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Birthday Blues and Clues

One of the most common slights for kids is being excluded from someone's birthday party. You can prevent hard feelings by following these guidelines from Lawrence Cohen, PhD, coauthor of Mom, They're Teasing Me.

Don't invite all but a few kids. Either include everyone or limit invitees to a handful of your child's classmates.

Do consider throwing an all-girls or all-boys party. This is a great way to limit the guest list without having kids feel left out.

Don't hand out invitations at school. Send them by mail, or call the parents of invitees.

Do have a birthday celebration in class (you can organize a group party game and bring stickers for everyone) so all the kids feel included.

Don't exclude other parents. If you're inviting some moms to the party, extend the courtesy to everyone.