sleepover rules for teenagers?

Question

my eldest did very well in this terms school report, much better then last terms so as a reward for all the hard work he put in, i agreed to let him have a sleepover!

he has invited 5 of his best friends and they are comming on the firday, they have been friends for a long time, i know the boys and i know their dads, their all good kids BUT they can be a bit "loud" togther and get a bit excited, i am letting them set up sleeping bags in my living room, their will be TV, gamecube etc.

now the last time they came over in this large numbers they where ten so i just told them to go to bed at 10, however their a bit older now, and i dont want to give an unreasonable time and i am not sure what rules i should set? i have 3 young children in the house (5,5,10) and i dont want them woken up at 2am, and i dont want to be woken up at 2am! i am also worried about my TV and stuff being broken.

i just dont want to seem overprotective, i remember being a kid and hated my parents constantly checking up on me.

i plan to be upstairs and leave them to it, i want my son to think i can trust him and i can trust them, but like i said i want them to be asleep at a reasonable time for the sake of my little ones, but i am unsure what times i should set, and what rules if any i should set down

they are 13-14 year old boys

MJH: thanks! he asked for a sleepover, he didnt say how many till he asked them i though it was only going to be 3!

Capsrising: yer atlest i dont have to change them!

Answer 1

My oldest daughter is 12 and she has sleepovers about once every two months and I allow 4-5 friends over all night.
What my husband and I do is this:
# Order pizza...a lot of it, so they can munch on it off and on instead of raiding your fridge constantly.
# LIMIT SODAS!! I cannot stress that enough!! Let them have like, 2 cans of soda and then they have to drink juice or water. It cuts down on the hyper syndrome.
# We don't tell them to go to sleep at a certain time. We just tell them sternly that they must be quiet after a certain time (like 10 pm) and if we have to get on to them more than once after that for being rowdy or loud, then it's lights out immediately.
# We always go rent movies (age appropriate) for them before the friends arrive, so they can watch them and it helps them to stay quiet.
# This sounds mean, but since we don't make them go to bed at a certain time, we tell them that whatever time we get up in the morning, they will be getting up also. We usually get up around 7 on weekends and cook breakfast, so we get the sleepover kids up and fed around 8am, no matter what time they went to sleep.
# Also, since they're boys, you need to set strict rules about NO WRESTLING or being rowdy in the house. It would be terrible if furniture or a t.v. got broken!

These are the things that have worked for my house for the last couple of years for sleepovers, so I wish you luck!

Oh, and one more thing: Have fun WITH the kids! My husband and I always play pool, monopoly, Playstation, cards, or whatever with everyone before we go to bed. We have fun too! And, in a way, I think it has made my daughter's friends respect us and our rules we set for the sleepovers.

Answer 2

If he's a teenager, then as long as it's not a school night, then a bedtime shouldn't be necessary. Do you trust these kids at all? Like, do you think they'll sneak out or anything like that? Like the first person said...tell them in the beginning if anything is broken that the parents will be called and the responsible party will be paying for it a replacement. They can have a good time without destroying everything. It really depends on how much you trust your son and these kids as to what rules you'll need. But, if you are that fearful that they're going to destroy your things, then perhaps, either you or your husband/wife (sorry...don't know your gender) should stay up and keep an eye on things or give another reward for your son that doens't involve a sleepover. Is there anyway to close off the living room to minimize the noise level?

Answer 3

Sleepover Rules

Answer 4

Your so cool!......I just did this about 3 weeks ago, with about 10 kids aged 12 on down. Going to bed at midnight, is a good time. And if they don't want to go to sleep, putting in a scary movie at midnight as a slow-down-the-mood type thing works well. It was a fun night full fashion shows, dance/dance revolution and charades. And what party is not complete without the atomic wedgie of which I was the receiver. Yea, some things got broke along with my spirit, but all in all it was a blast! Just clear out the area of all your breakables, and let em loose. If our specific about what you expect of them, like no swears, not too many prank phone calls, any spills here's the paper towels, etc. all should go well! Have fun! They will remember this for a long time!

Answer 5

At 13 -14 just let them stay up. It's not like it's a regular occurance but let them know strict volume down rule after 10 for the other kids sake. Let your son know HE's responsible for reminding the other boys to keep at a reasonable sounds level after that time; otherwise no more sleepovers. Let the boys know the rule when they arrive and let your son enforce it. With any luck, they'll probably pass out by 2am.

Answer 6

You are not being overprotective by checking on them...that's what parents do! Tell them to keep the noise level down ALL night..there are other people in the house to respect. I don't think you can set a bedtime..
Just tell them that you expect lights out by midnight, and if they are noisy after that make yourself seen!!!! Make sure you set your alarm on your house, because teenagers like to sneak out! Maybe your son wouldn't do this, but his friends might and he WOULD follow them! Good luck. You are braver than I ever was with that many boys at that age!!!

Answer 7

Sit down with your son and the two of you can decide on groundrules. Negotiate what time is quiet time, how many is too many, etc. And be sure to agree on what exactly WILL happen if your son's friends don't follow the rules that you and your son agreed on.

I don't know if you would need to, but maybe you can have a general anouncement of the rules (it is your house), or post them in the living room. That way, your son doesn't have to be the "police officer." But be sure to include your son in the decision making process, and be flexible, but don't be a welcome mat.

Answer 8

Let them be noisy and nutty for one night...just make sure there's no alcohol being sneaked in...or girls. Explain to the little ones that when they get older they can do what the big guys are doing but tonight they have to watch videos or do something else. Being awakened at 2:00 a.m. will not kill you. With that many kids, you're telling me it's never happened? At least you don't have to change their diapers, LOL!

Answer 9

just let him have the sleep over with his friends.
do not set a time to go to bed because they will NOT go to bed at that time.
im 13 myself and if a parent sets rules in front of the other kids, the kids will purposely try to break them. so before his freinds come in a firm,serious and calm voice tell him that they will have to be quiet and respectable to the things where they are sleeping.

Answer 10

if it's possible let them sleep in a farther away area, maybe if you have an finished basement, thats a good place, as long as theirs a tv that is. Tell them they need to be quite at around 11:00, and they can stay up for as late as they want ( if you dont mind that) but if they get to loud, then tell them to sleep