Do You Allow the Neighborhood Kids to Play Inside Your House?

The more the merrier, many times once the 'fun' of being inside wears off they stop, over time, wanting to come in. Not a big deal to me.

I definitely have the neighborhood kids and sometimes I love it and sometimes I get tired of it. But I do it for my kids. I want them to be happy having friends over. And it can be such a happy sight. Try it a little. Don't go crazy but maybe try it some.

Yep--we're the. "Hang house" inside or outside--it caries but the kids parents know where they are & they know is so not an issue. Same applies when mine is at another house...they're old enough to know when they need to be home at night, or for dinner...or they're allowed to eat here. No biggie. Tight community.

I was delighted to have my home be the neighborhood gathering place for my kids playmates.

If they were at my home I knew what they were doing and that the games they were playing were good, wholesome, family type of games. Was it more bother and more expense? Yep, you betcha. But my making or setting the community standards was well worth it. I made sure that there were no drugs or playing games too mature for the kids.

It was more work, but the safety of my kids was well worth it.

Good luck to you and yours.

Yes, I do let them come in to play. I am old school; this is how kids play. I'm not really into the "play date" thing. Too formal for me. If it gets to be too many kids or they start bugging, I just tell them it's time for everyone to go back outside. My GD and most of the other kids in the neighborhood like playing outside. They ride bikes, roller blade, play baseball, etc. It's not usually a problem for them to go outside. Of course, most of us in the neighborhood are not the type of parents who provide endless technology-based games/items that tend to keep kids inside and on their butts. We ALL encourage fresh air and exercise!

yes, our neighborhood kids are always coming over and coming inside. I have no problem with it as long as they don't make a huge mess. We have a ton of neighborhood kids all around the same age as my kids and I LOVE it! We have an open door policy here in my home and I can't imagine closing myself off to the neighbors

When we had more kids on our block, our home was the "go to" home. That was the way it was for me growing up as well. My mom ALWAYS had chocolate chip cookies for us and the kids. We always had enough.

So we have friends over who don't live on the block. It's inside and outside.

No kids are allowed in my house without their parental permission....same with my kids. Parents need to know where their kids are.

When the crying or tantrums start? They have the option to stop or go home. If they don't stop, they go home. They know me well enough to know I don't give empty threats.

My door was and is still open to everyone. When they got tired here they moved on to someone else's house. Was never a problem for me.

I prefer my children to know & own the joy of having on Open Home....one which they can share with friends. I love having kids in/out, I love having big groups of family/friends....& I love when they go home, too. :)

Life's too short to limit childhood!

My mom's motto when I was a kids was " If your not going to help clean, get out of the house."
I will let the kids friends come in when it's cold or rainy. I do end up doling out drinks and snacks, but my kids get the dame treatment in return.
I will go out and organize the kids into a game or walk them to the park, but when I'm busy in the house they seem to know that I don't wish to be bothered(and better not make a mess!).
I do not care for the friends to ask to play our electronic games (iPad, xbox, etc). My kids get limited screen time and I'm not bending the rules just because their friends don't!

Yes I'm okay having kids over, though I will admit we don't have too many around here, so it's not a constant thing.
I also have NO problem telling kids, okay time to go play outside, or okay, you guys need to go home now, BYE!!!
When I was little, that was the norm, you would only play at someone else's house until their mom kicked you out ;-)

I'm like you. I only allow kids in my home when I know the parents are aware that they are inside my home. I also do not allow my children to go into a friends home without permission from the other parent and myself.

Yes, I do. My house doesn't have any fun stuff like a pool, trampoline or a playscape, but for some odd reason, the kids love being here. It's kind of ironic since these kids have all the "fun stuff" at their homes, yet they prefer to play here. My kids too, would rather be at home than at their friends houses. I think it's a good thing...it's nice to know that we are the "cool" house to hang out at:)

Yup we let them play. Generally there is only a couple years difference in sibs. Not a big deal

Yes, had neighborhood kids in a lot, but I did set limits. I just said "this is not a good time." if it wasn't. Or, "time to go home now, I hope to see you again soon." I did occasionally send a child home if they did not behave, but that only happened once per child. They got a clear message that I was welcoming, soft spoken but firm in that if I said something I meant it. House rules applied to all and new kids got one explanation of what was expected.

However, you will have to set your limits where you are comfortable. I liked the children and having them over, but that may not be true for everyone.

I hope that my home is the ''go to' home when my baby gets of age.

