Teens and Sleepovers
Love them, or loathe them, sleepovers are often part and parcel of having teenagers, especially girls. If your teen is hankering to have a sleepover, then here are some ideas for helping it go with a swing.
Many teens love sleepovers – times when they can have their friends over to stay for the night. They offer the chance for friends to get together, watch a film, chat, paint their nails or bake cakes and cookies together, then settle down for the night (eventually!) on the floor in sleeping bags.
Whilst in the majority of cases, teen sleepovers are relatively innocent, some are used as an excuse for boys to come over, alcohol to be consumed and experimentation to occur. If your teen wants to have a sleepover, then a bit of planning, organisation and ground rules could help ease any worries you have and ensure they all have a good time.
Numbers and Guest List
It may sound a bit formal, but it’s a good idea from the outset for you to agree with your teen about how many people are allowed to attend the sleepover and who they are. If you’re worried about members of the opposite sex coming, then it’s fine to specify that it should only be a group of girls who are allowed to attend. That way you’re both clear from the start what’s allowable and how many people you need to cater for.Larger groups of teens coming for a sleepover can get noisy and harder to accommodate, so ideally get your teen to choose a group of five to seven close friends, rather than everyone they know. It’s also important from a practical point of view, as you may not have room for hordes of teens to sleep comfortably.
Activities
It’s a good idea to plan possible activities for the sleepover in advance, so there are plenty of possibilities to fill the time. Commonly enjoyed activities include watching a film, playing on the Wii, eating ice cream or pizza, baking, drinking hot chocolate and listening to CDs. No doubt they’ll be some texting and making phone calls from their mobile thrown into the mix, but you may need to include advice about making or receiving phone calls from your main home phone in the guidelines for the evening.Curfew
As any parent who’s experienced a teen sleepover will know, sometimes you can’t get them to go to bed. Although they may want to stay up for hours and hours talking and giggling, for everyone’s sake, a curfew helps so everyone is clear about when they need to turn the lights off and stop talking.It’s also good to discuss in advance plans for when everyone will arrive and leave and how they’ll all be getting home. It’s better to be sure that you’re not expected to deliver everyone home the next day, than find out at the last minute.
With all the finer details thought about in advance, hopefully the night of the sleepover will run smoothly and everyone will be happy.
Comments...
