How long do you let parents "hang out"?

[littlemommy]

Yesterday i had a set of parents want to hang out forever. Their kids were trying to go upstairs, in the cupboards, throwing toys, dragging kitchen chairs (the kid ones) into the living room and tearing books. The parents did nothing. The little girl was swinging a chair around and almost hit my baby in the face, and they laughed.

I charge until they walk out the door, because I'm still taking care of their kids.

[SunshineMama]

The kids ALWAYS break rules in front of parents for some reason. The other day I had kids run over to my Christmas tree and start taking ornaments off of it, and picking up the presents under it, while walking on the carpet with their shoes on... all in front of the parents. What gets me more, is that the parents really didnt say a word.

None of them do that during the day. It is a game of, "Let's see what I can get away with in front of mom and dad."

And the longer they linger the worse the kids are.

[Heidi]

I would have to say this is how I handle it, too. I always tell them if I am running somewhere after the day is done. I enjoy chatting with some of them, and we are friends, so sometimes it is a nice break for a quick adult chat.

I'm in this camp, too. But, if I have somewhere to be, or it's dragging on too long, I just say "Sorry, I can't visit today...too much going on!"