When planning your child’s party, the thing that you want to keep uppermost in your mind is that it is your child’s party, not yours. While adults will be there, the focus will be and should be on the child as well as the child’s friends.
For these and other reasons, you will need to keep such things as allergies, personalities, and other things in mind, which may mean that you cannot bring certain things to the party. The more common “no-no’s” are listed below.
1. Latex balloons.
Many children, as well as some adults, have latex allergies. These can be as mild as a simple contact rash or as severe as difficulty breathing, severe swelling, and even the possibility of anaphylactic shock. And since these allergies can sometimes show up unexpectedly, it’s best just not to take the risk. In addition, uninflated or burst balloons present choking hazards.
Not to mention, kids like to pop balloons; just one more hazard. Make sure if you do have latex balloons and no allergies, that they’re out of reach.
2. Clowns.
Not all children like clowns (for that matter, not all adults like clowns). Unless you know for sure that the children won’t be scared or the person playing the part is one they know personally or have seen and accepted before, it’s best to skip that particular party element.
One exception to this may be the Ronald McDonald clown. Most children recognize him, and this character is usually very low-key...and not THAT creepy.
Another solution is to get your own clown costume so you can have someone who knows the children play the part--this way they'll feel more comfortable but still have lots of fun.
3. Older children.
Unless separate activities have been planned for them or they are helping with the party, older children will get bored. In addition, they may (either unknowingly or deliberately) crowd the smaller ones out of the games or other "space limited" activities, such as jumping in the bounce houses.
Older children can be bullies sometimes, especially at a younger sibling’s party :)
4. Live animals.
The risk of contracting ecoli is too great to have a petting zoo unless you know the person who owns them or the animals are contained in such a way that children will not be able to come in contact with feces. Even then, plenty of hand sanitizer should be made available for cleaning everyone’s hands after petting or handling the animals.
Not to mention, you don’t want to have ponies and monkeys running rampant around your yard. Never a good sign, although depending on your age (college years) it COULD be considered signs of a successful night.
5. Water activities.
We all love water activities, but if there aren’t enough adults to watch the children (especially the smaller, quicker ones) this could turn bad, and fast. Make sure that you have any pool area fenced off or else you have really colorful swimmies and inner tubes for the children to be noticeable and have things to hang on to while floating and playing.
6. Fireworks, noisy favors, and other things.
These may not only be banned by municipal, county, or even homeowner association ordinances, they may simply be too noisy for some children’s comfort--and even though it’s probably SUPER FUN to have noisy, shiny and sparkly things at a children’s party, others may not think so.
This may sound like all the fun is just being zapped right out of the party, but consider how much more of the fun will be taken away if a serious injury or accident occurs. Besides, children often end up making their own fun, such as playing with the new toys given as gifts or even enjoying your child’s swing set (with supervision, of course), sandbox, or other play area.
So, remember, keep the children in mind and bring only those things which will add to the enjoyment of the party.
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