I have 2 Questions for the Mommies or Mommies to be.

First one is..

Do you think bc I am an only child I am unable to be compassionate with situations dealing with siblings..

Be it my mothers brothers or my own future brother in laws?

I can't take the crap..

Second Question..

Why do parents of small children feel the need to dictate their presence at MY Wedding..

I am in a WAR with a cousin bc she wants her son there and said I DON'T care what R&T said he is comming..

HELLO I am PAYING FOR THIS..
She can STAY home to..
He is a 4 yr old MONSTER and his place isn't at a black tie affair...

HELP

Well I'm one of 6 so I can't help on the only child situation.

But as for the wedding I think that the Mother should respect your wishes. I am having a few children at the wedding. All but 1 is in the wedding party. My cousin asked about her kids & I told her no. I said I can't afford it! Her daughter is fine. Her son on the other hand needs a swift kick in the a$s!!! But, I think it's rude to assume your kids are invited. Unless it said 'Family' on the invite I would NEVER take my son.

Theresa ... I do not think that being an only child will make you insensitive to sibling needs! My mom was an only child & had three of us. & I don't think she was worse off because of it. We just didn't have a big family with lots of cousins, which has always been appealing! So don't be surprised if your kids want lots of kids!! But you'll be fine!

As for your wedding dilemma, stand your ground. If you're NOT inviting children, then make it perfectly clear to her that the kids are not invited. I'm sure you have lots of friends with kids, cousins, etc ... others will be very upset if HER child is permitted to cme & theirs were not. Besides, this is not the kind of wedding you're having. If it were an afternoon & more casual, that would be one thing, but not this! Besides, WHAT DOES A FOUR YEAR OLD DO AT A WEDDING????!!! They don't want to be there, its BORING!

Good luck, hon!

not sure if this answers your first question, but I am ready for baby #2. Nick is an only child is perfectly cntent with one child b/c he never had issues with siblinngs.

As far as kids at the wedding I had my flower girl and my ring bearer. The Fg was Nicks niece and the RB was our son. NO ONE else was invited with kids. It was an 18 and over party. It did break up some families where one child was invited and not the other, but absolutely NO EXCEPTIONS were made. My MIL was upset (to the point she was crying) that her only niece and nephew were not invited. (They were 11 and 15) She said since she had such a small family and had less people then my side it wasn't fair. Well she had to get over that. No kids were there PERIOD.

Unless you wrote The Smith Family on the invitation. people should realize their children are not invited. If they have a problem with it - tell them to stay home

You need to call your cousin and make it very clear that there are TOOOO many guests with children and that if she brings her child you will have many other people asking 'why wasn't my child(ren) invited' It is BS that she thinks it is okay. You cannot prevent people from going to the Church w/children but the reception is a different story. You have to PAY for children to attend, unless they are under the age of 3 or 4 (depends on the hall). Plus they need a seat so that would totally mess up your seating arrangement. But tell her calming that while you know she loves her child, your evening affair is just not a place for small children.

On question #2- I think that being an only child does change your views on somethings. I do not think you are a less compassionate person if you are an only child BUT you might not understand the sibling bond the same. You need to probably really try to understand and ask a lot of questions. Maybe that will help you see Ron's points.

We decided that we didn't want children at our wedding. It was at night and I really don't think its the place for them anyway.The only children that were invited was our immediate family.
If we were to invite everyone's kids,our guest list would have doubled.
I don't think being an only child makes you any harsher of a person.Its your decision and I totally agree with you and I am not an only child.