Sleepover?

[Mamabear425]

Can I have you ladies opinion on girl/boy sleepovers? My 7 year old is besotted with one of the neighbours little boy. He's just turned 9. They play together all the time outside, in my home or in his mums house.

Anyway she's been invited to stay over there and I'm just not sure how to feel about it at that age? Is it inappropriate? Anyone have similar experiences where daughters prefer friends that are boys? And how did you handle it.

Thanks in advance!

It doesn’t feel right to me, so I’d probably find a reason why my daughter couldn’t go.

WTAF?

Boys and girls can't be friends now? Since when?

Genuinely bewildered.

If you genuinely have concerns that something untoward would happen to your daughter if she stayed the night over there, then you need to call social services, and the police.

Otherwise you're likely just being really weird about this. Christ.

Wow, 7 and 9. What are your actual concerns here?

No I wouldn’t allow it; I don’t think it’s necessary and 7 is fairly young for a sleepover with a girl or boy. Despite the reactions above its not unreasonable to consider the fact that it’s a boy and a girl; I’m a social worker and there are plenty of children from very average homes that engage in a bit of show me yours and I’ll show you mine type behaviour which is in the realms of normal child behaviour without there being a background of abuse.

Putting gender aside, It really depends how well you know his parents, could this be making you feel uneasy about it? Thinking back I don’t think I had my first sleepover until I was 12 or 13 and that was with my best friend who I had known my whole life, our mums met on the labour ward. In these situations I tend to think will I be sat up all night worried sick? If the answer is yes go with your gut. There comes a point where you have to let go but she’s still really little

7 seems a bit young for me for a sleepover. You don’t sound comfortable, so I’d just tell them you don’t feel ready for that yet.

Only on mumsnet is 7 too young for a sleepover. I've 2 dc who are 7 and 10 and sleepovers have been the norm for entire year groups starting from p1 when they are 4/5. Many younger with family friends etc. It was around 7 that it was pretty much every weekend we either had one child or another or my eldest is away. My current 7 yo hasn't had that so much thanks to covid

I too personally think they're both a bit young for a sleepover. However, I think the gender difference would be more of a problem when they approach the teen years (i.e picking up stuff and sex). But since you're neighbours you can simply pop over if there's a problem.