Grown-Up Parties

I accompanied a friend to his company's holiday party. It was a semi-formal affair and consisted of plenty of food, alcohol and adults. However, I found myself staring at a woman who had brought her daughter to the holiday party as her "+1 date". Her elementary school daughter was dressed very nicely (I'm not complaining about that)...but she was having a fit about being tired and her feet hurting from standing most of the night (this is what I'm complaining about). She wined, she cried and she complained...all night long. x-(

Now, I don't know if this is kosher, but why would any parent bring their young kid to a "grown-up" holiday party? Can't they just host their own "family themed" party some other time and leave the kids at home? I only ask this since the kid looked miserable, her mom looked stressed and everyone at the party just looked uncomfortable. I say, either leave the kid at home with a sitter and come out to the party...or skip the party and stay with the kid. What's so hard about that? It just makes no sense to me why anyone would bring their kid to these types of formal functions.

So lady, if you're reading this, take note of this for next time and make a smarter decision about what to do with your kid.