Age for First Sleepover?

[poohbear22]

Our DS and his friend were both just a little over two when they had their first sleepover. They played all evening, shared a bed, and slept really good all night.

 

[lizbaby007]

I tried for the first time at age 5 but remember being homesick and calling my mom to come get me in the middle of the night.

By age 6 I had made my BFF and we slept over at each others houses all the time. We also joined Campfire together that year and would have group sleepovers as well. Seems like by age 7/8 everyone had slumber parties for their birthdays!

 

[bellebud]

dd11 tried a few times at her Nana's house and a bff's house right down the road when she was between 6yo and 8yo. I was very comfortable with the parents (if I wasn't, I wouldn't have allowed her to go).

She became truly comfortable sleeping over people's house around 10yo. I recall not being truly comfortable myself until I was probably 12 or 13yo. I was a big chicken!

 

[Freyja]

My kids have usually started having sleepovers or sleeping over at friends houses around 6. My DD6 has not had her friends over yet though!

 

[mdsoccermom]

My daughter was about 5 or 6. Heck, at 6 she went with her Brownie troop to an overnight at Port Discovery in Baltimore without me.

Now, at 12, she's a sleepover pro.

 

[bigbabyblues]

I have 2 boys, and they both went to their first sleepover bday parties in first grade. DS10 had his first sleepover here in first grade also, and we had 11 boys for that (and one girl who left at 11:00).

 

[golfgal]

Our kids started in preschool. They had plenty of experience sleeping over at relatives houses up to that point so it wasn't an issue at all for them. I think it depends on the kid but by early elementary (1st, 2nd grade) for sure is very normal.

 

[Poohforyou]

My DD was 8 when she went to her 1st sleepover. It was actually her 1st time spending the night away from home. We don't have family in the area so she never had a chance to test the waters. She did great and stayed the night. She's almost 12 and it's rare a week goes by without her sleeping at a friend's or her having a friend here. I think 6 is very young unless you know the family already and she's spent time at their house.

 

[MichelleVW]

For those of you with girls, how old were they when hey first spent the night at a friend's house or if she hasn't yet, when do you think she'll be old enough to?

The reason I ask...we just got an invite for a Tangled sleepover party from a girl in my daughter's class. We won't be in town, so it's not really an issue for us, but honestly, at 6 years old, I don't think I would let her go and she has no interest in spending the night away from home anyway.

I'm all worried parents won't feel comfortable dropping their kids off for DD's movie party at the theater, so I was a little surprised to see a sleepover (an pool) party for a 6 year old. But then again, I am a little overprotective!

My girls were 5 or 6. They spent the nights away from us from the time they were infants with friends and relatives and by Kindergarten they were going to sleep over parties with school friends.

 

[KristiMc]

Both of my boys were 5 when they had their first sleep-overs. My oldest now 10 went away to a YMCA camp for a week this summer.

I think it all depends on the kid. My neighbor kids are 8 & 7 and are no where near ready to do a sleep over.

 

[Squirrel!!!]

My DD had her first overnight at 8.

I was one of those come home at 10 PM from sleepover parties until I was in junior high school!! I blamed over protective parents , but it was me.

My very first slumber party, when I was in third grade, I awakened in the night feeling AWFUL...but was too shy to wake up the parents. I did not say anything the next morning although I felt horrid, waited until I got home.

I had a 105 fever, came up suddenly, had not been sick. Strep throat into scarlet fever.

I was scared to spend the night at anyone's house for the next 5 years. Irrational, but no way was I doing another slumber party.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

My dd is 6 and I know she is nowhere close to ready. I went to my 1st sleepover at 6 and I thought I was ready. I was told if I went I had to stay the entire night and couldn't call my mom to come pick me up early. I agreed sooo willingly and was so excited at first, but, by the time bedtime rolled around, I wanted to go home. I DID stay the entire night but it wasn't my choice.

I have no idea when I will let my dd go to a sleepover. I think I'll know when she's ready though.

