My oldest is super social and somehow got on the idea of sleepovers. I'm not sure what age I started but she turned 7 fairly recently and I don't think it was that young. I did let her go to one bc it was a small bday party for one of her best friends. She did fine. We also hosted a friend when her parents went to a wedding so were getting home really late and it all went totally fine. But now she wants more but not for special occassions or anything. I'm not really sure why I'm not that comfortable. I trust the other parents etc. It just seems young or something. But maybe this is normal. What age did you all start letting your kids do them?
About 5 or 6 for my girls, but they were always right down the street and I knew the parents well, around 8 or 9 they started going to ones with more girls and farther away. As for my boys, they never showed an interest.
My oldest started sleepovers at 4. My second started them at 3 (with my best friend's kid). For random school peer sleepovers, I'd be comfortable starting at 5/6.
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I was in 5th grade, so, 10 years old. I don't think I'll allow it at all with my boys. I feel like history has shown you really don't know who you can trust, or what if God forbid, a child stays at you house and reports that something happened that didn't! I think absent doing a favor by keeping a kid for VERY close friends to have a night away, spending the night is unnecessary and poses more potential problems than benefit. I know, my kids are gonna hate me!
Yikes, maybe I'm a bad mom! My daughter spent the night with her best friend from preschool when she was four, she stayed with me as well. Her mom and I are/were best friends and the girls are still very close. We were both divorced and no men in the house. I felt completely comfortable and this was the closest thing the girls were ever going to get to having a sister. I love my side by side pictures of them at four and then at high school graduation this past June.
My son started at 9 yrs old and he only goes to the parents night out lock down at his taekwondo place.
Lot's of kids, lots of supervision, parents coming and going (some just stay till midnight then go home).
I'm OK with this as I'd never be at anyone else s house.
Two years old. My children have sleep overs at their Nana's, and at one of my closest friend's house (she has similarly aged children who are my kiddo's best friends). I have a few of my friend's children over for sleep overs at least a few times a month.
We haven't had to deal w/ that yet, we're just starting playdates w/ school chums as of last weekend. But if I remember back, I started sleepovers in 2nd grade w/ my best friend who lived one street over. I'm hoping that my daughter doesn't ask for many years to come. I'm not a helicopter parents by any means, but she's my one and only and I'm conservative on that kind of stuff.
I think we started having sleepovers in first or second grade but it was only with my 1 best friend. My kids only stay with relatives but they are both 5 and under.
Around 7. I would keep it simple though and avoid the number 3. Have had too many nightmares with 3 girls.
my 8 year old has had a couple, that weren't birthday party related. They were with close family friends though, so I know the families well and know I don't have to worry about things. My boys haven't, but none of my friends have boys their ages.
My son is in 2nd grade. We started letting a couple of his buddies stay the night at our place last year. I have not let him stay at a friends house yet. Not quite ready to take that step.
In our home we use spending nights out as a benchmark and celebration of something to look forward to. We generally don't let the kids spend nights outside of our home until they turn 10. At 16 the girls get a spa day and the boys get to spend time with hubby doing something athletic and outrageous (think paint ball or zip line).
The thought is to see how they are progressing in their maturity while giving them something to look forward to. Before they know it they will be 18 and legally grown and that comes with so many responsibilities.
I'm not a fan of sleepovers. In general, we don't do them. We do have family sleep overs though! :) Many of our friends live a far way away from us, so sometimes we will have the family over for the day, stay up late playing games, and then everyone sleeps here, has breakfast together in the morning,then they are on their way. We have had as many as 25 people staying here before. We like to have fun, and the kids enjoy it emmensely. We have enough room in the house for about 12-15 guests to sleep in beds comfortably. We have an RV that we usually throw the boys out to, and the kids like to sleep in sleeping bags. Way too much fun!
My son started last year at 4... It depends on the child though. My son is a social butterfly~
PS It's only at his 3 really good friends houses.. I know their parents, we're all friends.
My grand-kids started staying overnight with friends when they were very young. It was less stressful for them to go to bed and then wake up naturally without having to be woken up when we got finished with whatever we were doing that evening. My friends kids stayed here that young too.
As for letting the kids invite school friends over to spend the night...that would ONLY happen if I were extremely close acquaintances at the very least. If I had not been to their house on several occasions and they to mine, I would need to know their habits too, then it won't happen.
My kids stay the night with MY friend's kids and even then I am picky. There is a real tight knit group and all our boys are about the same age and all our girls are about the same age so usually when we do sleep overs, one house keeps the boys and the other house keeps the girls. Or if we are all at one group's house later than planned and kids fall asleep, who ever is asleep gets to stay.
