Most children want to sleepover at a friend’s house at some point or will ask to have their friends over to sleep. This can be tricky to manage.
Things you can do before your child is going to a sleep over:
- Consider if your child is ready to sleep out at a home they are not familiar with – bedwetting, sleep-walking or getting changed in front of others may be an issue or they may just prefer to be in their own bed
- Contact the other parent to introduce yourself and discuss the details
- Set the boundaries – inform them of any rules you have such as a cut off time for sweets or fizzy drinks, access to social media
- Talk to your child about body safety and keeping themselves safe
- Come up with a code word for your child if they feel uncomfortable and want to come home – they can ask to call you
- If they have a mobile phone discuss rules around device use with the other parent and your child i.e. not used in bedroom/bathroom or after a certain time
If you or your child do not feel comfortable with a sleepover you could opt for your child to still go to the sleepover so they don’t miss out on the fun but arrange to pick them up at an agreed time.
Tips for hosting a sleepover at your home:
- Don’t bite off more than you can chew – set a limit to the number of children that your child can invite
- Have a chat with the other parents
- Keep the sleepover to one or two rooms
- Agree a reasonable bedtime with the children
- Have some easy mess-free snacks available
- Set boundaries – children and adults like these
- Ensure all children are comfortable with the movie choices
- Have some fun activities planned to give time away from screens
- Let every child know that if they feel uncomfortable about anything or want to call their parents, they can come to you
- Have an open door policy so you can check in on them regularly
