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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Sleepovers

128 replies

shebird · 19/01/2014 18:24

I didn't grow up here so maybe I am missing something but I just don't get sleepovers. Why are children obsessed with wanting to sleep in other peoples houses? I mean mostly they stay up all night talking and/ or arguing and they have to sleep on an air bed or something equally uncomfortable. It seems that every birthday party DCs are invited to now end in a sleepover for a select few.
I have tried sleepovers at my DCs insistence and the result was no sleep for the entire household, one child wet the bed and another was sick. Never again - AIBU

OP posts:
BeCool · 21/01/2014 23:19

DD1 is just 6 and had a sleepover at a friends last Friday. They were up until midnight. It affected the rest of our weekend as she was knackerd/tired/emotional. She is still exhausted today. Clearly she is way too young.

She first started talking about having a sleepover when she first started school. She thought that the whole family would go and sleep over at her friends house bless her!! Grin

kali110 · 21/01/2014 23:32

Used to love sleepovers!! I was at one of my two best friends houses nearly every weekend from 13.

shouldnthavesaid · 22/01/2014 06:43

Would be more wary of elder teens' sleepovers - as an eighteen year old I regularly 'crashed' at a friends, often along with 3 or 4 others due to the fact we'd go out and get stuck with no buses.. Her mum worked nights, told us to come and go as we pleased , and so we essentially had a free house.

I often wonder what her mum thought of us sleeping in her bed without permission (well, the floor was uncomfortable so host told us to use the bed!!), borrowing toiletries, eating all the good food for breakfast.. I loved it - we would stay up til the back of 3 often with a chips and ice cream run at 2am.

We did things however that if I had DCs who did them, they would never host a sleep over again - my friend tried to teach me how to produce fire from inhaling lighter fuel and then igniting it in your mouth.. and host friend warned us the cat wasn't well so to leave it in the kitchen with laminated flooring.. Drunkenly we thought it would be cold and so allowed it to go onto the bed..

Also went to a friend's house at 15 - at 9, her mum said she was off to the pub and didn't come back til 2 or so. Had never been alone at night before, we happily watched Pyscho and didn't sleep a wink.

All the sleepovers I had at 11,12 were much tamer and nicer affairs involving playing with friends guinea pigs, barbies and making popcorn.

So yes. I would be far warier of allowing teenage DCs to have sleepovers at home. Unless you are willing to hang around and keep an eye. FWIW I am normally a very quiet and shy person but at that age, the combination of alcohol, friends and an 'empty' wasn't conducive to good behavior!!

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