THE FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS board on the parenting website I used to frequent was going off.

“HellfireMom32” was apoplectic because her SIL (sister-in-law) had announced that kids were not invited to the wedding.

Outrage, objections, skin and hair went flying.

Who did she think she was? Bridezilla for sure.

Kids are family. The day just wouldn’t be the same without them! Refuse to go!

I was there purely for the answers. No one in my family was planning on tying the knot any time soon, and at the time, my baby was a teeny tiny dinky newborn. The perfect size to bring anywhere. I was pretty confident, should I have found myself in that tricky situation, I could have smuggled him in no problem.

A decade or so ago, excluding small kids from family get-togethers was a relatively new practice. Times had moved on, and we were no longer adherents to the “children should be seen and not heard” mindset — an ancient English saying dating back to the 15th century.

These days, people have become more, shall we say, inured to child-free spaces, even if they don’t necessarily agree with the concept, or feel it’s just as handy to bring the kids along. The inconvenience of rustling up babysitters at the last minute springs to mind.

Personally, as long as it isn’t my child hitting Mariah Carey decibels and/or I don’t have to tend to any child-related face-offs, I’m happy to have them present at any function.

Could it be argued that this paradigm shift is a case of people becoming more outspoken in their requests to leave the kids at home so they can enjoy themselves without (a) stressing that Johnny Junior might overhear something unsuitable, (b) being able to relax without having to keep a constant eye on Little Linda so she doesn’t get hold of an unsupervised G&T........

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