People Divided Over Mum’s Bedtime Rule For Daughter’s Sleepover
Daisy Phillipson
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A mum has received mixed advice after sharing a complaint about another mother's slack sleepover rules.
Taking to Mumsnet, the user said her daughter was allowed to stay up until 4.30am while staying over at her mate's house.
She wrote: "Just picked up my 8-year-old DD [dear daughter] from a sleepover at her friend from schools house and it turns out she and her friend were up until 4.30 am.
"The mum came into the room and said it was time to calm down and go to sleep... at 4.30 am!
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"I'm really unhappy, in what world is letting 8-year-old girls stay awake till that time unaccompanied may I add as the mum was in her bed, okay? 12 am - fair enough, maybe 1 am at a push if excited but 4.30 am is ridiculous and my DD is knackered.
"I don't know whether to text the mum. She certainly won't be back there for a sleepover."
The miffed mum signed off the post with 'AIBU', which stands for 'am I being unreasonable?'
A lot of people are of the opinion that she is, with one writing: "OP did you ever go to stay at someone's house when you were 8 years old? This is completely normal when you are 8 years old and excited.
"The mum could have told them to pipe down every hour from 11pm and it wouldn't have made any difference. By the way, why is it the mother's 'fault'? Was there no dad present?"
Another said: "Oh it's no big deal. It was a one off. Stop over reacting. Your DD probably had loads of fun, even staying up past her bedtime. Don't be a fun sponge."
A third added: "Isn't that the whole idea of a sleepover? To stay awake as long as is humanly possible and spend a night of excited giggling?
"It sure was when I was 8, and yes my mother was constantly telling us to pipe down!"
While many people told the OP to chill, some did support her viewpoint, including this person who replied: "I thought I was laid back... 4.30 am is ridiculous for an 8 year old IMO. That’s more age 11+ territory.
"I guess you can’t force kids to sleep but I’d have removed all tech at midnight and would be surprised if they managed to stay awake much beyond that."
Another commented: "I don't get parents who let kids run riot til 5am but it's quite normal. At my house they have to be quiet from 11ish - I don't care if that makes me a killjoy, I need to sleep."
Guess the answer to the question is very much determined by parenting styles - whether or not this Mumsnet user will allow her daughter to go to another sleepover is yet to be seen, but at the very least maybe the dozens of responses will give her food for thought.