All the kids in the neighborhood play in my front yard. They know when I say something to them about what they're doing they have to mind or go home. I like being able to see the kids and know exactly what they are doing at all times.

i'm still not too ok with having my kids play unsupervised in the "neighborhood" and the idea of having multiple kids running in and out of my house asking for snacks makes my skin crawl. I am an introvert and grew up in the country where people didn't let their kids walk 10 miles to play. I am trying to open up a bit and be more receptive to kids in the neighborhood but to be honest I don't really like the way they talk and act, sassy, too old for their age, talking about blowing people into little bits and eating their flesh.

so I guess im a meanie too.

I let the neighbourhood kids come in if they are playing with my kids. My boys are 7 and 10 so their friends can certainly entertain themselves. I've never had one of my kids friends show up with a younger sibling. If they are getting too loud or rambunctious I send them outside, or if I just figure they have been inside long enough I will send them outside. We usually seem to have at least 2 or 3 extra kids in the house at any given moment:)

Yes, I let them all play in the house. It sounds like you may have more kids and younger kids than I have here though. That would be harder. Our house has become the house where the kids all come to play. I don't mind...in fact I kind of like it bc I can keep an eye on them and I've gotten to know all these kids (and their parents) really well over time. If they are being too rowdy or whatever I make them go outside to play but usually they want to go outside on their own after a while. My son is 9 and we often have 2-7 other kids over here ranging in ages from 7 to 11. I have rules...they can get themselves a cup of water. They need to get their own snack from their home (although now and then I'll make them all brownies or something...but that is rare). They need to be kind to my daughter who is much younger and can annoy them (the boys mostly, the girls are all sweet to her). They cannot be mean to each other. If they gang up on one of the other kids they all go home. If they say something inappropriate they go home immediately. One 10 year old boy said a cuss word once not knowing I could hear him and he was sent home...he was shocked. They have to take their shoes off at the door. No yelling. They ALL know the rules and follow them. My daughter is 3 so her little buddies are too young to be roaming the neighborhood!

No, they play outside & I supervise them.
The parents can see & hear them.
And I don't want my child going into people's houses where I can't see them.

I grew up in the boonies and always wanted to have the "house where everyone played" when I had kids of my own. I have three kids, but there are days when I have 10 here. As long as they play by themselves and get along, we're all good. Start screaming, etc., out you go until next time. I have to add, though, it is a pain when they start asking for food because they live close enough to eat at home. Or when they come to me to settle their fights - if you can't play together, it's time to go home. Overall, it's a lot of fun and a great way to know their friends.

Friends are always allowed in. If the weather is nice we don't let them in, because we make our own kids play outside. But kids are always at our house. We have a very fun basement (lots of toys, Wii, Xbox Kinnect, regulation sized Air Hockey table, basketball hoop, arcade games, etc.), so kids always want to be down there, We also have 3 computers set up in our office with rolly chairs, so kids always want to be in there too. They play music and move the chairs so they can dance.

I want other kids to feel comfortable in my house.

As far as drinks and snacks, my kids know where the cups are and how to get their friends water. If I tell them they can offer juice boxes, they can, but otherwise they don't. We also have a snack bin where we keep pretzels, gummies, chewy bars, etc that they can have IF they ask. So I'm not bothered at all really.

My kids are older and we live in the boonies. Everything has to be planned, BUT - our house is the place to be. We have a pool. We have a house that was built for parties and lots of company. We love to entertain.
I put the food out. I put the drinks out. I make a huge batch of popcorn.
That said, we have rules!
No kids allowed in my fridge, my pantry, or upstairs.
No alcohol is served to anyone - regardless of age - if it is an event for the kids.
If you can't follow,the rules, you will be escorted to the door.
LBC

I am the neighborhood mom . The snowcone,slushie,squirt gun,duct tape purse,hairband making mom . Yes, sometimes I let the kids in the house but never alot at the same time . If 3 are over and 2 more show up its outside they go . I completely understand the needing to tend to the little ones . Actually the older ones ask for the snacks in our neighborhood :) Don't feel bad about not letting them in . I think if you add up all the times my kids were in all of the other houses combined we would still be ahead . Most never let the kids in their houses. Have a great day !

No.
One reason is there isn't room in our house to have a bunch of kids playing.
Another reason is we have 4 cats, and had another 2 that died of old age. A number of my kids' friends are allergic to cats or have someone in their household that is so they can't come in, even if we did want them to come in.
I also just don't want everyone in my house.
My kids have been indoors all day and need to go out and play, not sit around the house more.

