Mom Asks If She’s Wrong For Picking Up Her Daughter From A Slumber Party Because The Host Kept Taking Her Phone Away To Charge It
She admitted that it made her feel uneasy that her daughter was inside a locked house without the use of her phone.
Xavier Lorenzo | Shutterstock A mom questioned if she was being irrational after immediately going to pick up her daughter from a slumber party because she didn't like a rule that the host mom had implemented when it came to her phone. Since sleepovers have become a hot topic in recent years thanks to social media, it's no wonder that the mom's take resonated. Many parents have admitted to having no sleepover rules for safety reasons. Just as many, however, don't see a problem with sleepovers as long as they talk to the host parents.
In a TikTok video, Bunny Garcia admitted that she felt concerned for her daughter after she went to slumber party and didn't have access to her phone. Garcia, at first, wanted to give the host mom the benefit of the doubt, but ultimately decided she'd rather pick her daughter up than worry for the rest of the night.
The mom picked her daughter up from a slumber party because the host kept taking her phone away to charge it.
Garcia said that the host mom of the slumber party repeatedly took her daughter's phone away, which made her "uneasy." She explained that the first time was during dinner when all of the kids were eating.
Garcia's husband was able to reassure her that the family probably doesn't like phones at the dinner table, which was a reasonable rule. So, Garcia tried not to think too much about it. However, when it happened again, Garcia began to feel a bit on edge.
"Around bedtime, the mom came for the phone again and that's when I was like, 'Absolutely not. We're not doing this.' Phones are so much more than just a device these days," Garcia said. "They are a lifeline, they are a connection, they are reach-in-the-dark and someone respond."
Garcia argued that this host mom was taking away her daughter's phone in a home where she doesn't really know the parents. All Garcia did was shake her hand at the door before dropping her daughter off, and for her, that wasn't enough of a safety net.
The mom let the host know that she was coming to get her daughter.
The host mom was initially surprised, questioning if everything was okay after receiving a text from Garcia. Instead of lying or making up an excuse, Garcia admitted that she was just "uncomfortable" with the fact that she kept taking her daughter's phone away.
At first, the host mom wanted to argue that it was just a bunch of miscommunication happening, and that she was simply trying to charge her daughter's phone, but Garcia wasn't having it. Garcia claimed that her daughter's phone was her only connection to both her and her husband, especially at a sleepover. What if something happened, or her daughter just wanted to come home?
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While it may seem outrageous for some people that Garcia decided to intervene and pick her daughter up from the sleepover, there are just some boundaries that parents don't want crossed. For her, it was the use of her daughter's phone. It would be one thing if the host mom didn't want Garcia's daughter to use her phone when she should be sleeping, but to take it away altogether is different.
There's a divide when it comes to parents and the sleepover debate.
It seems sleepovers and a parent's willingness to allow their kids to attend one have a bit of background for many households, especially for families of color. According to a YouGov poll, 80% of white adults would "definitely" or "probably" allow their children to attend overnight sleepovers, while only 55% of Latin American adults and 50% of Black adults said the same.
The same can be said for parents themselves, who attended sleepovers when they were kids. While 71% of white adults admitted to having a sleepover of their own when they were kids, only 41% of Black adults and 48% of Latin American adults were allowed to partake.
The world is a scary place, and while you want to believe that parents have the right intentions when hosting sleepovers at their place, you truly can never be too sure. Garcia shouldn't be ridiculed for wanting to make sure her daughter is safe because every parent's worst nightmare is something nefarious happening to their child when they're not around to protect or save them.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
