What comes to mind when you think of a sleepover? Most people are likely to think of visions of girls in pajamas eating pizza and talking about boys. What was once the perfect birthday party for a girl entering her teens has become an almost routine party for girls as young as six. For many, the sleepover is no longer reserved for teenage girls with boys who just struggle to sneak into the party and catch girls off guard.
In some ways, it’s sad that the sleepover has lost its place in teenage history because certainly six or seven-year-old girls don’t know the right way to have a sleepover. What would a sleepover be like with no pizza all over the floor and kids trying to sneak in to join the party? Add that to dreams of staying away all night talking, laughing, and teasing the boys who are trying to come in and join in the girls’ fun because naturally they weren’t invited.
Throughout history, a sleepover tended to be the “coming of age” for a teenage girl and usually followed or replaced a 13th birthday party. Come on, do you really think a boy of six years can do justice to a pajama party? Doubtful: A group of six-year-olds will fall asleep before the fun begins. Either that or someone will get homesick and have to be brought home in the middle of the night. We should reserve the sanctity of the sleepover for those who made it famous, in particular the teenagers with their group of sneaky guys trying to get in on the fun. Now that, everyone, is a sleepover in its true form, and its true meaning must be preserved for future generations of teens.