Can I Sleep Over at my Friend's House Tonight? Avoid Putting a Child at Risk by Performing Parental Background Checks

We all have slept over at a friend's house before. Growing up, sleepovers probably are some of the most fun you can have as a child or teenager. However, not all sleepovers end up with fond memories or even safely. Consider the following example:

It seems so innocent. Billy wants to sleep over at his new friend Tommy's house. Before you can allow him to spend the night with Tommy's family, you decide that you want to call Tommy's parents and see if they sound like good people. After a few minutes of speaking with Tommy's dad, you give the go-ahead to Billy to spend the night at Tommy's house. The next day, you ask Billy how things went and he tells you that everyone had a great time and he got to shoot his first gun. Turns out, Tommy's dad has been busted on weapons charges several times, a fact which you were unaware of.

If you think that the above tale seems unlikely, you are probably right. However, have you ever taken that chance with your child?

With the help of online investigative people search web sites like Voom People, parents won't hesitate to look up a new teacher or even run a background check on the school bus driver, yet they never seem to inquire into the pasts of fellow parents. Surprisingly, even with the increasing ease of use and lowered costs of these sites, most parents don't even consider looking into the possibly that another parent might be dangerous or could pose harm to their children. "How could a parent be dangerous to children when he or she knows what it is like to love and care for them?" is the reasoning many parents use to justify automatically trusting other parents. However, being a parent does not necessarily mean that a person can't:

1. Have a criminal record 2. Be a registered sex offender or pedophile 3. Have desire or predisposition to commit crime.

The famous expression that "those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it" perfectly illustrates the process of performing a background check on the parents of your child's friends. A parent just as likely could have been convicted of rape, domestic violence, theft or virtually any other crime as a non-parent. Therefore, being a parent doesn't omit someone from the type of scrutiny that anyone who is around children typically receives. Most teachers, counselors and now even youth coaches, have to undergo background checks before they can spend time with children. Strangley, the people who often spend the most time with children, parents, are rarely the subject of a background check report.

So as a parent, how can you ensure your child's safety if he or she is sleeping over at a friend's house? Performing a background check on the parents of your child's friend can give you a window into their past behavior and allow you to consider the entire picture when deciding if you child can spend the night at a particular friend's house. Though you can't control the actions of others or predict the future, you can benefit from the past and avoid putting your child in a dangerous situation. Once an individual's criminal past is discovered, it is then up to you to decide if he or she should be allowed around your child. Therefore, before you give the go-ahead to allow your child to be in the company of strangers overnight, wouldn't you like to know that you have done all that you can to protect your child from harm?

People Search News urges parents to perform background checks on fellow parents who will be in contact with their children. Though you can't predict the future, you also can't ignore the past.

Founded in 2006, People Search News is a Sacramento, California based non-commercial online source for people search and people finder related news and information.