Do You Let Your Kids Jump on Furniture?

[MrsWeasley]

I do not allow jumping on the furniture at home, but even if I did i for sure would not allow at someone else home.

 

I had someone's child eating in my living room once and I do not allow eating in the living room.  When I asked them to come to the kitchen, the mother told me she didn't mind if they eat in the living room.  I was flabbergasted.  

 

I don't allow my kids to eat outside of our eat-in kitchen, but as long as guests keep it out of the bedrooms, I ignore it. I want to be inhospitable. Secretly, though, it drives me nuts.

[ashfern]

I don't let them but the younger two do it all the time. It's a daily battle here. I don't think that they would do it at someone else's house.

[MrsWeasley]

that's the purpose of trampolines.

 

I wish we could have a trampoline. Our home owner's insurance will cancel our policy if we got one!

[MysteryJen]

No. My furniture has been on its last legs for the last twenty years.

[gardenmom5]

I wish we could have a trampoline. Our home owner's insurance will cancel our policy if we got one!

 

I have a rebounder - i got it for my aspie. it was $25 on craigslist.

I put it in my dining room because it has a high ceiling.  when not in use, I stand it on it's side.

[MrsWeasley]

No I don't allow it. Unfortunatly the twins do it every single time there is nobody in the room. That is why the couch has a big wool blanket over the seat part. Every single cushion now has a full sized rip right down the middle. :cursing:  :glare:  :cursing:

 

We daren't leave them for a second alone in anybody else's house as the cannot be trusted.

 

If a kid jumped on my furniture and the parent corrected, I wouldn't think anything of it. I certainly don't have perfect kids! I guess I'm taken aback by seeing parents see this as normal and one parent even kind of questioning my rule. I mean, my house my rules, but I guess I just wanted to check that this was not some really out there rule.

[MrsWeasley]

I have a rebounder - i got it for my aspie. it was $25 on craigslist.

I put it in my dining room because it has a high ceiling.  when not in use, I stand it on it's side.

 

We have a rebounder in the basement. I won't put something like that on my wood floors. However, it gets pretty much no interest. I think there's something about having the room to really jump freely that makes them so fun elsewhere. Plus, my basement is unfinished (and the ceiling is not high enough to finish and digging down would cost a small fortune) and uninviting. 

[MrsWeasley]

We got rather lazy and put up with it when our kids were little and we had cheap furniture.  Now that our kids are not exactly little and our furniture isn't quite as cheap, it's a hugely punishable offense in our house.  The transition wasn't terribly difficult.  While the 5 and 8yos may occasionally get caught trying to sit down by hurling their bodies, I consider that to be more age-appropriate physicality than disobedient *jumping.  (And correct them.)

 

Honestly, most of the beds in the house and my couch are cheap. It's cheap, because that's what I could afford. If I could afford to replace furniture my kids destroyed, I could have afforded nicer furniture in the first place. Also, because it's cheap, it doesn't handle wear and tear well. The last thing these need is rough behavior.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Wanting to protect the life of your furniture is legitimate.  I think you were fine to tell the father what you did. (It is also legitimate for other people to make other choices in their own house.  There is no "moral high ground" here regarding this issue.)

[My4arrows]

We are a no in this house too! I won't even let them climb over the arms of couches and chairs. And everything we have friends over they are climbing all over the furniture, jumping on and off of it. It drives me crazy and even when I correct the children, the parents don't seem to care.

[gardenmom5]

We have a rebounder in the basement. I won't put something like that on my wood floors. However, it gets pretty much no interest. I think there's something about having the room to really jump freely that makes them so fun elsewhere. Plus, my basement is unfinished (and the ceiling is not high enough to finish and digging down would cost a small fortune) and uninviting. 

 

it's ignored in our basement.  in the dining room, it gets used.  it's never hurt my wood floors. (but they're 3/4" solid with a Swedish finish)

 

I've had to tell him to "go jump" a number of times because he wasn't able to recognize the therapeutic need of jumping in himself.  now - if it's out, he'll go jump when he needs to because he can see it in himself.

 

I do have to put it elsewhere around the holidays as it's too close to where I put my Christmas tree.

[Ananda]

I allow them to jump on our furniture at home.  When they are rough housing I send them to the queen sized bed in my room.  They also jump between beds in the upstairs bedroom.  It's a tiny room with 3 beds one of them lofted, so lots of fun.  I do allow a little jumping on the futon in the living room, but if it becomes a thing I redirect them to our mini trampoline or the queen sized bed.  This is because they tend to konk their heads on the wooden frame.  I don't think it has affected the life of our furniture, but we don't have couches.  

