Mom sparks fury by charging another parent for their kids play date ‘expenses’ including chalk and ‘wear and tear on couch’
A mother has sparked outrage online after she called on the public to make it “normal” to charge other parents for their children’s playdates.
In a TikTok video, she explained that her daughter recently had a friend over, and after the playdate, she asked the other girl’s mother to send her $15 via Venmo.
She cited costs such as chalk and “wear and tear” on the couch, and three times the cost of her child’s use of toiletries in the bathroom.
The video, originally posted in early June, has since gone viral, with over 3.5 million views. Many people online are openly disagreeing with her plan, saying it will mean her daughter will no longer have playdates in the future.
But the mother, who posts under the name @shay.nanigans87 and whose profile describes her as a “rage-monger” and “alimony hunter” — claims it’s simply a way for families to even out the costs of their get-togethers.
TikTok user @shay.nanigans87 sparked outrage when she announced in a video that she charged another mother for their children’s playdate
“Can we make it normal to send the other family members money for playdates?” she asks in the video, deadpan.
She then tells how she asked her daughter’s friend’s mother for money, sharing screenshots of her conversation with the other mother.
In the first post she writes, “Thanks for letting Jamie play today, please help with your share of the playdate costs totaling $15 via Venmo! Let’s do it again soon!”
“Because I can’t keep doing these play dates if it’s so expensive,” the TikTok mom explains in her video.
But the other mother, identified in the video only as “Melissa,” seemed surprised by the request, asking, “Expenses?”
At this point, the mother explains that her daughter “used supplies and food when she was here and this way we can do this more often without creating a financial obligation for just one party.”
The TikToker added screenshots of the conversation she had with the other mother
When the other mom asked what expenses she meant, the TikToker listed the supplies and food her daughter consumed — including sitting on the couch and going to the bathroom three times
When Melissa asked what expenses she meant, the TikToker noted that her daughter had applesauce and fruit, had three juice boxes, had played with chalk, had used the toilet three times, and had sat on the couch — which she says causes “wear and tear.”
Finally, the frugal mother said that Melissa had paid her the $15 she had asked for, and she thanked her.
“I just received the money, thank you so much,” she wrote in a message.
‘Hopefully this will make it easier to organize more play dates in the future.’
However, many people on the Internet were convinced that her actions would have the opposite effect, and that she would only alienate her daughter from her classmates.
‘Today, in “How to Sabotage Your Child’s Ability to Make Friends with One, Easily Quantifiable Receipt”…’ wrote an X user.
“If the child asks why she never had a playdate after spring 2024, show her this video,” Martin Matthews addedthe CEO of a Georgia asset management group.
Another suggested, “Let’s make it normal to shame people like her who are greedy and spoiled.”
But when another X user said she would pay her and then “do my best to keep my child away from her and her child,” the original poster said that was a “good move.”
“I would put up a poster with her face on it, warning other mothers about her lack of scruples and her arrogant attitude,” she wrote.
Many people online found her request rude, with one woman saying she was “cheap and arrogant”
The X user later said she would warn other mothers “about her lack of scruples and her spoiled attitude”
Others said she might be right, until she decided to make the mother pay for leaving her child on the couch.
“Everything was fine until it charged a dollar for ‘wear and learn on the couch,'” wrote one X user, who thought it was “weird to put a price on it.”
But when someone else mentioned the cost of using the toilet, he wrote: ‘That was also out of pocket.’
Meanwhile, someone else on TikTok said they would be “really uncomfortable if the person hosting a playdate kept track of how many times my kid has to go to the bathroom.”
His comment received more than 36,000 likes.
Another X user said he thought she might be right until she decided to make the mother pay for leaving her child on the couch
He later noted that the cost of the bathroom ‘also came out of my own pocket’
Another TikTokker said that if she couldn’t afford to host a play date, “I just wouldn’t invite them.”
“Instead, go to a park and bring your own snacks,” she suggested.
A third also wondered if the mother was serious and referred to her profile information.
“It’s to incite anger, right?” she asked.
It is still unclear whether the mother tried to provoke users with her video.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the TikToker for comment.