When you were a kid, did you play with your neighbors outside? Did you go into each other's houses?
This year is the first year that Henry has had neighborhood friends, and I didn't think to start with ground rules. Now I'm changing the rules, and Henry can't understand why things have to change.
When I was a kid, we NEVER went inside the neighbors' houses, and our friends weren't allowed inside our house. We just played outside. Glen and I talked about it, and we decided that we didn't want Henry's friends coming in and out of the house all the time (especially all summer) unless we invited them for some special event.
Unfortunately, we've been letting his friends come inside until now. So I get to hear whining and complaining all.the.time.
His friends were eating me out of house and home; they were playing on the computer (and I have a feeling they aren't allowed to do that at home); taking over my TV to play on the Wii. Henry's friend Dylan (who is actually Henry's friend's older brother who always follows him here) goes through my pantry and refrigerator like he lives here. He asked if he could use MY bathroom instead of the kids' bathroom the other day.
There are other kids around here that have the same outside-only rule at their houses.
I don't let the neighborhhod kids in unless I'm feeling nice, which isn't often. My boys go out front and play with the neighborhood kids, there are always lots of them outside. They all go into eachothers back yards and they ride their bikes out front and play basketball.
I hate it when the kids come inside because as you said, they raid the pantry and they make a mess. I want to be the house that the kids like to come to, but now that I have kids, I'm thinking that I want them to hang out when they're older and can come in and watch movies, not come in and have wrestlemania.
I think you touched on this subject before too, boys smell. Especially in the summer. I don't mind the way my kids smell but I don't want that other funk in my house all the time. LMAO.
We don't really have a "neighborhood" here, so I don't think it's going to be a problem, but I guess all it would take is a friend down the street (though we live on a fairly busy street and I wouldn't let Mason play out front alone).
When I was younger, all the kids in my neighborhood played outside. We all kind of roamed around the subdivision, and always went into each other's houses. Now the very idea of kids coming into my house uninvited freaks me out, LOL.
When I was a kid, we all were in and out of each other's houses all of the time, but mostly we played outside. The area where I lived was mostly boys, but my BFF was walking distance, but still not close enough for me to just go-so she and I generally had to ask first. So that solved that problem.
We really aren't at that stage yet here. Mandy and Colleen and I, who are the only ones with young kids, don't let our kids play outside unattended at this point, so we all sit outside and play. If the Anna and Emma want to go into one of the houses to play, they ask, but usually they want to play outside anyway.
I am not too excited about the idea of kids coming in and out uninvited. I would not be likely to allow that. But as long as we are in this neighborhood, i doubt it will be an issue. I wouldn't let my kids play outside and roam on their own until they are MUCH older.
I didn't have many friends at my mom's house growing up and when I did, we rarely played together because it was during the school year and we all had many other things to do. I had a few friends at my dad's house in the summer. We went in each others homes, but I don't ever remember doing anything in anyone else's house without asking permission first. I never ate there and if I had to use the bathroom I just went back home for a few minutes.
As far as what my kids do, they rarely play with the neighborhood kids since there aren't many. They usually have more fun playing outside so it's not an issue when they do play together. When they do come inside, it's just to play with things my kids know they're allowed to play with. They don't eat unless I suggest it and the kids go home to use the bathroom.
Our neighborhood is full of kids and once the weather is warm we kick them all outside. In the winter though, it's mostly inside play as it's often too cold to play outside for too long. The kids ride their bikes, play on the swingsets...In fact Kaylin hasn't been home since 11am, and in the summer playing outside all day is often what happens with a stop home for lunch.
I do prefer when the kids play outside because the house stays neater, but hey, wherever they're playing with friends keeps them busy leaving me more free time.
i grew up in a huge neighborhood with tons of kids and everyone was in and out of everyone else's house. i know we never went through people's cabinets or on their computers, etc...and i for sure would not be okay with that. we also didn't really go to eachother's houses and watch tv either...mostly just danced to debbie gibson and crank called boys.
i fully expect that my kids will have neighborhood kids in the house when they are a little older, but i will be serving snacks...noone will be digging through our food or going on my computer. hells to the no when it comes to that!
i grew up in a huge neighborhood with tons of kids and everyone was in and out of everyone else's house. i know we never went through people's cabinets or on their computers, etc...and i for sure would not be okay with that. we also didn't really go to eachother's houses and watch tv either...mostly just danced to debbie gibson and crank called boys.
i fully expect that my kids will have neighborhood kids in the house when they are a little older, but i will be serving snacks...noone will be digging through our food or going on my computer. hells to the no when it comes to that!
With Raven I don't let any kids into my house(at our old place since there are no friends here yet). IMO the age they are they still need their parents supervision and I don't want to be a babysitter. Since they live close they go home for bathroom and food.
I would say 95% of the time when stephen was younger kids would come to our house and I wanted it that way. I didn't know most of his friends parents enough to let him go to their house. I have done after school snacks for them but it was expected. That was nothing compared to all the teenage boys we have hanging out here now.
If you let them in you have to make rules. His friends clean up their mess or Stephen would clean all of it. After a few times of his friends not cleaning up Stephen started enforcing that rule. No computer time. Only three friends at a time. I would leave food on the counter and water cups and they leave everything else alone.
