Kathie Lee and Hoda are throwing a pajama party on Thursday, and hosting TODAY in their PJs. Fun! Everyone loves a pajama party -- except maybe for the parents of hyped-up, sleep-deprived kiddos. What do you think about this childhood tradition?
Ah, The Sleepover. Is there any other childhood ritual that elicits such an intense love/hate reaction?
Kids love hanging out in PJs; sleeping bags on the living room floor; staying up way too late; the next-day breakfast of donuts or pancakes.
Parents hate the major sugar crash that hits just about the time that cranky, sleep-deprived kid gets back home; and the all-day post-sleepover-hangover of listless activity and irrational behavior that’s only remedied by a VERY early bedtime.
And yet, as much as we detest The Sleepover, we give in, time after time. Why? Because we don’t want to be party poopers. Plus it always seems like a such good idea , especially when your child is sleeping away and you score a quiet night with your spouse or the calm of having one less kid in the house.
In the hilariously titled post “Death to sleepovers,” blogger Betsy Shaw writes about her daughter, who “has had a meltdown the day after every sleepover she has ever had. Every. Single. One.” Says Shaw:
I think of myself as an easy-going mom. I don’t generally forbid things. Moderation is our game. But I’m considering taking a cue from ole Tiger Mom and nixing sleepovers. I hate them that much. I don’t get them. They don’t make sense. ‘But it’s so much fun,’ everyone says. So is taking hallucinogenic drugs. But that doesn’t make it a good idea.
Yep, on this one, Tiger Mom Amy Chua may have had it right. While she wrote in her book that she had a strict “no sleepover” policy, she admitted in subsequent interviews that her daughters did get to have them, just few and far between.
Growing up with strict Indian parents, I was only allowed occasional sleepovers. So as an adult, I thought I’d be one of those parents who – in rebellion to childhood – would encourage my two kids to do them. I did – until I discovered that my kids suck at them. Not only have I had to deal with too many incidents of next-day deliriousness, I've had to do the dreaded middle-of-the-night pick up. (This past winter on a night when roads were impassable, I had to walk in the snow, in my pajamas, to retrieve my son from the neighbor's house!)
In an effort to thwart The Sleepover, I convinced my 11-year-old daughter Priya to have a “Sleep-After” party. Her friends arrived at 8 a.m. in their PJs. We had a waffle bar, and the kids had a dance party and pillow fight. It was a huge success and as their parents came to collect them at noon, I thought I had created the perfect alternative. Until one of my daughter’s friends asked on the way out: “Can Priya have a sleepover at my house tonight?”
What do you think about sleepovers? Do you have any epic sleepover stories to share?