Mom Criticizes Chuck E. Cheese Mascots For Only Giving Attention To 'Birthday Kids Who Paid For A Birthday Package' — 'Do Better!'
She felt that her children were unfairly ignored.
damann | Shutterstock A mother is disappointed in Chuck E. Cheese after their treatment of her toddlers during a recent visit.
According to the mom, the mascots only made an appearance to give special treatment to children whose parents had paid for birthday packages while ignoring the others.
The mother claimed the Chuck E. Cheese mascots ignored her children and only paid attention to the kids who had a birthday package.
When Rachel Martinez took her two toddler daughters to enjoy an afternoon at a local Chuck E. Cheese, it ended up being anything but as she watched her children try and interact with the mascots.
The mascots made an appearance on the dance floor as part of a celebratory birthday package and Martinez felt it was exclusionary.
The mom argued that Chuck E. Cheese Mascots should give all children equal attention regardless of who paid for a party package.
Chuck E. Cheese offers several birthday packages for children, including two hours of unlimited gaming, 30 seconds in the popular birthday arcade ticket blaster, and even an exclusive live show performed for the birthday kid!
During these shows, the mascots often interact and give their undivided attention to the birthday person on the dancefloor. While other children are welcome to dance along, they often do not receive the same attention as the birthday kids.
Martinez happened to notice this while watching her children, who did not have a birthday package. When they tried to get the mascot's attention on the dancefloor, they seemed to be ignored.
Michael Gordon | Shutterstock
Her heart broke as she watched her daughters attempt to wave to them, only for them to be ignored while they focused on the birthday kids.
“Shame on Chuck. E Cheese for only engaging with the birthday kids who ‘paid’ for a birthday package. My mama heart,” she wrote in the text overlay of a TikTok video depicting the incident.
She also claimed that the mascots kept pushing children away who didn’t have a “birthday star with a party package.”
While Martinez is not against the idea of the mascots interacting with children whose parents purchased a birthday package, she believes that they should at least have a separate party room so that other kids don’t feel excluded.
Other people were divided regarding the situation.
Some people argued that the mom shouldn’t have expected the mascots to interact with her children the same way they did with children who had birthday packages.
“They have rules they have to follow and a job to maintain,” one TikTok user commented.
“Looks like they were in the middle of time thing, maybe wait until it’s over?” another user suggested.
“I totally understand your mama heart but also I understand that the other parents paid for their time for their kids,” another shared.
Other people suggested that the people inside the mascot costumes simply couldn’t see all of the children, given their limited vision in a giant mouse head.
However, others agreed that Chuck E. Cheese was meant for children and that no child should be ignored by the mascots regardless of whether or not it was their birthday.
“They should at least give a high five. These are innocent children,” one user argued.
“Regardless of paid or not it’s a kid. A hug won't hurt anyone,” another user wrote.
“It doesn’t hurt to just do a quick little wave or hug/high five… that was so rude and it seems they are just being lazy!” another commented.
Former Chuck E. Cheese employees shared that even while they were interacting with birthday kids, they were expected to acknowledge other kids around them, regardless of whether it was their birthday.
“I worked at Chuck E. Cheese, and we interacted with all the kids no matter if you were a birthday or not,” one user commented.
“As a former CEC birthday coordinator, there is a show just for the scheduled and paid-for birthday parties. Then there’s a Chucky show for everybody every hour on the hour. All depends on what show it was,” another revealed.
Even if the birthday kids receive a little more attention than guests just visiting for the day, Chuck E. Cheese’s target audience is young children.
ZikG | Shutterstock
They will be unable to comprehend why their favorite characters ignore them while fawning over others around them and may not want to return.
It never hurts to have designated birthday party rooms where mascots can pay a visit without other guests noticing and give the birthday kids all of the attention they deserve without the guilt of turning a blind eye to others.
After all, when the beloved characters make an appearance, all children should be able to live up to the chain’s slogan, “Where a kid can be a kid,” and run up to greet them!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.