A mother has sparked fury online when she called on the public to “normalise” charging other parents for their children’s playdates.
In a TikTok video, she explained that her daughter recently invited a friend over and when the playdate was over, she asked the other girl’s mom to send her $15 via Venmo.
She cited expenses such as chalk and “wear and tear” on the couch, as well as the price of her son using supplies in the bathroom three times.
That video, originally posted in early June, has since gone viral with over 3.5 million views as many online openly disagreed with her plan, saying it will only leave her daughter without play dates in the future.
But the mother, who posts under the username @shay.nanigans87 and whose profile identifies her as a “rage-seeker” and “child support hunter” – insists it is just a way for families to balance the costs of their reunions.
TikTok user @shay.nanigans87 sparked outrage after announcing in a video that she charged another mother for her children’s playdate
“Can we normalize sending money to the other family for playdates?” she asks in the video with a straight face.
She then goes on to share how she asked her daughter’s friend’s mother for money, sharing screenshots of her conversation with the other mother.
In the first message write: ‘Thanks for letting Jamie play today. Please help with your share of the playdate expenses totaling $15 via Venmo. Let’s do it again soon!’
“Because I can’t keep doing these playdates 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 and asked: “Expenses?”
At that point, the mom explains that her daughter used ‘supplies and food while she was here and this way we can do this more often without a monetary obligation on one side.’
The TikToker included screenshots of the conversation she had with the other mother.
When the other mother asked what expenses she was referring to, the TikToker listed the supplies and food her daughter consumed, including sitting on the couch and using the bathroom three times.
When Melissa asked what expenses she was referring to, the TikToker noted that her daughter had applesauce and fruit, had three juice boxes, played with chalk, used the bathroom three times, and sat on the couch, which she said causes “wear and tear.”
Ultimately, the frugal mom said Melissa paid her the $15 she requested and thanked her.
“I just received the money, thank you very much,” he wrote in a message.
“We hope this will make it easier for us to make these play dates happen in the future.”
But many online believed her actions would have the opposite effect and end up alienating her daughter from her classmates.
‘Today, on “How to Sabotage Your Child’s Ability to Make Friends in One Easily Quantifiable Recipe”…’ An X user wrote.
‘When the kid asks why he never had playdates after spring 2024, show him this video’ Martin Matthews addedCEO of a wealth management group in Georgia.
Another suggested: “Let’s normalise the humiliation of people like her, who are stingy and entitled to everything.”
But when another X user said he would pay her and then “do everything in my power to keep my son away from her and her son,” the original poster said it was a “good decision.”
“I would have put up a poster with his face on it to warn other mothers about his lack of scruples and his arrogant attitude,” she wrote.
Many online found her request rude, with one woman saying she was “stingy and entitled.”
User X later said she would warn other mothers “about their lack of scruples and superior attitude.”
Others said they thought he might be right, until he decided to accuse the mother of making her son sit on the couch.
“Everything was going well until they started charging a dollar to ‘use it and show it off on the couch,'” wrote one X user, saying it’s “weird to put a number on that.”
But when someone else mentioned the bathroom charge, he wrote: “That was also out of my pocket.”
Meanwhile, on TikTok, someone else said they would feel “really uncomfortable if the person hosting the playdate kept track of how many times my kid needs to go to the bathroom.”
Her comment received more than 36,000 likes.
Another X user said he thought he might be right until he decided to charge the mother for having her son sit on the couch.
He later noted that the bathroom expenses “also came out of his pocket.”
Another TikToker said that if she couldn’t afford to host a playdate, she “wouldn’t invite them.”
“Instead, meet at a park and bring your own snacks,” she suggested.
A third also questioned whether the mother was serious, taking note of her profile information.
“It’s a bait to provoke anger, right? Please,” he asked.
It is unclear whether the mother was trying to provoke users with her video.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the TikToker for comment.
