Thursday, November 1, 2012

The Newest Parenting Nightmare: Boy & Girl Sleepovers


At just about the time when you get to sit back and relax in your parenting efforts, your children continue to have new obstacles. When a child reaches the age of about twelve, they will start to have closer bonds with the opposite sex. Whether they are just friends or decide to announce to the entire seventh grade they are a couple, at the end of the day is this behavior harmless or potentially hurtful? More parents are allowing boys and girls of these ages to hang out together and even at times, have sleepovers.

The newest trend is to have boy and girl sleepovers for kids of this age bracket. Now before you have a mild heart attack, some parents have found ways to do it successfully. They separate the boys from the girls when it is time to sleep and then every fear is erased. Then there are the parents that host the parties and permit all the children to rest where they wish and hope the night goes well. This is a huge concern for some parents, and rightfully so.

Just because your child is advanced or mature enough to attend one of these functions and you fully trust them, that does not go for all of the other kids there. Some boys are more into the chase at a young age and some girls are simply not ready to be involved with boys yet, which is always a good thing. The issue is the pressure that the kids can face when at a get together from the group setting. Some parties can go even further and place your kids into dangerous situations with drugs or even alcohol use.

Ways to keep your child safe and still allow them to attend the parties:

If your child has a cell phone device, require that they have it with them. Advise them of situations that can occur when under peer pressure and if they are having any doubts at all, that they can call you for a ride home. Request that they text message you every so often so that you know they are alright and having a good time.

Find out the exact details of the parents hosting the party. If your child scrambles to give this information, you may have a parent-less party on your hands. You can always ask to speak to one of the parents just to set aside your fears and if you cannot do so, then you may want to have your child skip the event.

Always keep in mind that you are the parent and you are enforcing the rules. Your tween may get upset and even angry if you do not permit them to go, but if they will be unsupervised with kids of the opposite sex you may have made the right decision for your family's standards.

4 comments:

  1. Oh hell NO! Like separating the boys and girls when its time to sleep is really going to work. Unless there is a guard awake all night, better yet me there guarding all night it would be absolutely out of the question. Otherwise, over my dead body would be the other option.

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  2. I would agree this sounds like trouble. A good way to encourage teens having sex I think.

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  3. Lol, I agree with you Wendy!! There is no way in hell I would let my daughter go to one of these sleepovers. I was young and hormone driven at one point and I know what would happen.

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  4. I am with you all! My parents weren't strict at all, but I think they'd probably hit the roof if I suggested such a thing. I wouldn't let my child go to one...I can see how a parent might think it's okay if an adult chaperones but seriously, like that's really going to work!

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