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MNHQ

Tell us your top tips for surviving sleepovers and have the chance to win £100

117 replies

Carriemumsnet · 28/04/2010 17:07

DryNites want to know your top tips for surviving sleepovers (whether your child wets the bed or not). Do you allow midnight feasts (conveniently moved to the earlier time of 8pm) ? Is it best to just leave them to it and live with the consequences? What do you do with early risers? And if you do have a child who wets the bed (or has a friend who sleeps over who wets the bed) how do you deal with that with sensitivity?

Everyone who offers a tip will be entered into a prize draw to win £100 vouchers for the store of their choice.

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

OP posts:
MayorNaze · 28/04/2010 20:44

o god dd1 is doing this friday...3 x 8 year olds + her...is most i have had over at any one time...

plan plan and plan a bit more ie x time you will play outside, at x time you can watch dvd etc...
check everything with parents ie what do they eat, wht don't they eat, do they wet the bed etc etc etc...
depending on what age they are state a lights out time and stick to it...
unfortunately lighter mornings mean i'm fecked...stick the coffee on and arrange in advance for parents to pick them up straight after breakfast

can you tell i have started drinking already at the thought of it...??

ShinyAndNew · 28/04/2010 20:59

Insist they come at lunchtime. Take them all to the beach/park/soft play center et voila by the time bedtime comes they are all tired. Or that is how its meant to work

Let them watch dvds while they are falling asleep and they all tend to stay in bed.

Katz · 28/04/2010 21:07

get them into bed early, then let them stay up for a bit and then say lights out. They think its late but really it normal bed time! this only works if they can't tell the time though!

Fennel · 28/04/2010 21:16

We let them put up the play tents and sometimes the real tents in the living room and pretend they're camping all night. if we're feeling really nice we have a real fire in the living room fireplace and toast marshmallows etc, like a real campfire.

whomovedmychocolate · 28/04/2010 21:17

Fresh air to tire them out and only have sleepovers the day before the cleaner comes

ADuckCalledBill · 28/04/2010 21:33

.

Hulababy · 28/04/2010 22:12

Even numbers generally works best.

Tire them out - send them outside on the trampoline, bikes, scooers, park.

Limit the junk and the sweets and the pop. Let them have some, but don't let them go mad, esp too close to bed time.

Send them upstairs into PJs very early on. Get the giggling, etc started (and hopefully over) before too late.

Have a lights out/no getting out of bed time and stick to it.

Use your "teacher" voice once it gets to an hour after that - and mean it!

Set a non negotiable earliest up time - and have the clock so they can see it.

Had four 7/8yo girls for sleepover in Easter holidays. Was relieved the were all asleep in same room by 10:30am and not up til after 6! Was shocked. heard DD get up in early hours to go to the toilet and she tripped over another and woke her. immediately I was upa dn out of bed and gave DD a quick reminder about sleep - and to my suprise they slept.

Milliways · 28/04/2010 22:16

We let them all sleep in sleeping bags in the lounge - and we go upstairs.

We feed them (Pizza etc) and they have sweets etc.

Drinks are to be kept in the kitchen. We provide jugs of water, juice & there is fizz. They can help themselves but after we have gone upstairs they must keep glasses in kitchen.

Films are vetted, unsuitable films removed from room and they can watch films / chat whatever as long as they like UNLESS they get so loud we have to come downstairs when it all gets switched off (never happened. They are so impressed at NO bedtime they keep quiet!)

Cooked breakfast.

Oh, and DS had his first sleepover as his "reward" for completing a month of dry nights (Before that he wore pull-ups and tried to crash his sisters parties!)

Tortington · 28/04/2010 23:48

my top tip: don't do it it's a bloody nighmare,. thats a serious tip and i want in the comp

mustrunmore · 29/04/2010 07:45

Just cover up all the clocks, then you cant get stressed about how late they're awake.

Only do it on a Fri or Sat night.

Get your best friend come come and sleep over, in the guise of it being for the kids really and them being too young to stay without her

Eavedrop just a bit, to make sure the dynamics are all working out if more thsn 2 children there.

Make sure they know where they're sleping, so no last minute disputes at bedtime.

NoBingoWings · 29/04/2010 07:58

Make it a camping sleepover-tent in the garden ,invite DS friends and ask them to bring warm PJs,torches,books and some nibbles for a midnight feast.
Ask DH to join them and buy bacon,sausages etc which he will cook in the morning in the garden-DH will think he is Ray Mears and you can sleep in peace ALONE in the house!

missorinoco · 29/04/2010 08:29

Organise it for an evening you are out and sweetly remind your other half about it as you close the door.

