Sleepover

I never stayed at my friends' houses as a child. I had one friend sleep
over one time. She wanted me to come to her house afterwards, but my mom
wouldn't let me go, so she never stayed over at my house again.

First question: When do children normally have sleepovers? I know the age
may vary. DS has never slept over at anyone else's house, even the
grandparetns'; but I do not plan to be as strict as my parents. I just
have a hard time judging when to let him go, if the opportunity should
arise.

Second question: We are having one of DS's friends over. I'm not sure what
kids do when they spend the night. Anyone have suggestions? They are both
5 yo. TIA.

toypup wrote:
I never stayed at my friends' houses as a child. I had one friend sleep
over one time. She wanted me to come to her house afterwards, but my mom
wouldn't let me go, so she never stayed over at my house again.

First question: When do children normally have sleepovers? I know the age
may vary. DS has never slept over at anyone else's house, even the
grandparetns'; but I do not plan to be as strict as my parents. I just
have a hard time judging when to let him go, if the opportunity should
arise.

You let him go when he wants to go, you feel comfortable
that he can behave appropriately, you believe he can make it
through the night without getting too homesick, and you feel
comfortable with the parents of the child he's staying with.
Those things can happen at vastly different times for different
kids.

Second question: We are having one of DS's friends over. I'm not sure what
kids do when they spend the night. Anyone have suggestions? They are both
5 yo. TIA.

Pretty much they drive you nuts ;-) At only 5yo,
I would probably stick fairly close to normal bedtimes and
wake times, if possible. Entertain them with whatever they'll
both enjoy--movies, snacks, games, etc. are the usual routine,
but people do all sorts of things.

Best wishes,
Ericka

On Mar 28, 11:48 am, toypup wrote:
I never stayed at my friends' houses as a child. I had one friend sleep
over one time. She wanted me to come to her house afterwards, but my mom
wouldn't let me go, so she never stayed over at my house again.

First question: When do children normally have sleepovers? I know the age
may vary. DS has never slept over at anyone else's house, even the
grandparetns'; but I do not plan to be as strict as my parents. I just
have a hard time judging when to let him go, if the opportunity should
arise.

With DS1, he actually started having sleepovers with his cousin when
he was only 2 ½. We've had other sleepovers with other cousins when
they've been in town.

As for friends, the only time we've had sleepovers was as a favor for
the parents when we/they were out of town for a night or two, so it
didn't have all the hype of a typical sleepover. These started when
the boys were probably around 5 or 6. My boys have never had any
trouble, but then, we started leaving them for nights, weekends or
even a week or two with grandparents once they were a year old. If
your son has never spent a night away from you, I would start with
grandparents before venturing into staying with friends.

Second question: We are having one of DS's friends over. I'm not sure what
kids do when they spend the night. Anyone have suggestions? They are both
5 yo. TIA.

Let the kids lead. They'll probaby just want to play as if it was a
daytime playdate. If you want to rent a movie and pop some popcorn,
I'm sure they'd enjoy it, but for the most part, just let them have
fun time together. Our boys have always been most comfortable staying
in their own room and having the guest sleep on an air mattress on the
floor. We tell them that they can talk quietly for a little while,
but if we can hear them, then they are being too loud and they'll be
split up. This keeps the rowdiness down and they do actually get some
sleep.

If either of the boys has bed-wetting problems, I would talk to your
son ahead of time about what he can do to be discreet about whatever
accommodations are needed. I would also find out what time the guest
is used to waking up. If one typically is an early riser and the
other likes to sleep in, be sure to let the early riser know to leave
the other one be and let him know what he can do while waiting for the
other one to wake up.

Have fun.

Annie

"toypup" wrote in message
...
I never stayed at my friends' houses as a child. I had one friend sleep
over one time. She wanted me to come to her house afterwards, but my mom
wouldn't let me go, so she never stayed over at my house again.

I find that sad- did you not want to go, or was it your parents' decision?
Some of the best memories I have are from sleepovers!

First question: When do children normally have sleepovers? I know the age
may vary. DS has never slept over at anyone else's house, even the
grandparetns'; but I do not plan to be as strict as my parents. I just
have a hard time judging when to let him go, if the opportunity should
arise.

