The Decline of the Sleepover — When Did Childhood Stop Risking the Night?

A generation ago, the first sleepover was a rite of passage. Today, in many neighborhoods, it has quietly become an opt-out event most families skip. The shift is partly about safety, partly about not knowing the other parents well enough, partly about a culture that has narrowed what childhood is allowed to risk. Researchers studying adolescent development describe a slow erosion of low-stakes, away-from-home experiences — the ones that used to teach children how to be away from a parent before being away counted. The question is whether the modern caution has prevented harm or just shifted it onto a slower timeline.