 

At other peoples houses, I don't allow jumping on the furniture.  I understand that (most?) people would prefer they didn't so I default to that rule away from home.  I do allow them to behave like little boys on the floor though.  Even that seems to bother some people, and I don't really understand why.

[AndyJoy]

I used to let my toddler and preschooler bounce on the little one's mattress-on-the-floor only. They were good about confining their shenanigans to that surface.

 

Once I was at a playdate where the host's 5 & 4-year-old, two 4-year-old guests, and my 3-year-old were all jumping on a large couch. Besides the couch-mangling issue, it was over a hard floor and 5 kids jumping at once was crowded. I stopped my kid and questioned the 5-year-old as to whether that was really allowed. He assured me it was, but I asked mom. She said, "Well, no, I don't usually allow it...but other families might have different rules so...". I was very surprised she'd take that approach. My house, my rules and I have no problem whatsoever telling kids our house rules and enforcing them.

[texasmama]

No.  I didn't want them to tear up the furniture.  I also don't enjoy trips to the ER.

 

My brother jumped on the couch when we were growing up and hit his chin, splitting it open and requiring a trip to the ER and stitches.

[Spryte]

When they were small, yes - on our old couch.

 

Never at someone else's house. Absolutely not!

 

Not on our current furniture, plus the kids are larger now.

[Shellydon]

Nope.  Never.  No running in the house, no jumping on furniture, no marking on walls, no eating anyplace except the kitchen table.  That is what outside is for.

[elegantlion]

On the couch, no, because we always had nice coffee tables with hard tops or sharp corners. We did have a great king sized bed that was ideal for jumping and the room was big enough to run and do somersaults.

[Miss Tick]

I don't allow my kids to eat outside of our eat-in kitchen, but as long as guests keep it out of the bedrooms, I ignore it. I want to be inhospitable. Secretly, though, it drives me nuts.

I don't allow food outside the kitchen. It isn't inhospitable, it is just the way the rules are here. I am not harsh or rude about it (I hope, sometimes shocked, I guess), I try to be matter-of-fact. You also can't jump on furniture, run through the kitchen, run around upstairs or wear shoes in the house.

Edited April 7, 2016 by SusanC

[Mom22ns]

Yes, I allow jumping on (certain) furniture -- the ones that aren't terribly nice anyhow. I also allow balance-beam walking along the back, and stair sledding on cushions, and all sorts of other indoor jungle gym behaviour.

 

This. 

 

My oldest had sensory processing issues. He really needed to jump and crash into things. We had therapy equipment in the house, a platform swing, a trapeze bar, a jump-o-lene, and a huge mat. However, we also encouraged cushion fort building, cushion slides (not on stairs), balancing on arms and backs of furniture, you name it. My kids never really tried to use couches for trampolines, but they did play actively on the furniture.

 

I doubt it ever occurred to me to warn them not to try this behavior at other people's houses, however, I did always emphasize that you follow the rules of the house you are in.

 

OP, by the ages of your kids in your sig, I would not have expected kids to be jumping on furniture. It was more of a pre-school early elementary thing. 8 & 10 are too big, although at those ages we still offered plenty of active play options.

 

Oh, and my furniture is now 17 yrs old. It held up with no damage through the wild play years. Although the throw pillows on the couch suffered lol.

Edited April 7, 2016 by Momto2Ns

[Janeway]

How do you know they are allowed to jump on furniture at home? I do not allow it. But, I could just see my children going to someone else's house and claiming it is allowed. Did the parents admit it is allowed?

[hornblower]

If you let your school-aged kids jump on your furniture, how do you keep the furniture nice?

 

Just adding that I guess we lucked out in that we had really sturdy furniture. In the living room, we used to build  a slide with the couch. Dh would prop one end of the couch on an armchair and the kids would slide down the couch. Or he'd put up both ends on the armchairs and the kids would climb up and sit up there. It took about 15 years of hard use of kids, cats, dogs. When we got rid of it, the wood framing was still solid. We probably should have considered just reupholstering it & I sort of regret we didn't. 

 

But if it had been less sturdy we still would have done it.  We are ok with stuff getting broken through play with children. 

[SKL]

I do let my kids jump from bed to bed in hotels.  The beds in hotels seem to be super sturdy.

