She Wanted To Celebrate Her Sweet Sixteen By Inviting A Few Friends To Stay Over, But Her Dad Refused And The Disappointment Hit Hard
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Parents sometimes want every guest treated equally, but teenagers often have different circles within the same friend group.
This father faced a simple birthday request involving eleven party guests and five close friends staying overnight.
Instead of accepting the plan, he tried to redesign the celebration around his own idea of fairness.
Read on to see why his daughter believed that solution would ruin the night.
AITA – 16 year olds party request
Some context, I’m Australian with a soon-to-be 16 year old daughter. My family is enduring some traumatic times with my wife’s health and the mental health of 18 year 18-year-old ASD daughter.
Miss 15 is a great kid: diligent, well-mannered, and does a lot to support the family. She is super excited about turning 16 and having a party at home.
The conflict is that the daughter wants to invite 11 friends for the first stage of the party. For stage 2, she wants five of them, her closer friends, to stay over.
This dad did not support his daughter’s sleepover plan.
I have told her that I don’t support this, because it is so hurtful for those who leave early, and have suggested that they all just sleep over, which could be easily accommodated.
This led to a big argument because she would not feel comfortable with them all staying. I then suggested only inviting those who sleep over. Apparently this would kill the vibe.
Discussion finished in tears with a surge of emotion about how tough things are in the family and how much this is what she wants.
To me her party model compromises my morals but perhaps my views are now outdated? I’m doubting myself accordingly.
AITA?
Dad has a point, but it’s her party not his.
The people in the comments are chiming in.
This person shares a related story.
This one defends the daughter.
Here’s a valid point.
This user puts things in perspective.
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If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about two kids trying to earn money by mowing grass, and decide to solve their gas issue by stealing some of dad’s.
And here’s a potential solution.
This father rejected his daughter’s plan because he believed allowing only five guests to sleep over would hurt everyone else’s feelings.
Commenters judged him wrong, explaining that smaller sleepovers are normal and his daughter should not host people she feels uncomfortable having overnight.
He turned a birthday party into a full committee meeting about equal attendance.
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