Celebrating Your Child’s Birthday During A Pandemic, Should You Have A Party?
Posted on September 15 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has been with us for most of the year, which means a lot of people have had “quarantine” birthdays. And while some, uh, older people might welcome the isolation surrounding their birthday, kids aren’t feeling the same way. As a kid, your birthday is one of the best days of the year.
Birthday, Christmas, Halloween. Those three days are the best days of the year. They are the only three days that matter.
But unfortunately, this pandemic has pretty much shut down birthday parties. Children all over the world have been forced to have low-key birthdays away from their friends and distant relatives.
However, some parents have calculated the risk and decided it was worth it to throw their child a small party. For example, singer/reality tv star Jessie James Decker decided to celebrate her child’s 5th birthday with a party on Saturday, September 5.
She went on her Instagram account to share photos from the party.
She captioned the post:
"We had the best day celebrating Bubby’s 5th birthday! So grateful for such wonderful friends who celebrated with us!! Bubby had the time of his life!!!"
Several people commented on her post, and while most were supportive, there were some people who questioned whether it was a good idea to have a party during a global pandemic.
One user asked, “No pandemic there anymore?” and to Decker’s credit, she responded to the user and explained that it was a small party, “We’ve been very careful. This small group of children celebrating Bubby are already in the same class at school so we are around each other all the time already,” she wrote.
And that does bring up an interesting point. Whether we agree with it or not, schools are opening back up, so kids are seeing each other daily now. If you only invite kids that are in the same class as your child, are you really taking much of a risk?
At the end of the day, it’s up to you (the parent) to decide what’s best for your kid, but the one thing all experts agree on is that you should celebrate in some way. A parenting coach named Graziella Simonetti told The Washington Post the following:
“Social distancing does not mean social isolation. Even though this gathering is happening remotely, it helps everyone feel like they’re in it together. We’re together, even if we’re not together.”
Experts say birthdays and other milestones allow children to feel connected to their community. A reminder that they have a network of people who care about them and love them.
So whether you have a remote birthday party or a small get-together in your backyard, the goal is to make sure your child feels loved.
Instead of saying, “Oh, we’ll celebrate next year…” get creative with it and find a way to celebrate NOW!"
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