Teen Coed Sleepovers: Yay or Nay?

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    Sleepovers are fun for boys and girls. Back in the day, I had so much fun with girlfriends giggling all night, watching scary movies, eating junk food and gossiping.

    However, growing up in the 70s and 80s, it was just all girls. No coed sleepovers happening here!

    My youngest son, who is 12, really enjoys sleepovers. We have hosted a couple at our house and he has attended others at his friends’ homes.

    All boys.

    He was recently invited to a birthday sleepover for one his school mates. Knowing his parents, I was totally on board. I’ve known the mother to be very communicative, responsible and hands on. She called to confirm his attendance and explained the festivities. Great! No problem. My son was really excited because other school mates were going to be in attendance. This was definitely going to be one where they’d be up all night and have a blast.

    The night before I am getting ready for bed, the mom texts me and mentions that she forgot to inform me that there will also be girls spending the night.

    WAIT! WHAT?!?

    Teen CoEd Sleepovers _ Corpus Christi Moms Blog

    A coed sleepover???

    Now, I like to think of myself as a cool mom and up-to-date on the latest trends in music, sports, video games, etc., all cool teen boy stuff. But this one threw me way off!

    Call me old fashioned.

    How could you host a coed sleepover? There are so many things that could really go wrong. With hormones running amuck, I was not at all comfortable with this idea. So, I did some research.

    Evidently, teen coed sleepovers are the thing now. According to Your Teen Magazine in an article called “Teen Sleepovers-8 Tips for Parents” by Mike Murray, for some parents coed teen sleepovers is not an issue. There are some good tips in the article about what to do and the rules that need to be followed. With a variety range of generations of parents having children in the same age group, some parents are totally open to hosting sleepovers with both sexes in attendance.

    After talking to my husband, we decided to trust the parent that she would have strict rules, which she did. The girls were sleeping in a separate room, and she was going to keep close watch on all the guests all night. Again, we know her to be very responsible – no guns in the house, pets that do not bite, no ones leaves the house, always under adult supervision.

    But there was another factor, my son and his male friends have totally platonic relationships with the girls who were attending. They’re all part of the “gang” and enjoy hanging out together.

    Teen CoEd Sleepovers _ Corpus Christi Moms Blog _ 2Either way, we decided to set our own ground rules for my son as I didn’t want to disappoint him and not let him go. He was not even aware that girls were attending. So, at then end of the day, we were all in agreement about the do’s and don’ts.

    The next day I dropped him off, and I spoke with the mother again who reassured me all would be well.

    Come Saturday, I picked him at noon and he was, of course, exhausted from not sleeping all night. He had so much fun! The mother greeted me and said everyone followed the rules and had a great time. Whew!

    This experience was definitely a challenge for me as a mom. I had to step out of my comfort zone and realize times have changed and today’s teens are not all necessarily the teens of my day. And, I guess coed sleepovers are one of those things….Although there are some things that will not change.

    Eventually, these platonic relationships will change. It just happens. It’s natural, as these teens get older, they will begin seeing their best buddy of the opposite sex differently and perhaps begin to have a crush. Keeping an open communication with your child is key. Even when your teen begins to share less and less, that is when having a dialogue with their school mates’ parents and teachers are helpful. I have found teachers are a great resource of the goings on between teen boys and girls.

    Will there be another coed sleepover? Maybe. Would you be open to hosting one? As for me and my house, the answer is no. I feel that it still just opens a situation up to all kinds of liabilities with or without rules. Will I allow my son to do it again? Let’s just say, I’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

    Call me old fashioned.

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    Belinda Rocha
    Belinda was born and raised in Corpus Christi. She is a wife and mother, is an entrepreneur and artist. She enjoys giving back to her community and is excited to become a contributor to CC Moms Blog. She enjoys painting and creating jewelry for her home-based business, Bel's Art Studio. She also loves spending time with friends, family and traveling when possible. I currently work part-time and own a home-based business called Bel’s Art Studio where I create unique jewelry and abstract acrylic artwork. I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit as my parents owned two of their own businesses. So, I learned so much from them and actually working at one of the businesses where we sold 14K gold back in the 70s and 80s. Creativeness runs in my genes, so I stumbled upon a craft that I enjoy creating and sharing with my clientele. I participate in pop-up markets, festivals, exhibits and collaborate with established businesses. My dream is to one day lease or own my own storefront where I can collaborate with local artisans and entrepreneurs to trying to get their own start. There's room for everyone! I am so excited to be a contributor on CC Moms Blog. I hope that I can share my experiences as a mother trying to juggle home, finances, business and a social life.