Mum of two Emily shared her views on kid's birthday parties. She was inundated with comments.

Weekend parenting can often resemble an unpaid chauffeur service.

Between ferrying kids to sporting commitments and the seemingly endless rotation of birthday celebrations, many parents find their precious weekend hours evaporating into a blur of drop-offs and pick-ups, leaving little time for genuine family connection.

And now a mum has ignited a passionate online discussion after revealing she often turns down children's birthday party invitations to prioritise family activities instead.

Emily Oster, author of The Family Firm, shared her approach to family scheduling during an appearance on the We Met At Acme podcast, explaining that she and her husband sometimes decline birthday party invitations that conflict with dedicated family time.

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"You have to decide for your family, what are the things that are important?" she explained on the podcast.

"And one way to do that is to think big picture, like, 'What are our values?' and so on, and another is just to be like, 'What do we want our days and weekends to look like?'"

She clarified that she's not completely against birthday parties but has specific boundaries around family time.

"So it's not that I'm, like, categorically opposed to the concept of a birthday party, and if there were a Sunday afternoon birthday party which is a time in which we don't generally do things as a family, I would be happy to let my kid go if they wanted," she explained.

"But if the birthday party is Sunday morning, which is a time that we like to go hiking or do other stuff together, it's just 'no'."

For Oster, the decision comes down to clear priorities. "I think for me like that kind of simplicity is so important. It's just like we decided a thing that was important and this other thing is less important."

After the podcast appearance was inundated with comments, Oster spoke about her stance in an interview with Good Morning America.

"If you just said, 'My family likes to spend time together on Sunday morning,' I don't think that's a very controversial statement," she told GMA.

She emphasised that her children still maintain social connections.

"My kids go to birthday parties. My kids spend time with other students [and] kids. We have play dates, etc. It is just about, in this particular example, a way in which a family might prioritise or think about their time."

Oster also noted that different approaches work for different families.

"It's really valuable to think about the choices that you make and that the choices that are right for you might not be the same choices that are right for everybody."

Not everyone agrees.

The snippet of Oster discussing birthday parties went viral on TikTok, generating a deluge of sharply divided comments.

Many fans expressed their concerns about the potential social consequences for her children if they were to not regularly attend birthday parties.

"Yeah I don't know man, I just can't come. My mum's weird," one commenter wrote, imagining what Oster's child might say as a teenager.

Another shared a personal perspective: "My mum was like this. Eventually, if you deny enough parties, people will just stop inviting your child. It was very sad for me."

There was a common thread that prioritising family life over social life wasn't always a foolproof path to happiness.

"But I want my kids to value friendship, community, showing up for people! And I have to teach them that by example. And parties are what, an hour? Two?"

A teacher also weighed in with classroom observations: "I'm a teacher. Kids talk about their birthday parties all week and after the weekend. You're excluding your child not just from the party, but from the whole experience around it. It's isolating."

Another user with personal experience commented: "My parents did this to me as a child. It felt isolating and forced me to grow up faster. I wish they had made kid activities, like parties and play dates, a priority."

Not all were opposed to Oster's family-first approach.

"I completely agree with her," one mum wrote. "My husband works all week long. The weekends are the only time we have together as a family."

Another defender wrote: "Guys, I think it's nice her family has activities and things they enjoy alone. Most families are dying for a birthday to get their kid out of the house. Some people enjoy other things, lay off."

The debate has clearly hit a sore spot: the ability for families to balance nurturing their children's social connections, while not running around like crazy on the weekend to keep up with their children's busy social lives.

After all, family time must have its place too, right?

What is your stance on kids parties taking over weekends? Share in the comments below!

Feature Image: Getty.