M44 · 29/04/2010 09:18

Never and I mean ....NEVER do a cinema evening and let tham have pop corn. It will inevitably lead to a pop corn fight/chucking it around scenario and you will be finding bits for months.....in the curtains, down the sofa, in the toy boxes, the video machine (if you still have one!) everywhere....Be warned!

NormaSnorks · 29/04/2010 09:35

PLan a variety of things as options - outdoor activity (trampoline), quieter (movie etc).

Have some 'special treats' such as sweets /crisps etc, but don't overdo it - DS1 went to a sleepover where 2 of the kids were spectacularly sick after gorging on so much junk food.(Plenty of time for that when they're teenagers.. )

Although I also tend to 'leave the kids to it' I think it's important to make sure you properly welcome the visiting child, be extra kind and make sure they know to talk to you if they are worried or upset about anything. I think sleepovers for young children can be quite a stressful event the first few times they do them...

Do you kiss a (young) visiting child goodnight? I tend to give them a bit of a hug or hair ruffle, depending on how well I know them.

DS1 (10) proudly reported back to me after having a friend sleepover here that his friend said "your mum is AWESOME" . Can't quite remember what I did to warn that accolade, but I think it was having a large stock of chocolate chip cookies, and also beating them at a game of Mario Kart

NormaSnorks · 29/04/2010 09:36

tsk - earn that accolade

pollywollydoodle · 29/04/2010 09:41

let them "camp" out on the trampoline by throwing sleeping bags in...they can choose when to go to sleep (or the neighbours will decide for you)you don't get bombarded with close range noise and can hose it down in the morning

hotcrossbunny · 29/04/2010 09:45

Sleepovers are one of my worst nightmares! Will be putting it off as long as possible...

My tip is start as you mean to go on. Be really strict the first time, then you can relax if it works, never do it again if it doesn't

choccyp1g · 29/04/2010 09:50

Put all the clocks forward an hour, so they think they are staying up later than they really are. Remember to correct them all before you go to bed or they'll get up an hour earlier.

kiki725 · 29/04/2010 10:04

I give them some sweets (sugar free) before they go to be so should they want a mid-night feast at least it will be (fairly) quite! I also make sure that they have their sleep over in the playroom which is a fair distance from my bed room!

dweezle · 29/04/2010 10:20

Don't have sleepovers. Honestly. Why put yourself through it. They stay awake 'til all hours, get up too early in the morning, are ratty for the rest of the day, and the sensible Mums whose offspring are at your place take their own sweet time in collecting their little dears much preferring to take advantage of free childcare and go out for a lovely long lunch.

kmilne · 29/04/2010 10:24

put on a scary movie ( ok depending on age) then go outside of their window and scrap something over the window to freak them out! bit harse i know but it will shut them up all night lol! my mum done that to me when i used to have sleepovers and we sat all night quiet!

sailorsgal · 29/04/2010 10:57

Book a hotel and leave them with the nanny.

bigcar · 29/04/2010 11:01

Don't expect them to sleep, if more than 2 dcs, don't expect them to be quiet, it's not going to happen

Send them home before lunch time when they will start getting really ratty, tired and argumentative. Don't plan anything for the afternoon after a sleepover as they will just want to sleep. Given the amount of sleeping that goes on, I've always wondered why it's called a sleepover

RiverOfSleep · 29/04/2010 11:23

Stickers for little ones.

I had a bunch of 5 years and under and made some sticker sheets for them - their photo on and a list of 'things we like' e.g. sharing, sitting at the table etc. Whenever they did anything well they got stickers and they are a very bribable bunch so it went well.

I happened to know the oldest child isn't dry at night but his mum forgot to send him with PJ pants so I discreetly took him into another room to put on a pair of DD's princess pull ups (WHY don't they just make unisex ones?!) and his PJs on top so no one else would know.

He then ran into the lounge and mooned his princess bottom at all his mates!! So I think kids are a lot less bothered about bedwetting than we think they might be.

badgermum · 29/04/2010 11:42

I allow a few snacks for a(9pm) midnight feast but no fizzy drinks, and I always make sure they use the toilet before settling down. When they get to the age of 14 my best tip for sleepovers is to make sure it's at their friends house!!