Unruly DS or strict parents?

[ElenaRenault]

DS had a sleepover tonight, but I've just had to go and pick him up.

DS is 9 and was along with 4 other boys invited for a sleepover tonight, we're not very close to the family but accepted the invite as DS wanted to go and 2/4 invited boys are very close friends of his.

Drop off was at 4 and around 7pm parents phoned asking if I could pick DS up as he was being unruly and instigating disruptive behaviour.

I apologised and drove over straight away, when I got there 3/4 boys invited had all their stuff packed and we're waiting to be collected, I apologised again and asked what he'd done exactly.

They said DS kicked a ball into the garden from the kitchen, was playing tag in the living room and was egging on one of the other boys when parents were trying to discipline him.

DS can be disruptive and they had every right to ask him to be collected, but would you have done the same.

I'm surprised no one has picked up on the tag in the living room thing. Five 9 year old boys sprinting and shrieking around my living room? With all the potential to break stuff and hurt each other? Totally out of order.

Those poor "strict" parents. Your son was disrespectful and if you are nor careful he will grow up like a teenager down my road who swears and makes rude gestures when asked not to run all over my garden and not to kick his football at cars. Why do some parents always think their child can do no wrong?

FloggingMolley, if you leave a group of 9 year olds unattened, something bound to happen.

A few posts back but I can't let this pass. I could always leave DSs and their friends unattended from age 8 because they all knew how to behave, having been taught to by their parents.

Maybe you and the other boys' parents ought to do the same, OP.

There were over ambitious having a house full of boys! Don't take it to heart but do tell ds better behaviour needed if he is to sleep out again!! Or u invite them all over and supervise /referee and see what exactly happens when boys get together after dark!

Meh. I can easily imagine a nine year old shouting "don't give it to her" when a grown up tried to take the ball away and not meaning it as rudeness or defiance but just being silly and over excited.

I think as wise posters have said above that the boys were probably being wild out of boredom and the parents didn't know how to cope.

Posters calling the OP a bad parent and the boys brats are probably remembering bad experiences with lax parenting and rude guests and projecting that on the OP and her son.

The fact the boy is regularly invited over including to sleepovers indicate that he's not usually badly behaved and something else was going on here.

They're probably remembering bad experiences with lax parenting and rude guests and projecting that onto op and her son???
What the hell are you on about, Rhi? Op has clearly stated what happened, people are giving their opinions based on that. No need to project any other experiences at all...

You and your ds friends parents sound classy slagging them off over facebook. I suppose in 10 years time you'll all be doing the same but it'll be about the judge in court not giving them bail hey. Again good luck!

I'm waiting for the host mother to appear here

Can't believe that their kids were so naughty they had to be sent home, and the parents' response is to slag off the hosts on Facebook, rather than being mortified.

Ugh. Wtf is the world coming to?

I'm a bit on the fence here. My bar for having someone collected early from a sleepover at my house is a lot higher, I'd do most anything to avoid such an awkward situation.

If I were in this mother's shoes, I'd have led them off to the park to burn some energy.

I wouldn't be impressed with a boy telling my son to disobey me right in my presence, that does strike me as unusually cheeky.

Hang on, what's this about Facebook?

OK, I've just seen the FB part. Shocking.

So, were all the kids sent home early?

Tigger, just the opposite is happening in fact. Other parents have kicked up a right fuss and are telling others to avoid the parents as they can't have a safe environment, it's all over my FB feed

Doubtful. Very doubtful. But if you true, did you instigate it?

If they had been swearing, drawing on walls and smashing stuff up, fair enough, instant trouble. But being silly and disobedient warrants a stern telling off and a warning that any further bad behaviour would result in parents being called. Maybe they had been warned several times and still didn't calm down, in which case good on the parents for following through on the punishment.
I would expect them to be be hyped up and acting silly, that's what overexcited children do when they get together. But if they ignored warnings then it's quite right to send them home.

Your DS was so disrespectful, I'd be handing his arse to him on a plate.

I'm not sure everyone slagging the parent off on social media is terribly grown up, but perhaps does give an insight into the environment the boys are used to.

Wow some very harsh comments, brats etc!
OP, Clearly your son was naughty, as were the others and it's good that he's writing a letter to apologise.

However, It sounds like the the kids were bored and the parents completely unprepared for the giddiness that comes with sleepovers. Entertaining 5 over excited 9 year olds requires A Plan of fun stuff to do and nerves of steel