[liber]

I don't have a problem with small kids jumping on the furniture, taking the cushions off and building a fort, etc. My husband does however. I do tell my kids though, what I allow in my home doesn't mean that they can do it in other people's home. Nor would I be upset with some other person small child was jumping on my furniture. I'm of the mind that house should be well lived in and not kept like a show room house. My husband grew up in a house where you weren't allowed to put your feet on the couch and I grew up in a house where you could put your feet on the coffee table.

[KrissiK]

No. Just no! I have never allowed children to jump on furniture!

[laundrycrisis]

Absolutely not.  It ruins the furniture.  It is also completely unacceptable behavior, because it's disrespectful to the space, other people who are in the space with you, and the people who take care of it.  

[catz]

I certainly did when my kids were younger.  Just in the past year have I been brave enough to get new furniture in our house and my kids were 11 and 14 when we got it.   We do not have a huge house with open spaces and we have very cold winters.  It was fort stuff more than jumping.  I also  bought an acro mat for our living room. 

 

I never let my kids jump or pull cushions off of other people's furniture though.  Every house has it's own house rules. 

 

ETA - to be clear, both my kids have sensory quirks and needed TONS of movement during early childhood.  I had to get my son out of the house every day from birth on or he was a nightmare.   The furniture that was ok for this at our house was from Room and Board and was about 20 years old when we got rid of it, so it did hold up well and the wear and tear was in normal spots.  Especially over the arms of the sofas.  A lot of furniture these days is very cheaply made.  My in-laws had a couch sink on them in less than a year just by sitting on it.

 

I guess I don't find it too weird young kids make mistakes and need correction.  I don't want kids jumping on my new furniture, but correction would be no big deal at all.

Edited April 7, 2016 by WoolySocks

[eternalsummer]

Absolutely not.  It ruins the furniture.  It is also completely unacceptable behavior, because it's disrespectful to the space, other people who are in the space with you, and the people who take care of it.  

 

 I can see this with other people's houses where the people who own the house/furniture don't like jumping, but it is not as a moral question unacceptable behavior, nor is it disrespectful to either the space or the people.

 

Also, I haven't had furniture yet that has been ruined by rough use; on the other hand, we buy old furniture (used) that is quite solid and we are not concerned about it cosmetically - so a scratch or dent or rip isn't ruined to us.

[BarbecueMom]

I will say that even with three rough boys, every single piece of furniture in our house that has been damaged or ruined has been due to adult carelessness or overuse. Without exception. The kids built stuff out of the couch cushions all the time, but what ruined them was adult butts sitting on them like they were designed for with a greater frequency than we were designed for.

[kewb]

No. Jumping on furniture is not allowed. They can get hurt or they can break the furniture.

 

There are plenty of places to jump that do not include the furniture.

 

I taught my kids not to jump on our furniture or anyone else's. I do not consider it to be polite to jump on someone else's furniture. Even if I did allow it in my home I would teach them not to jump in someone else's home.

[Ellie]

We'd had a recent rash of play dates with 5-7 year olds who are apparently allowed to jump on furniture at home. Am I totally weird that I don't let my kids do that? If you let your school-aged kids jump on your furniture, how do you keep the furniture nice?

 

Absolutely not, under any circumstances, for any reason.

[TranquilMind]

We'd had a recent rash of play dates with 5-7 year olds who are apparently allowed to jump on furniture at home. Am I totally weird that I don't let my kids do that? If you let your school-aged kids jump on your furniture, how do you keep the furniture nice?

Heck, no.  Their parents probably don't either, but they just don't see it!

[prairiewindmomma]

No. We have a mini-trampoline for when kids need to bounce.

[LucyStoner]

Depends on the furniture.  Their beds?  Ah, once in a while.  We all did it.  The couches?  Oh hell no.  Especially at their ages.  They aren't bouncing babies at age 7 and almost 13!

[Seeking Squirrels]

My kids jump and climb all over the couch. I have no problem with it. I think it would be a constant battle if I made it against the rules and it's just not something I care that much about. But they know better than to do that at anyone else's house. 

[Cindy in FL.]

No jumping on furniture at our house.

[Guest]

Never. They did it once when I was busy. The younger one chipped a tooth. So, we're back to never.

[MrsWeasley]

 

 

OP, by the ages of your kids in your sig, I would not have expected kids to be jumping on furniture. It was more of a pre-school early elementary thing. 8 & 10 are too big, although at those ages we still offered plenty of active play options.

