A mum-of-two has come under fire after asking parents to pay a £6 charge per child attending her twins' fifth birthday party.
One parent, who remained anonymous, took to a Facebook group to share her disbelief at being asked for a fee for her four-year-old to attend their classmates' celebrations.
https://www.facebook.com/SpottedHighfieldsSpinneyHillsAndEvington/posts/681705765333043
She wrote: 'My 4yr old has been invited to a classmates' 5th birthday party.
'The said parent has hired fun valley and stipulated a payment of £6 per child on the birthday invitations.
'My older kids are in secondary school and in all my years of hosting and being invited to kids parties, I have never been asked to pay for attending a party.
'Is this the done thing nowadays?'
After spotting the post, the mum in question, Ruma Ali, responded to explain why she decided to charge other parents for her children's birthday party.
'I only put a cost of £6 per child due to the fact that I have invited 60 children [to Fun Valley]! 30 from each class & some will bring siblings!! Therefore I will still be paying £5 per child cost for every child that attends!' she said.
The mum-of-twins went on to explain that the £6 cost also includes 'playtime, food and [an] extra special goody bag worth £5 for every child that attends'.
Ruma also explained that despite being a single mother, she couldn't just invite half of her twins' classmates and exclude the rest because that wouldn't be fair on the kids.
Asking for a fee was the solution she came up with after having asked several parents for advice on how to organise the event.
However, not everyone was against the idea, with some commenting on the post to show their support.
'Hope your little ones have a great time. If people want to behave like this and don't want to come that's fine you don't need them there. Happy Birthday to your twins x' commented one mum.
'£6 is nothing for a child's happiness. Personally If I knew that by paying £6 for my child to go to a birthday that would put a smile on their face as well as the birthday boy/girl I wouldn't hesitate' said another.
Despite the rocky start, it seems Ruma's great birthday party idea is still a big hit because she's already had several RSVPs and parents are fully on board.
'I've already had 40 children get back to me to say they are attending so it's sure to be a great party', she replied.
