Guidance for parents on ensuring children are safe when visiting or staying at friends' houses.
Tea at a friend's, after-school playdates, weekend sleepovers and school-holiday hangouts are some of the most important parts of growing up — children learn social skills, build friendships, and gain independence in low-stakes ways. They are also, by definition, time in someone else's home, with someone else's rules, devices, food, pets, transport, and adults coming and going. None of that is automatically risky, but a short pre-visit conversation between the two families and a clear 'ring me anytime' agreement with your child turns an unknown setting into a managed one.
Concerns at a friend's house usually come from the gap between two households' normal habits rather than from a specific person. Common patterns include: unsupervised internet, gaming, or streaming with no parental controls; age-inappropriate films, group chats or live calls with older siblings; older teens or visiting adults a child has not met before; firearms or unlocked alcohol/medication in the home; pets the child has not been briefed on; or pickup arrangements that change without telling you. Most of these are easy to ask about with a single friendly text exchange between parents before the first visit, and a 'code word for come and get me' with the child for the visit itself.
1. Get to know the family
Before your child stays at a friend's house, get to know the parents. A brief conversation about supervision and house rules is reasonable.
2. Brief your child
Remind them of your family's rules (body boundaries, device rules, what to do if uncomfortable) and that they can always call you to come home.
3. Agree on a code word
A private code word your child can use in a call or text if they want to come home without having to explain in front of others.
ตรวจสอบล่าสุด: 2026-03-29
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