting the wedding, it is just plain NOT YOUR CALL. Full stop. Done.

I think parenting has changed a lot. When I was a kid, my parents didn't dream of trying to bring me to weddings or other nice events - kids stayed home with a sitter. And when their friends came over, we were told to "run and play outside so the grownups could talk."

Now people are all over their kids, all the time - and there's no separate space for adults. Now, kids sit right down at the table and monopolize the conversation at parties while their parents act like it's adorable. Or, worse, I've seen people bring their kids to bars then complain when people cuss or get drunk. Gaaaaaaah. Don't get me wrong, I like kids - but I don't think they belong in adult environments.

We almost reneged our decision not to invite kids to the wedding. I'm so glad we didn't! We went to a family event last weekend, hubby's family, and there were SO many kids there. It seems like everyone on his side has 2-3 kids. There were at least as many kids as adults. They were running around screaming, pushing each other, fighting, etc. The only ones not doing this were the ones playing video games in the corners. And the adults - ALL they could talk about was what the kids were doing! "Where's my kid? Oh look how cute little so-and-so is I can't believe how big they are now. I have to go break up this fight. I need to get home soon or little whoever will get cranky." Oye. I love kids, but I don't want my day revolving around them. If the adults choose not to come because their kids aren't invited, then I'll invite someone else! I'm 100% positive I will have at least one person on his side complaining about our "policy".

Because people are rude! I just dealt with a kid added to a RSVP today! I don't understand why people can't just smile and do what you'd like for your day and then talk behind your back like normal people. Hahahah

This whole issue makes me cringe and get angry - people are just rude sometimes!