y'all, tell me if I'm whacked in the head, or what

[mickeym]

My next-door neighbor's kid just came over to see if he could play video games with Matthew.

It's 10:06pm.

TEN-OH-SIX P.M.

This makes two week(end)s in a row he's done this; last week, it was on Saturday night.

I told Matthew no, it was too late (seriously--who the hell lets their ten yr old kid outside in a fucking WINTER STORM, at 10pm?!). About a minute later, Nathan knocks on my *bedroom door* to ask if he can stay over to play video games with Matthew.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, seriously: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, it could be me, thinking this is kind of (a little...a LOT) whacked. Anyone else want to weigh in?

Comments

[phaballa.livejournal.com]

It's pretty weird. Are you sure they want to just play video games?

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Yeah, because he spent two hours over here earlier, playing it, until I sent him home b/c Matthew and Jeremy had to eat dinner (I hadn't planned for a third kid, heh). Matthew rented "Call of Duty 4", and Nathan's enamored of it.

I just...don't get why his dad keeps letting him *out of the house* at 10pm. He's TEN! Sure, it's just next door, but. TEN! *flails*

[phaballa.livejournal.com]

I don't know. My curfew was 10:30pm when I was 16!

[wendy.livejournal.com]

HAHAHA, my ADULT bedtime is 10 p.m.!

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Dude. During the week? Mine's as close to 9p (generally) as I can get it. It's only sheer happenstance that I'm up right now--I'd planned to go to bed about 9 tonight, but got caught up reading a story. Now I'm boggling too much to settle down.

*shakes head*

[foxmonkey.livejournal.com]

Dude, back in the day (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back), I can't even imagine how long and loud and HARD my parents would have laughed at me if I'd said I wanted to go over my friend's house at TEN AT NIGHT. Ten? We probably would have been in bed!

Dusk was our curfew. If we were over friends' houses or playing out back, once it hit dusk it was time to come home/go inside.

[darkseaglass.livejournal.com]

Weeeird. Nods.

[tealin.livejournal.com]

Could he have been told to leave the house for awhile? Or could he have left to avoid something unpleasant? The fact that he was out and about that late at night isn't a good sign, in and of itself -- either negligent parenting or something worse.

[kaiz.livejournal.com]

Howdy, stranger! LTNS :-)

[tealin.livejournal.com]

Hey you! :)

[kaiz.livejournal.com]

*boggles*

I'm with Tealin on this one.

[tabularassa.livejournal.com]

Something's up with that poor kid's parents. *hugs*

[nopseud]

I have no idea. I mean, when I was that age I would've been in bed at 9pm, and I wouldn't have *dreamed* of opening the door and letting someone into the house without telling my parents. On the other hand, my sister-in-law used to let her kids stay up to watch Angel, which started at 10pm, and they turned out just fine, so who knows?

The main point is that whatever your neighbour does, it's *your* house, and if you don't want the kids in there at any time, then they shouldn't be there.

[twelve-pastels.livejournal.com]

Um, let me get this straight. The kid is ten and he's over to your house to ask your kid to play video games at ten at night in a snowstorm? Dude, when I was that age, my weektime bedtime was, like, 8:30 and I was in bed reading by nine on a friday night. Yeesh.

In my mind, this is right up there with the people who say, "Oh, I can't get my child to eat what I cook, they're so picky", or "Oh, my child will never go outside, I can't get them to". Now, with my Scots-Canadian mother, the rule went thusly: This Is Dinner. Eat It Or Starve. Also, the prevailing attitude in my family towards getting your child to go outside and play is to first ask the child, then tell the child, and then treat the child the way one would a cat - in other words, picking them up, putting them out, and saying "Be home by twilight".

In other words, yeah, that is whacked, and it sounds to me like someone needs to spend less time trying to be their kid's best friend and more time trying to be their parent. But that's just me.

[raynedanser.livejournal.com]

What the fuck?!?! No. Cut off time is 8, other kids home by 9. Period.

Sounds like a talk with the other parentals is in order. "Do not let your child come to my house past x time. Plxkthxbai."

[kimannebb.livejournal.com]

I'm with you. It's odd. 10 year old children shouldn't be going next door at 10pm, I figure they should be in bed - even if it's a weekend night. That's just my opinion. :)