We don't have a lot of kids in our neighborhood, so I can't say what I do. However, I CAN say that I also don't have the temperament to host a lot of kids, especially needy young ones. If you are not up for it, don't do it. It will make you cranky and it isn't fair to you or your kids (who will feel the results of your crankiness later).

Limit the people in your house to the ages and amount of children that you can happily handle. Otherwise, let them play outside or at someone else's house.

Nope. The only child around that is allowed inside our home is the little boy I care for and that is only on the days I either watch him or we have bad weather. There's no way I will allow my children in other's homes w/o me knowing and having the other parent okay it and also I will NOT be responsible for random neighborhood kids. The age has of any child does not factor in for us because while I'm fine with my children playing with whomever it is not okay to come inside. I also cannot afford to feed snacks and drinks to everyone else's children so that is another reason behind why others are not allowed inside to play.

I never had an issue with neighborhood children or any of my daughter's friends coming inside my house to play. I welcomed and embraced it.

I didn't look at it as a burden... I looked at it from the standpoint that I knew what the children were doing and I was being responsible to make sure they were safe. So what if they ate a couple of healthy snacks and had lemonade.. that's what neighbors are for.. at least that is how it was when my now 18 yr old was younger.

I still have teens in the house weekly and I welcome them. They are welcome to snacks and drinks I have on hand as well. Again.. I know what they are doing and with whom.. I'd much rather know what is going on and have them snack and have fun vs not know where my child was and if she were being supervised.

Do you feel like you are being used when you mention 'babysitting"? Do your children go inside other neighbor's homes?

If my daughter was never allowed to go inside a neighbor's house to play and the neighbor's children were welcome in my house, I would wonder what the neighbor was trying to hide. If you can't handle the children in your house, feel used as in a babysitter, etc at least let the parents know your stance so they will understand you vs wonder what you are hiding?

I have loved being the house in the neighborhood where all the children want to be. I've built some good solid relationships with other parents and children.

No. My son is 4, and the neighborhood kids are at minimum 2 years older. They wouldn't really want to anyway. Also, I can't stand the little hellions. I don't want them in my home.

Uh you are not mean, and they need to understand that you're not a babysitter. Explain it to them in a nice way that you can't care for all the children and their younger siblings.

I wouldn't let them in either. It would be a play outside only policy unless you know for sure one or two are coming without siblings.

Unless it's a specified playdate, nope. The kids stay outside. I think this also sets a precedent for my son not to go into people's homes unless he's specifically invited by that parent. Kiddo is six and it's just a good routine to arrange those playdates. We also have a wacky neighbor who invites him over (says this to him) but then tells me "I can't supervise him right now..." ugh.!!!I really get annoyed with this, and I have learned that I only let him go over if I'm already working outside-- and he must stay out in front of their house where I can see him, otherwise he has to come back right away.

I should also add that most of the neighbors keep to their own yards to play. It's not an unfriendly thing, just most are 7 or younger so it's a 'keep in sight' thing while mom is inside or working in the yard. My front yard is gardened to the nth degree and there's simply no room to play out there, either.

My son and the neighbor boys are in and out of all of our houses all day. They house hop. I don't mind but will send them out if they get annoying or if my DD starts to get upset they are in the house. She has Selective Mutism and can't talk when they are here. Sometimes I think she deserves to be able to talk in her own house if she needs to. Sometimes she hangs with the boys and is just quiet.

I'm with you- I don't like the chaos. I don't like feeding all the children- siblings etc. I am great with schedule playdates, even short notice will do. But kids just running around the neighborhood and flopping in our house? No way. Mess and problems waiting to happen. And while there are some neighbors who are the 'hang house', I don't generally let DD hang over there, I find they are not well supervised (not everyone, of course, just my experience).

My daughter learned that she needed to plan things in advance (obviously didn't work when she was really little). She knew that if she wanted to play with someone, she better start talking about it in the morning so we could make arrangements. I think it taught her responsibility.

