The boy had a sleepover at his karate dojo over the weekend. I was thinking about some similar events I had at that age and how formative they can be. I still remember several of them pretty vividly.
3 thoughts on “September 24, 2024: Sleepover”
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I have developed pretty strong feelings in opposition to sleepovers - or, at a minimum, sleepovers where there isn't a strong supervisory role/structure. I'm too aware of too many awful situations. And, looking back, if I'm honest, I was exposed to a fair amount of garbage during the ones I attended as a kid.
I hear what you're saying, and I also feel like it's a tricky balance between safety and letting kids explore a certain amount of independence. I think it depends on the kid and the exact circumstances, though. The jalapeno went through a phase when he wanted to host a lot of sleepovers (typically with 1 or 2 other kids), and it was not the most fun in terms of me getting a great night of sleep, but it did ensure supervision!
95% of the sleepovers I had as a kid were at my place because my parents wanted to keep an eye on things. Our kids have not asked yet for any sleepovers, but when they do, it'll either be at our place or we'll have to get to know the other parents very well through day trips to the other home and asking about guns in the house.
But yeah, some of my awesome childhood memories are from sleepovers. Staying up too late. Eating pure sugar to try to stay awake. Video game tournaments. Sometimes even dinner and games with my parents.