Some kids start at age 4. Mine started having sleepovers as birthday parties
around 6 years old, but were spending the night with grandparents and having
cousins and friends spending the night with us from around age 4. My neice
has been switching houses with her friend from age 4 also. We are very laid
back, as are most of our friends and my kids' friends, so if one kid wants
to spend the night or have a friend over, all that needs to be done is have
the idea spoken and then plans are made. Many times, we hadn't even planned
on a sleepover and a friend wanted my daughter to stay with her for a couple
of days, or vice versa(is that the correct spelling?). This happens about
once a month for us and we don't normally carry overnight bags in the van,
and we all just make do with clothes we have at home(the two friends can
share clothes, in other words). One of my daughters is a social butterfly
and very popular, so unlike her mother!!

Second question: We are having one of DS's friends over. I'm not sure
what
kids do when they spend the night. Anyone have suggestions? They are
both
5 yo. TIA.

They can watch tv, or just play together. Normal kid stuff. You will
probably have to let them know when you are ready for them to lay down and
be quiet but otherwise there shouldn't be a problem. Has your son ever had
any friends over for a few hours? It's like that, except for the sleeping
part.
Marie

On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 10:46:19 -0400, Marie wrote:

"toypup" wrote in message
...
I never stayed at my friends' houses as a child. I had one friend sleep
over one time. She wanted me to come to her house afterwards, but my mom
wouldn't let me go, so she never stayed over at my house again.

I find that sad- did you not want to go, or was it your parents' decision?
Some of the best memories I have are from sleepovers!

I begged my parents to let me stay at my best friend's house after she had
stayed at mine, but it was a no go. They kept me on a short leash.


They can watch tv, or just play together. Normal kid stuff. You will
probably have to let them know when you are ready for them to lay down and
be quiet but otherwise there shouldn't be a problem. Has your son ever had
any friends over for a few hours? It's like that, except for the sleeping
part.
Marie

Thanks, everyone. We didn't end up having DS's friend staying the night,
because he got homesick just as soon as we went upstairs to get ready for
bed. DS was pretty upset and acting out the next day.

"Marie" wrote:

"toypup" wrote in message
.. .
I never stayed at my friends' houses as a child. I had one friend sleep
over one time. She wanted me to come to her house afterwards, but my mom
wouldn't let me go, so she never stayed over at my house again.
snip
First question: When do children normally have sleepovers? I know the age
may vary. DS has never slept over at anyone else's house, even the
grandparetns'; but I do not plan to be as strict as my parents. I just
have a hard time judging when to let him go, if the opportunity should
arise.

I don't know that I ever did have a sleepover. Certainly not while I
was little, except when we traveled to a relatives house and had to
share a bedroom with them. So when I was 10 we drove Maryland to
Colorado) and stayed with my uncle and aunt, and my sister (age 8) and
I shared 2 single beds pushed together and a cot with my cousins (age
8 and 6).

I can't remember that my kids had sleepovers either except when they
went to a riding competition that was several days and we were kind of
camping.

Some kids start at age 4. Mine started having sleepovers as birthday parties
around 6 years old, but were spending the night with grandparents and having
cousins and friends spending the night with us from around age 4. My neice
has been switching houses with her friend from age 4 also. We are very laid
back, as are most of our friends and my kids' friends, so if one kid wants
to spend the night or have a friend over, all that needs to be done is have
the idea spoken and then plans are made. Many times, we hadn't even planned
on a sleepover and a friend wanted my daughter to stay with her for a couple
of days, or vice versa(is that the correct spelling?). This happens about
once a month for us and we don't normally carry overnight bags in the van,
and we all just make do with clothes we have at home(the two friends can
share clothes, in other words). One of my daughters is a social butterfly
and very popular, so unlike her mother!!

Many of my grandchildren have been on sleepovers - some have not.
DD#2's children have had sleepovers from VERY early in life, and I've
babysat with my grandchildren and other kids who were sleeping over
while their parents went to a concert. But the parents of these
children (DD#2 and SIL) spend almost all their time with these friends
- they live in each other's pockets almost like a commune except they
all have real jobs.

We had several of the grandsons to stay with us for several days to a
week when they were 6 or 7 years of age. OTOH, one of them came to
stay with his cousins at age 6 and dissolved when it was bedtime. Now
his mom doesn't let him stay with us, even though he's 12 now.

Second question: We are having one of DS's friends over. I'm not sure
what
kids do when they spend the night. Anyone have suggestions? They are
both
5 yo. TIA.

They can watch tv, or just play together. Normal kid stuff. You will
probably have to let them know when you are ready for them to lay down and
be quiet but otherwise there shouldn't be a problem. Has your son ever had
any friends over for a few hours? It's like that, except for the sleeping
part.