A couple "reserved" a park bench for their kid's birthday and they left what was deemed to be a "rude" note, and people are divided.
Planning a birthday party for children can be really tricky due to the expectations of the young ones as they will literally wait all year for their day to come around.
You can fully expect that they will want the best cake, the best location, and want their friends there - and controlling a group of sugar-fuelled kids is a mammoth task.
Having the party in a park can often reduce costs, but one family sparked a debate after they reserved several public park benches and left a note for everyone to abide by.
The image was shared on Reddit and it shows a bench with a Super Mario Bros-themed decorative tablecloth and a note for other parkgoers.
The note read: "Reserved for a birthday party. Please respect the space we've set aside and do not use our tables. This is a four-year-old's party, don't be the one to mess it up. Thank you."
The angry Redditor explained that reserving park tables isn't allowed and that they were also there for a child's birthday that day and they ensured they got to the park when it opened to make sure they had space for their guests.
The poster added: "It's the fact that the note was written aggressively while also depending on other people’s decency to allow them to bend common courtesy that I found annoying. It's rude and mannerless. I would not respond in kind of course."
A follow-up comment explained that those who reserved the table showed up six hours into the day, and were immediately told to keep their music down by the park rangers.
People flocked to the comments to offer their thoughts, as one person wrote: "They could have at least put the time of the party so that people could use the tables up until then and then just clear out for the actual party time."
A second added: "Unless stated by officials and with the official's sign and paper work, all public benches are first come first served basis. Most reservations at parks are usually gazebo-style buildings with lots of tables in them. Other than that you have the right to throw that sign away."
Though some thought the table should be left alone, as one person commented: "It’s a child’s birthday party. That child won’t have that birthday party again. Perhaps if you do them a solid, in the future they might pay it forward... Is it an inconvenience? Sure. But is it a nice thing to do for someone who wants to celebrate their birthday? Absolutely."
Who would have thought that a park bench could cause such a fuss?
