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The first time someone mentioned keeping my daughter overnight, I felt personally attacked. She was a few days shy of being three weeks old and I damn near jumped out of my skin at the suggestion. The person meant well. I have no doubt about it. It was no secret that I was deeply sleep deprived, but there was no way I was sending my little baby to someone else’s house overnight. I’d just have to find another way to get some sleep.
I realize that my knee-jerk reaction was largely due to the fact that my baby was so young at the time and I’m a first-time mother. I have some pretty strong opinions about overnight visits with children. Many tell me that after a while I’ll become less rigid and I will welcome the break with open arms. Maybe. Maybe not.
Currently, I don’t feel that I should be sending my daughter to spend the night with anyone until she’s old enough to ask to do so herself and even then, I’ll be proceeding with caution. Call me paranoid, but there are way too many things that can go wrong and I feel like you never truly know people as well as you think you do.
I can vividly recall my parents upholding a no-sleepovers rule until I was about eight years old. My third-grade classmate was having an overnight party for her birthday and everyone who was anyone would be there. They visited my friend’s mom multiple times before they finally agreed to let me sleep over. I thought that they were being a little ridiculous back then, but these days I completely understand.
Do you allow your kids to spend the night out? If so, are there any stipulations you have for overnight visits? If not, what’s your reason?
