I think it depends upon they type of party and whether other parents are dropping off, but a general rule might be if the child is old enough to sleep over at a friend's house, then he is old enough to be dropped off at a party? Mine is still in PreK, so my husband and I both go with him to parties.

My oldest is 9 and she just went to her first drop off party and few months ago. My kids usually go to parties where the parents and I are friends, so I generally stick around to hang out with my own friends.

My overly-sensitive kindergardener won't go to a drop-off party. It's not that I wouldn't leave her, she just doesn't want to go.

i voted "other" because i have dropped off my quite young children for parties that were specified as "drop off parties" where you were welcome to stay if you really wanted to, but parents were not expected to stay. one of those parties were for a child turning five (my child was nearly four; the younger one wasn't invited). the other was for a child turning four (dropped off my nearly-five and three-year-old). however those were both within our extended family. i wouldn't be comfortable doing that with parents i didn't know or a setting my child was unfamiliar with.

i remember being dropped off for parties for sure by second grade (age 8-9).

Turning four. I don't invite kids if I don't know their parents and I don't invite more kids than the birthday kid's age. Parties last 1.5 hours, tops and I specify on the invite, "drop-off X:00 am" and "pick-up X:30 am."

i was JUST wondering this a few days ago!!

a parent dropped their 3 year old child off at my daughter's 2nd birthday party...without a diaper bag, and without knowing who we were at all. We (and the rest of the party parents) were SHOCKED. The mother must have figured it out, though as she stayed at every other party her child attended that year :)

We hosted a "drop off if you want" party for my then 2.5 year old, and 2 sets of parents stayed and 1 dropped off (conflict with activities for a second child). That same set of parents then reciprocated with a drop-off play date a couple weekends later, and I stayed long enough to make sure my son felt comfortable.

We weren't expecting to do drop offs so early, but they've really been splendid!

We started with the 5th birthday. Our son asked for it. We told him he would have fewer guests and he was ok with that.

we were visiting my brother in law last year, and our niece (who's 9) had a birthday party at a gym-playground type place. we were SHOCKED to learn that both my bro in law and his wife and all the other parents STAYED at the party, just kind of awkwardly sitting around until it was over. It was so weird.

We dropped off my 2 and 3 year old kids at a friend's 3 year old party about 2 months ago.

This is their 7th child and all the older siblings were there helping out. The next youngest in age is 9.

They specifically told all the parents that it was a drop off party, but we were the only ones who left. We walked to a nearby coffee shop and had actual grown up conversation. It was GREAT!

Oh, both of our kids are potty trained, so that may have been an influencing factor.

i think sleep overs are drop off parties. i actualy have not been to a birthday party where there werent the childs parents present! every child hads a parent. different times i suppose.

growing up we went to parties and i do not remember my mom being there. most of those parties were neighborhood kids though.

I don't have children, but I raised my kid sister and I wouldn't accept a "leave behind" kid that was younger than 7. Then again, most of my parties for her were so awesome, the parents got into it too and we had a great afternoon! :)

I drop off my 5 year old at parties held in an organized "party place" - Gymboree, Jump-it-up, Pump-it-up etc. I stay if it is at a home or a park. This is more for the convenience of the parent than any concern about safety. Gymboree employees know how to herd 20 kindergarten kids, it can be a little overwhelming for a parent.

My son is almost 5, and just went to his first two drop-off parties. Both parties were hosted by parents we are very good friends with; I would not have felt comfortable if I didn't know them.

In fact, we are newly delving into the world of playdates/parties/other invitations from families I don't know super well. I've surprised myself by how uncomfortable it feels. We have lots and lots of friends, and my children have a wide circle to play with if we stick simply to people we know well and trust. But then they meet new friends at school...I make sure to get to know the parents, etc., but I'm having a hard time dealing with different parenting styles yet still allowing my children to be friendly to different groups of people.

Anyway. Sorry for the long post. This has just been on my mind lately.

I dropped my 3-year old off at a party with people we know well - and no I didn't send a diaper bag. I probably wouldn't host a drop-off party for his friends - their parents would be invited too. But I'm comfortable dropping him off provided the parents have offered it and he's fine with it.

And wanted to clarify that yes, my son is potty-trained.