Comments on: Open Door Policy

By: Jennifer Lavender

Jennifer Lavender — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:21:29 +0000

Because my girls are 6 and 3, inviting friends to come over is usually inviting the whole family to come over and hang out or have dinner.

We haven’t talked a lot about what we want to have happen when they are teenagers. When I was growing up we were allowed to have 1 or 2 friends over at a time (with 6 kids the house could go crazy when we all had friends over). I’m not sure what my husband’s rule was, but I know he spent a lot more time away from his house than I ever did. I know I want my girls to feel comfortable inviting their friends over, and I want their friends to be comfortable visiting. It should be interesting figuring out how to make it work.

By: Judi

Judi — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:56:31 +0000

My girls have been allowed to have both male and female friends over, without supervision – though I always make sure the other parents are aware if I won’t be home for any amount of time as that is an issue for some parents.

Neither of my girls were very social in that they really didn’t care much for hanging out with friends for any long amount of time. Never had any issues with the co-ed situations either.

As a matter of fact, my 15 yo daughter would prefer a 3rd person be with her if she hanging out with a boy… just a comfort thing for her.

By: The Menu Mom

The Menu Mom — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:03:13 +0000

We don’t have teenagers yet, but my husband and I already have discussed the fact that we want our house to be the “hang-out” when our kids are teenagers. We figure if we have a game system, ping pong, pool etc. and lots of food they will come. We prefer to have our kids (and others) here where we know what they are doing instead of somewhere where we don’t know where they are.