Expressing Opinions

To be honest, I don't think this rule is a good idea, even though I understand where it's coming from. My main concern is that it puts a lot of pressure on families who simply can't host twenty-five kids. Think about a family living in a two-bedroom apartment with a birthday in January. They can't have the party outside, and renting a room at a play centre in Gatineau could easily cost $300 or more, before pizza and loot bags. Under this rule, their only options are to spend money they don't have or skip the school invitations entirely. Another issue is that some kids don't want a giant party. My nephew Mathieu is quite shy, and when his school had a similar rule last year, his mom felt she had to invite everyone. He spent half the afternoon hiding in the hallway. A small party with his three closest friends would have meant far more to him. On top of that, I think there's a better way to deal with hurt feelings. The school could ask parents not to hand out invitations in class at all and to contact other parents by email instead. That way, nobody is singled out at school, and families still decide their own guest lists. I do agree that watching classmates get envelopes while you get nothing is painful for a seven-year-old, and schools are right to care about that. But overall, I'd rather keep invitations out of the classroom than put pressure on families to host the whole class.