What do you think is an appropriate age for kids to have a sleepover at school? Is a sleepover at school even appropriate? As a parent to a young child these are new questions for me to face. And to be honest I didn't like that I even had to consider it. Two weeks ago the Pre-K & Kindergarten classes at my daughters Dutch elementary school had a sleepover at the school. I didn't mind all of the activities around it - the bbq dinner, the games outside, the morning calisthenics, or the breakfast in the gym - I just didn't like the idea of my 4 yr old sleeping at the school without us.
Picture it, 5 classrooms, 25-29 kids per room, 2 teachers per room, and the kids range from 4-6 years old. The teachers had to request permits from the city & fire department, and they were asked to stay awake all night to make sure things went well. Not one thing about it sat right. We have no problem with our daughter spending the night away, but this situation just seemed weird. I felt it was such a strange request, why would this event even be organized?
Our daughter handled the news well when we told her she would be sleeping at home that night and would return to the school early in the morning. But the comments from the parents and teachers were unneeded, as if we were being fearful and making our kid suffer because of it. Trust me, the only suffering I saw was the way the kids looked the next morning after the sleepover. (Just imagine a bunch of small children with hangovers, if you need a visual.)
I have no regrets about picking her up at 8PM that night and returning her at 7:30AM the next morning. I'm glad we stood our ground and didn't give into peer pressure. Funnily enough, the majority of the parents picking their kids up at 8PM were foreign like ourselves. I helped clean up the next day and to be honest I only heard good stories, there were no disasters and things went fairly smooth but still, I just don't agree with it.
What do you think, were we being overprotective or is it just weird to have young kids spend the night at the school with just teachers?
Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!
:) Danica
Sleepovers at school are very common, my step son is having one next week on Friday night! I'm not sure what the reason is though? I'm a teacher of older children and not sure I would even want to do the sleeping over, especially as I'm asked to stay awake all night!! I think your compromise was very very fair x
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback, nice to know a teacher finds it normal. At what age do they start hosting school sleepovers in England? :) Danica
DeleteNever heard that one before... They don't do it in France (although the younger kids have a nap during the day at school!). I never had that request in Ireland either, and to be honest I don't know how I would react. I think your decision was fair, considering your daughter was OK with sleeping at home.
ReplyDeleteGlad she took it well! Maybe if she was older I would have considered it. :) Danica
DeleteI've never heard of a school sleep over- only church camp ones. I can't even imagine allowing my child to participate. I think it is a strange idea. I also do not want my kid to sleep over a friend's home until she is old enough to manage escaping a bad situation (maybe that is age 10? I am not sure). You just never know what's happened to other kids and what they might do to your kid. Not worth the risk in my opinion! I think you did the right thing and were more than nice to let her stay all the way to 8pm.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of sleepovers based around a lot of activities but never around a school. I too found it strange. Sophia is allowed to spend the night away with family and friends that are like family, but I'm not prepared for random sleepovers yet :) Danica
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