Our family movie night leaves my youngest alone in another room. How can we make the plan clearer?
Family“Then it's their movie night,” my ten-year-old said after we told him he could watch something else in the bedroom.
My older nephew had chosen a horror film for the cousins' regular Friday evening at our house. My son said he didn't want to watch it. I offered him a tablet in another room while the teenagers stayed with the adults and snacks.
My sister thinks that was a sensible compromise because the older children don't always want his choice. I can see that. But we keep calling it family movie night, and for the last two gatherings the way we have solved a disagreement is to send the same child away.
I don't want to make the teenagers watch whatever he chooses, and I won't pressure him to sit through something he doesn't want. How can we organise a shared evening that doesn't promise an activity for everyone and then quietly exclude one person from it?