'What is this?': Mum enraged by new sleepover act

“Hey parents, don't do this to other people. It sucks." 

When her son came to her begging for a sleepover, this mum pictured sleeping bags, popcorn, and the familiar chaos of overtired kids giggling into the night.

Instead, she got six children who looked like they were running an IT department.

“Half of the kids brought devices. iPad or Nintendo Switch,” she said. 

It was a harsh wake-up call to what a slumber party in 2025 actually entails.

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"This is NOT what I expected to happen" 

“They are not playing together. Everyone is doing something different, yet they are all trying to simultaneously corral other friends into doing their thing,” she explained. 

“One kid has been staring at his Switch playing a game and I've had to check on him a few times just to make sure he's breathing.” 

Baffled by the whole situation, the mum took to Reddit to vent and to ask if this is just the new normal.

It was her first time hosting a party like this, and it clearly didn’t go as imagined.

“What is this? This is NOT what I expected to happen,” she expressed.  

Image: iStock

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"Hand them Monopoly" 

Looking for advice, she turned to the parenting forum for guidance. The responses were very supportive.

“Next time just set a no-device rule beforehand. My kid's friends' parents are usually relieved when I say "no screens at our sleepover." Plan some actual activities instead. We did fort building and flashlight tag at my son's last one and the kids had a blast. They'll survive without their devices for one night,” came one solid suggestion. 

“Make an outdoor movie night, no iPads or switches allowed or god forbid hand them monopoly,” a second commenter wrote. 

A third pointed out that the other parents might not have thought anything of it:  “that's really disappointing and I would have been caught off guard too. The other parents might have thought they were doing you a favor if their kids are addicted to screens.” 

One thing’s for sure, this mum doesn’t plan on making the same mistake twice.

“Shame on me for not saying "leave your devices at home please"? This is our first party like this and probably our last,.” she explained. 

And for parents getting ready to pack their kids’ bags for their next sleepover, she had one simple message:

“Hey parents, don't do this to other people. It sucks,” she warned. 

Originally published as 'What is this?': Mum enraged by new sleepover act