It sounds like I'm in the minority, but no, I don't always let them in. Sometimes I do, but not every day and as it's never reciprocated by other neighbors for my kids, I don't feel so bad about saying no. That being said, I don't know all the parents. There's one girl whose mother I've never met and she was coming over EVERY day wanting to come in our house and play, I sent her home to ask her mother, expecting that her mother would at least want to meet me first before letting her daughter play here, but back the little girl came and said her mom gave her the cell phone so she could call and tell her when to be home. I don't think the neighbor even knew which house was ours. My kids have never been invited to their house to play, and have never asked to go there, so I haven't bothered to set up an introduction with her parents. My kids have to ask before they go anywhere, and I won't them go anywhere where I haven't checked out the situation and met the parents first. This little girl has only been allowed to play here once and I haven't encouraged a return because she was rude and bossy, and she kept making my daughter continuously keep asking if the girl could have some of my daughter's candy even after I had said no, it was too late for candy because it was close to dinner time. She just kept saying to my daughter "I'm hungry..ask your mom if I can have some of your candy" or "I want candy, ask your mom again." "Tell her I really want some of the candy". I could hear her telling my daughter what to say. So she's not really welcome back if she can't behave.
Most of the kids in our neighborhood are only children....no little brothers or sisters, though they play outside together and they kind of come as a package deal. I do let them play in the back yard, but I don't provide snacks...that gets expensive. If it's a play date we set up with someone, then I will give them a juice box and some sort of a snack, but if they are all just playing outside together, then I usually don't. I did give out cupcakes last week because we had a ton of them, so we offered. But if your kids never go to the neighbors' houses, then I wouldn't feel obligated to let them in mine. You have to set the boundaries in your home. If a neighbor is having a rough time, or a kid has a horrible home life, then you might want to offer your house as somewhat of a safe haven, as long as they are respectful. But I wouldn't just let all the kids run in and out like they live there, and provide them food and drinks to boot...let them eat at their OWN houses.

We don't live in a "young" neighborhood where we have this problem, but I would treat the neighborhood children like any other playdate and make arrangements with the parents.

Okay it sounds good on paper but I can see where the close proximity could blur those lines and boundaries... This is why I am glad I do not live in a "young" neighborhood.

I lean towards your view, but then I'm not a particularly patient person, nor do I want to babysit little kids (unless I've been asked by the parent(s) and have agreed to this). I also work full time, so this type of thing would only happen on weekends when we're home. My kids are 7 and 11, and most of the neighbors in my area are paranoid and don't let their kids out to play "unsupervised", so we tend to have the opposite problem.

We regularly have a 10 year old girl come over, and an 8 yr old boy that I often call "my 3rd child" because he's over here so much. We know both parents quite well though, and they are both well behaved kids. I also "discipline" them like I would my own kids, so they'd get the "what do you live in a barn?" comment from me if they left doors open, and/or I make them get up from their "fun" and go close it (rather than doing it myself). I also hold my own kids responsible for their friends' messes and such.

I often "kick them outside" if they start getting too rambuncious/loud (I have a low tolerance for noise too) or just to get them away from electronics for a bit (TV, Wii, laptop, etc).

Since there would at most only be 4 (including my 2), I don't mind providing a juice box or snack or even lunch once in a while, but it's always reciprocated by the other families. I'm sure I'd feel differently if it was a regular demand from a bunch of kids, and rarely/never reciprocated. I actually consider myself a generous person (I'd rather give more than I get), but I do draw the line at some point.

oh sure. even in the tiny house where my kids were toddlers they had tons of neighborhood friends, and our house seemed to be the 'fun' house.
but if they got on my nerves, or were making too big of a mess and not listening when i told them to pick up, out they went.
one of the best ways to be the most popular mommy in the neighborhood is not only to be open, but to be very clear about your boundaries. if you keep kindly but firmly ejecting screamers and trouble-makers, they very quickly learn to listen when they're at your house.
but i totally get not having the temperment. i was much more relaxed and groovy with it when my kids were little, but it's not really how i am naturally. if you're not up for it, just make it clear to your own kids before the hordes start arriving. 'only 1 friend may come in and play today' or 'i'll provide drinks and fruit, but everyone must play outside' or 'it's a rainy afternoon so you can do movies, but only for 3 friends' and so forth.
it is VERY okay to have boundaries, and for the rules to flex according to your daily coping abilities.
khairete
S.

When they were younger, random meet-ups with neighbor kids they were all always outside. If that changed, there would be a quick call that so-and-so are over at our house. It was a small neighborhood so kids were called home for lunch and everyone gave out icees for snacks outside. We had a pool so it was common to have my two and 5-6 other kids over - granted they were all big enough to not only swim, but touch the bottom everywhere. When we had the trampoline, only kids who's parents I knew and gave permission were allowed on it. They rarely came over unless they had made plans.
Now they're teens so old rules no longer apply