Things That Catch Your Eye

Longtime readers know I tend to look at a lot of media outlets and try to find interesting things to post about. This leads to the occasional odd tie-in, where one media source provides and interesting addition or counterpoint to another. So it is today, I find a story on Yahoo's news site that echoes something I glanced at in a British paper. That gets me wondering. I think it will do the same for you. Yahoo:

Parents turn against elaborate birthdays

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Having decided on a ballerina theme for her daughter's sixth birthday party, Michelle West drove all over to find little dancers for the cake. Then she put 50 little beefeater guards around the edges. And she gave it beautiful white icing with peppermint trim.

And what happened? The kids wouldn't eat it.

It wasn't long afterward that she joined a group of St. Paul parents determined to end the birthday party arms race.

Birthdays Without Pressure is taking aim at the oneupsmanship that drives moms and dads to throw parties that will really, really impress the kids and the other parents, too.

"We feel there's a kind of cultural runaway going on right now around the birthday parties of kids," said William Doherty, a University of Minnesota professor of family social science who had a hand in organizing the group, launched publicly earlier this month.

Birthdays Without Pressure has started a Web site and launched a media campaign.

Among its suggestions for more modest, stress-free party planning: Hold gift-free parties, with a note on the invitation that says any presents will be donated to charity; eliminate theme parties and gift bags for the guests; instead of organizing elaborate activities, let kids play outside or hold a treasure hunt; and invite children only, not their parents as well.

And now a few days ago in the Telegraph:

Birthday parties are new arena for pushy parents

Children's birthday parties used to be modest affairs – a couple of games of pass the parcel followed by a plate of jelly and ice cream.

Not any more. Today's generation of competitive parents are dipping ever-deeper into their pockets to make sure their offspring have the best day money can buy.

A family in Gloucester spent £20,000 on a Willy Wonka party for 30 children, complete with a troupe of Oompa-Loompas who performed every half-hour, three huge chocolate fountains and party bags bulging with gifts.

Another family organised a football tournament featuring professionals as coaches and one parent flew a West End musical star across Europe to sing Happy Birthday to a 13-year-old girl.

A survey has revealed that the average family spends £450 every year celebrating their children's birthdays. The poll by American Express also found that one-in-10 families admitted throwing parties just to impress other parents.

Does one detect a bit of coordination or is it all coincidence? Why the survey and instigated by whom? Why the news from both sides of the Atlantic at very close to the same time? Kind of an obscure subject to suddenly be a hot topic, isn't it? It seems a bit serendipitous, doesn't it? Something? Nothing?

One wonders.