 

 

My kids are 2, 6, and 9. None of them are allowed to jump on furniture, though the two year old still needs plenty of reminders.

[HeWillSoar]

My kids used to like to take the cushions off and jump inside the couch.  I think I was just glad they were entertained for a while so I could cook dinner or whatever.  I would never let them do that at someone's house, and I didn't like them jumping on the furniture with the cushions on.  For some reason (and it sounds strange now), for me it was different.  I guess they were sort of contained, and when the cushions were off, they acted as a barrier around the couch.  Just jumping from couch to couch was not allowed.   

[mom@shiloh]

Absolutely NOT.  Our furniture is nice and I'd like it to stay that way.  I was appalled when one of my friends let her three year old jump on my couch.  We have a trampoline and lots of toys and lots of room outside.  Do your jumping elsewhere please.  

[arnold]

I let my kids do it, but not visiting kids.

[eternalsummer]

If you've made it clear that jumping on furniture is not cool at your house, then I can see being appalled if the parent lets it continue (unless they genuinely misunderstand and think you're opposed because of your concern for their child's safety).  Otherwise, I can't really see being appalled; many people assume that their habits/preferences are closer to universal than they are.

 

For example, we don't eat factory farmed food or allow it in the house.   Most people we know well enough to have in the house know we don't eat it; they don't all know we don't allow it here, period.  I would not be appalled if someone sent their kid over with a bag of Doritos or something; they just assumed that something they take for granted (Doritos) is taken for granted here, too.

 

Unfortunately we have a lot of family members who, even after telling them a bazillion times we don't like having factory farmed food in the house, still bring it over and eat it or serve it to their kids in front of us and our kids.  Weird.

[Julie Smith]

I do. 

I even allow forts build with mattress and other such mischief. 

 

 

ETA: But the rule is boys are allowed to do things like that at other houses unless invited to do so, 

Edited April 7, 2016 by Julie Smith

[PrairieSong]

We never allowed it. There's plenty of floor space for jumping and a yard for running around and jumping. I can't imagine our furniture would have lasted long with all our kids jumping on it.

[gingersmom]

My kids jumped on the bed but I don't recall them ever really jumping on sofa, etc.

 

Growing up we had a living room with museum like furniture. The room had an invisible rope, we were not allowed in there.

 

We moved when I was 12 and the museum pieces suddenly landed in the den my brothers and I watched tv in. We were so excited my brother and I leaped onto the sofa. It crashed to the floor broken. It was replaced shortly after.

[Meadowlark]

Yes, my 3-5 yr. olds sometimes do. We have an old couch that I don't really care about, but if we had a decent one-no way would I allow it. I would NEVER however, allow my kids to so much as stand on furniture at another person's house, and they know that. Btw-we also have an indoor trampoline :-)

[Mom22ns]

My kids are 2, 6, and 9. None of them are allowed to jump on furniture, though the two year old still needs plenty of reminders.

 

Oops, I misread your signature. At 2 and 6 mine were definitely jumping on furniture. Making obstacle courses that included jumping on, running across, and sliding off angled cushions was a favorite.  :lol:

 

To each his own. I don't see it as a big deal if a young child thought it would be ok to jump on your couch. You have every right to tell them no and they should obey that without argument. They probably hadn't been told it wasn't always an ok thing to do. I don't think you were rude at all to tell the dad that you are concerned about your furniture and don't want the kid jumping on it. It is your house, your furniture, and your rules. I'm sure he was just embarrassed (or clueless). I would have been mortified!

Edited April 7, 2016 by Momto2Ns

[Seasider]

Neither my own kids nor guests are allowed to jump on furniture. I always hope and wait for their own parent to correct, but if necessary I will address the kid directly with a request to not jump on my stuff. It's simply a matter of respect.

[SparklyUnicorn]

LOL...No I do not. 

 

One of mine likes to jump around a lot so he has a small trampoline and a Robi Max. 

[Seasider]

I was a little surprised when I asked a six-year-old to stop bouncing on my couch that his parent assured me that the child would be fine and does it at home all the time.

.

Seriously? That would have received an immediate, "I know he'll be fine, it's my sofa I'm worried about." Or maybe, "He won't be fine if he ruins my husband's favorite chair."

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yeah it's kinda crazy that someone would be that clueless. 

 

I want to know where these people buy their furniture if it can hold up to that kind of abuse.  I don't exactly want to keep having to buy new furniture!