A mom who shares videos on TiktTok has claimed that she has received death threats after sharing an unpopular parenting opinion about sleepovers that has rubbed her followers the wrong way.
Tara Huck posted a clip where she explained that she does not give her children permission to join sleepovers. She also has two other very strict parenting rules where her kids could have screen time after completing their homework. Her children should only eat what she makes in the kitchen, or else they don't eat at all.
The mother's video has garnered over 5,000 comments, which she followed up with another video after two weeks. In it, Huck told her followers that there has been "absolute hate" from the internet after she shared her unpopular parenting opinion. Some of her critics apparently wished her death for not letting her children go to sleepovers.
TIKTOK LINK - https://www.tiktok.com/@t.c.huck/video/7025994805188644101?
Do Kids Need Sleepovers?
One follower told Huck that children deserve sleepovers because this is an activity that provides them with the best memories of childhood. Another follower said that her children will be doing bad things behind her back because of her strict parenting. Another person asked the mother if her decision was triggered by a bad incident.
"It has been implied by other people that I must have had something terrible happen to me which is why I made the decision that I did - no," Huck explained and said that she experienced sleepovers when she was younger but did not have any bad memories. However, she believes that a bad incident doesn't have to happen for her to make a parenting decision.
Huck explained that it makes the most sense for her not to allow her children to sleep at a friend's house based on what she heard from other parents, professionals, police officers, social workers and psychologists. Her only reason for banning this is to keep her children safe.
Her children are also not bothered about missing out on the experience since they still can visit friends or have playdates -- just never sleepovers. Once they are teenagers, Huck said she will pick her kids up at a friend's house, no matter how late it is, to sleep in their own beds.
She said it would be an entirely different matter if her children have tried sleepovers at least once and then she took that privilege away. Sleepovers are also just a very small factor of their childhood experiences.
TIKTOK LINK - https://www.tiktok.com/@t.c.huck/video/7026096423653412101?
Many Parents Shunning Sleepovers
According to USA Today, TikTok parents have had the "Great Sleepover Debate" since the summer and many moms and dads are on the same side as Huck. Most of them said that the safety of their kids is more important than fun, especially when things could happen beyond their control.
School counselor Phyllis Fagell said that in some cultures, sleepovers are unfamiliar, unnecessary and uncustomary. There are also parents who feel that sleepovers cause family disruptions that may not be worth it. However, Fagell believes that parents should have the right motivation to ban this activity. It won't be healthy parenting if their decisions are coming from a place of fear or anxiety.
Meanwhile, parents who allow sleepovers see this as a rite of passage that teaches their kids independence. While it is the parent's job to minimize the risks for their kids, some parents also feel that sleepovers can help them move on from separation anxieties and other social phobias.
