Parents divide opinion after reserving park benches for child's birthday party

Parents have divided opinion online after 'reserving' three picnic tables at a park for their four-year-old's birthday party.

The party took place over the weekend, when many people in the US were celebrating Labor Day. The tables were covered in cloths prior to the family and friends arriving, and had a handwritten note on each explaining they were 'reserved'.

Naturally, the move didn't go down well with others, and one disgruntled passerby took to Reddit to discuss whether this was acceptable.

Nik Taylor/Alamy Stock Photo

“Busy public park on a hot Saturday/Labor Day weekend. Seems super entitled. Park has been open for four hours and no sign of them. All the other tables are full," they wrote.

The user shared a photo of the post-it note on the tables, which read: “Reserved for a birthday party. Please respect the space we've set aside and do not use our tables.

“This is for a four-year-old's party, don't be the one to mess it up, thank you.”

The Reddit poster went on to explain that the tables had been unoccupied for a whopping six hours before the party eventually showed up with a portable speaker.

Reddit/AV16mm

Due to the noise, the park ranger ended up having a 'long chat' with them, after which they settled down. But the incident has raised the question of whether people should be able to reserve benches in public spaces, especially on busy weekends in the summer and national holidays.

Other Redditors were pretty divided, with some explaining they could have written the note in a more polite manner, or even suggested people use the benches until they arrive.

One person commented: “Several people could have used the chairs and left by the time they even showed up. Do you think this is entitlement or an extreme lack of awareness? I guess both types of people probably do this."

While another said: “I understand them wanting to make sure they have seats for a party they want to throw in a public park, but preventing everyone from using them all day when they're not even there yet wasn't a great choice."

And a third suggested they could have written the note to read: “We're having a birthday party for our four-year-old at noon. Feel free to use this table until then, but please leave it by noon so we can celebrate this special day with our family.' Something like that.”

Topics: Life, Parenting

Lucy Devine

Lucy is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, she has worked in both print and online and is particularly interested in fashion, food, health and women's issues. Northerner, coffee addict, says hun a lot.

@lucedevine