View source for Sleepover

{{Short description|Party where guest(s) stay overnight at a friend's home}}
{{redirect|Slumber party|other uses|Sleepover (disambiguation)|and|Slumber Party (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Photograph of teenage girls at a sleepover, Gainesville, Georgia, 1952 - DPLA - 292005a89e2b84eeb69678b977499ca2h015.jpeg|thumb|Teenage girls at a sleepover, [[Gainesville, Georgia]], 1952]]
A '''sleepover''' (also known as a '''slumber party''' or '''pajama party''') is a social occasion in which a young person stays at the home of a friend. Multiple people and/or friends may sleepover at the friend's home. Typically a younger person will partake in a sleepover; however, an adult or older person may sleep at a friend's home.

== Characteristics ==
A sleepover typically involves children or teenagers spending the night at a friend’s home without adult supervision, though parents or guardians are usually present in the household. Activities often include games, movies, snacks, and late-night conversations, fostering social bonds. Sleepovers are widely regarded as a [[rite of passage]], helping young people build independence, strengthen friendships, and develop social skills outside their [[family unit]]. In the United States, sleepovers are a cultural staple, often associated with milestones like birthdays or school breaks.<ref>Judith Ancer, [http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/2012/06/10/sleepovers-need-not-be-a-nightmare---and-help-kids-to-be-autonomous-in-a-safe-environment "Sleepovers need not be a nightmare - and help kids to be autonomous in a safe environment"], ''[[The Sunday Times (South Africa)|The Sunday Times]]''  (South Africa), June 10, 2012.</ref><ref>Edward Eveld, [https://www.chicagotribune.com/2005/08/14/sleepovers-a-rite-of-passage-for-kids/ "Sleepovers a rite of passage for kids"], ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', August 14, 2005.</ref><ref>Barbara F. Meltz, ["The sleep-over: A rite of passage"], ''[[Boston Globe]]'', October 13, 1994.</ref>

Globally, sleepovers vary in prevalence and style. In the United Kingdom, they are similarly popular, often called "sleepovers" or "stayovers," with activities like watching films or playing video games. In Japan, sleepovers (known as ''otomarikai'' ''(おとまりかい)'') are less common due to cultural emphasis on family privacy and space constraints in urban homes, but they occur among close friends, often tied to school events or cultural festivals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=JapanDict: Japanese Dictionary - Definition of お泊り会 |url=https://www.japandict.com/%E3%81%8A%E6%B3%8A%E3%82%8A%E4%BC%9A |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=www.japandict.com |language=en}}</ref> In Australia, sleepovers resemble those in the U.S., frequently involving outdoor activities like camping in backyards. In some cultures, such as in parts of South Asia or the Middle East, overnight gatherings may be less common due to cultural norms prioritizing family-based socializing or gender-segregated interactions, but modern urban youth increasingly adopt Western-style sleepovers.

== Teen sleepovers ==
Beginning in the 1990s, commentators wrote about a perceived new trend of parents endorsing sleepovers for teenagers, with both boys and girls staying overnight together. While some writers decried the trend, others defended it as a safer alternative to teenage dating outside the house.<ref>Peter Annin, [https://www.newsweek.com/slumbering-around-176118 "Slumbering Around"], ''[[Newsweek]]'', November 4, 1996.</ref><ref>Emily Wax, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/11/16/coed-all-nighters-put-trust-on-line/72709f12-37c5-42a9-84be-d1012b359c49/ "Coed All-Nighters Put Trust on Line; Not All Parents Are Losing Sleep Over Teen Fad"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', November 16, 2000 {{subscription required}}, reprinted as [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AIEfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bn8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5423,896121&dq=sleepover+teen+trend&hl=en "Coed all-nighters cause unrest"], ''[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]]'', November 21, 2000.</ref><ref>[[Betsy Hart]], [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5wsfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FpgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4927,3016867&dq=sleepover+co-ed&hl=en "Coed sleepovers: Teenagers learn volumes from parents' decision-making"], [[Scripps Howard News Service]] in ''[[The Daily News (Kentucky)|The Daily News]]'' (Kentucky), November 24, 2000.</ref><ref>[[Amy Dickinson]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20081207132157/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998922,00.html "Coed Sleepovers"], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', January 8, 2001.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Wiktionary-inline}}
{{Parties}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Parties]]
[[Category:Sleep]]
[[Category:Childhood]]


{{Culture-stub}}