{"_id":"68f105257ee9b901702e898e","title":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"Should I let my daughter attend sleepovers with her non-Muslim friends?\\n\"}]}","question":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"My daughter goes to a public high school and only has non-Muslim friends. She really wants to go to the sleepovers that they have, but I can’t help feeling uncomfortable. She says they’re the only place she can bond with her friends. Do you have any insight or advice for me?\\n\"}]}","answer":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"Part of being a parent is wanting our kids to build friendships and healthy social connections with their peers. I can understand how preventing her from participating in what has become a widely accepted norm can be a point of contention. That being said, we both know that sleepovers aren’t the only place she can bond with her friends.\\n\\nMany parents (not only Muslim parents) are starting to realize that sleepovers are one of the most vulnerable situations one could put their child in. To children they seem nothing more than a fun pajama party with pizza and movies. The sad and dark reality is that, statistically speaking, this is typically the type of environment where horrible things happen to children (i.e., abuse of every kind, exposure to inappropriate things, etc.). The numbers do not lie, and the internet is full of valid reports on this.\\n\\nIf you think about it logically, sleepovers aren’t safe from any angle—putting your child in a stranger’s home overnight where anything could happen and you’re not there to protect them.\\n\\nFrom an Islamic perspective, our children are a trust from Allah ﷻ, and voluntarily putting them in an environment in which they could be harmed would not be permissible. This, in addition to putting them in an unsupervised environment likely with non-mahrams, is not from our tradition.\\n\\nListen to your parenting instincts and try to provide a safer alternative, such as taking her and her friends to a movie and dinner one night. Another helpful step may be to talk to her friends’ parents and let them know that, in your family, you don’t allow sleepovers but would be happy to plan an alternative event for the kids to bond. Put that healthy boundary in place, and they will eventually stop inviting her to the sleepovers.\\n\\nMay Allah make things easy on you and grant mercy and understanding between you and your daughter, insha’Allah.\\n\"}]}","tags":[{"_id":"668d9fe40b76658b4c23283a","tag":"Contemporary Life: Other","count":137},{"_id":"668da0010b76658b4c232b9d","tag":"Relationships: Parent and Child","count":111},{"_id":"668d9fe30b76658b4c23280f","tag":"Relationships: Non-Muslims","count":95},{"_id":"668da02b0b76658b4c232ff9","tag":"Relationships: Friend","count":52}],"createdOn":"2025-10-16T14:45:57.918Z"}