 

[Mercedes1]

never, lol they can com e to my house where I know they will be proper;y watched

 

[luvsJack]

When dd went on her very first sleepover she got a little upset during the night but her friend had the sweetest and smartest mother. She was prepared for it ahead of time and made a big game out of the girls and her "camping out" in the living room. She made them a bed on the floor and she slept on the couch. When dd woke up a little upset, she just scooted down on the floor with the girls and made dd feel more secure (and prevented waking me up at 3 a.m.!). The next morning, she told her dd that she moved because the couch was uncomfortable--and winked at dd when she told her.

Never had a problem after that.

All kids are different and are ready at different ages. Plus they are going to react differently at different houses. My great-niece is just a little younger than dd. She would not stay anywhere for the longest time, but she always stayed with us no problem. I guess she figured we were close enough to her house that we could get her mom if we needed her.

And when I started letting dd venture out, I did worry about other parents not supervising the way they should. But, you know, they love their kids as much as I love mine and aren't going to let anything happen to either one of them. (well, you do have exceptions to that but you can tell before your child goes to stay)

 

[golfgal]

never, lol they can com e to my house where I know they will be proper;y watched

But who's to say that your way is the "proper" way?? I am sure some of your children's friends don't agree with your parenting techniques too.

 

[MichelleVW]

And when I started letting dd venture out, I did worry about other parents not supervising the way they should. But, you know, they love their kids as much as I love mine and aren't going to let anything happen to either one of them. (well, you do have exceptions to that but you can tell before your child goes to stay)

exactly!!

But who's to say that your way is the "proper" way?? I am sure some of your children's friends don't agree with your parenting techniques too.

Yep...

 

[mdsoccermom]

never, lol they can com e to my house where I know they will be proper;y watched

Of course, the parents of the other child could be thinking the exact same thing - that they won't be properly watched at your home.

 

[miralys]

I was 8 when I went to my first sleep over. I think appropriate age depends on the child though. My sisters were both six (ah yes, the perils of being the oldest, always the test subject). One had a blast at her first sleep over and the other one had a complete disaster at the sleep over.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Mine has since they were 4.

 

[justhat]

My 7yo daughter was 6.5yo on her first sleepover. I hadn't really thought about her sleeping at a friend's prior to that, especially since we had just moved to a new state and didn't really know anyone. Well, she got really close with a little girl in her class and they wanted a playdate. I talk with the mom and find out they happen to live in another town 50+ miles from us and since they are so far they only do sleepovers cause after school playdates logistically won't work. Great. My daughter really, really wanted to go but I was so hesitant as I barely knew this woman, she lived over 50 miles away so if my daughter wanted to come home at 2am it would be a huge trek, and while it isn't an unsafe area, she'd be about 10 miles from the Mexican border.

So that was in October, 2 months after school had started. Took me another 2 months to consent, after getting to know the mom (who was a teacher in the school) and meeting the dad (who is a medic helicopter pilot, so I figured he could handle emergencies). My daughter was beyond thrilled that day, so I really had to hide my anxiety. She was totally fine all night, no issues, no wanting to come home, just had a great time.

Since then she slept at an old friend's house when we went back to our former home to visit (and is sleeping there again tomorrow night since we're visiting again) and her daycamp had an overnight for all rising 2nd graders. Not all the kids stayed overnight, but about 70% did. And out of the remaining 30% that went home, many were special needs kids who are paired 1:1 with a counselor, so logistically I am not sure they overnight would have been feasible for them as the counselors may not have wanted to stay over too. The kids had a blast at the camp sleepover though, and I felt kinda badly for the kids who didn't get to stay/didn't want to stay the next day as all the kids who did sleepover were talking about the stuff they did.

Oh, and this fall her girl scout troop will be doing an overnight on some mountain in the woods about an hour away. I might go with her as a chaperone if my husband can be home with the other 2 kids, but otherwise she'll go anyway.

So I guess 6yo is about the norm to start that stuff. Seemed young to me, but she's been fine and her friends who have slept at our house have as well.

Now, my son, he's almost 5yo and there is NO WAY he'll be sleeping at anyone's house in 1.5 years. NO WAY. He is just not mature enough and does NOT make good choices so I wouldn't trust him, no matter how much I trust the parents. And if the house has a pool, there's really no way he's going as he doesn't swim well enough to definitely survive an accident. My 7yo is on the swim team and I am fairly certain that she could, but her brother, no way.