Parents staying at uni accommodation

[Howdoyoulikeyoureggsinthemornin]

Hi all,

My son is 20 and lives in a large student house with a lovely bunch of youngsters. I have visited a couple of times and always stay over in a hotel about 15 minutes away from his.

I recently visited the house to pick him up and another mum was there. We were chatting for a short while and then her daughter came down the stairs with her mums suitcase. She said she had been staying over for a few nights and was getting ready for home.

I'd never even considered staying over at their house before and wondered if anyone else has or does do this? My son said she has stayed a couple of times before and his other friends sister has too. Is this the norm? He's my eldest so first one to go to uni away from home. Thanks.

Completely agree with you! Two of my children went to university for a total of 8 years and it never crossed my mind that any parent would stay at a student house. Neither child ever mentioned anyone else’s parent staying, this post is the first time I’ve heard of this - I thought the answers would be “of course not, embarrassing for the child and unfair on other sharers” so am very surprised that the first few replies said they had or would!

It’s quite intrusive to have people’s parents staying. I would be especially uncomfortable with random men/dads staying over and brothers. There are no locks on the doors. Not ideal at all. And really awkward all round tbh. Student houses aren’t known for their cleanliness either!!! 🤢

I'm lucky that I have a friend in my dds uni town who I can stay with. However dd has told me that several of her flatmates have had family members stay for a night or two. They all have double beds and en suites tho. If it was shared bathrooms it might be a bit more problematic.

Yes and I’m sorry, but ‘topping and tailing’ in the same bed as a daughter in halls seems very unusual to me. At university in the 1990s, parents might visit in the daytime or take you out for lunch, but would never stay over. They are independent young adults.

No, I think she means he stays on the floor of the building designated for women.

When I was a student parents never stayed over, I think we would've been horrified at the thought. And I don't think our parents were up for slumming it. Friends and siblings stayed occasionally though.

I’m a university lecturer and I suspect that housemates are actually not keen on this, but they don’t want to offend anybody or cause problems by saying no - especially in first year when they don’t know people well. I’ve heard quite a few conversations among students about parents staying over and how uncomfortable they find it…..

I couldn’t think of anything worse than staying in a student house and having to share the bathroom in the morning with 5 others 😆 Premier Inn all the way!

Depends entirely on the circumstances. My DS is currently only sharing with one friend and the flat has 2 bathrooms. The friend's parents own the flat and have already said we're welcome to stay. I'd stay there for one or two nights happily, though wouldn't impose for any longer than that. Not in term time anyway, though I might stay for a bit longer this Summer as there's an event in the city I'm hoping to go to. The other lad's parents are quite happy as it reduces the risk of leaving the flat empty for a long time in the holidays. I wouldn't have stayed with either of my elder children who lived in more typical student accommodation shared with multiple other people though, unless it was some kind of emergency.