eternalsummer Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Craigslist :) Occasionally a used furniture store or Goodwill if we get really lucky (the spinning pink chairs were from a thrift store like Goodwill, I think). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 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. Only 7% of Canadian children get enough daily physical activity. Partially because staying indoors often means being sedentary. I changed that. (But only for my house. They'd obey rules/instructions anywhere else. Although they might let the adult know that 'at home it is allowed' as a point of interest.) Stair sliding? That's what slippery sleeping bags are for! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Craigslist :) Occasionally a used furniture store or Goodwill if we get really lucky (the spinning pink chairs were from a thrift store like Goodwill, I think). Yeah with bedbugs...no thank you. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 I have never in my life bought a new item of furniture. I have never encountered a single bedbug. :) Maybe I am just lucky. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Bed bugs scare me. We actually don't have much furniture. Odd now that I think about it. LOL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38carrots Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 We do allow. I guess I don't care for our furniture that much? I didn't spend an arm and a leg on furniture, that's for sure. I have to say that the kids don't jump on it much anyway. They also know that when visiting, other people have different rules. No biggie. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Never! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsWeasley Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 I have never in my life bought a new item of furniture. I have never encountered a single bedbug. :) Maybe I am just lucky. Between bed bugs and allergens (I'm allergic to a lot of perfumes and really, really allergic to pet dander), buying used generally does not work well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Yes I have one couch that is off limits but most I just don't care about enough and no one has ever gotten hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 An allergy to pet dander would really put me off buying used (or renting, for that matter - the people here before us must have had 10 hairy dogs!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiof5 Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 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.Totally agree with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 (edited) .. Edited December 18, 2016 by *lifeoftheparty* 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceful Isle Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 On the old couches in the kid's family room, yes, but only for littles. On the nice couches in the adult family room, never. Never for kids over 5/6 at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 (edited) Yes. That's why we have Ikea furniture with littles. I sold off all my gorgeous Cantoni furniture, but man, I miss luxe living. But, I would never allow my children to to disrespect someone else's home like that. Edited April 9, 2016 by SeaConquest 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 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. It didn't ruin our furniture. It also wasn't unacceptable or disrespectful since those of us in the space and those of us who took care of it didn't care at all. We allowed our kids to jump around on furniture and their beds. We never had any accidents.We did have a black eye during a read aloud when they were quietly listening in bed because one moved their elbow in the wrong direction. Accidents can happen anytime, anywhere, and usually (at least for us) when/where you least expect them. Dds never attempted to jump on furniture in other people's homes, though. We did have one family who allowed their children to climb and play on a half wall in our home. We had to put a stop to that since they were dinging up the wall and scraping the paint off. I kept expecting the parents to stop it since our own dds looked on appalled, but nothing ever happened. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 I don't allow it, because my kids tend to get hurt and our couch really can't handle it; we've already had to fix two of the spring attachments. They can jump and dance on the floor as much as they want. I think the dad was terribly tacky in his response to you. You were fine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 I thought my rule of no jumping was clear but my teenagers recently told me that when my back was turned they used to put on their astronaut helmets and jump off the back of the couch at a house that we moved from when they were 6and 7. Great fun and the little them thought they were well protected. The Astronaut Helmut's were made of cheap plastic that could easily break and put out an eye but equalled bicycle helmets in their little kid brains. I can't believe they really had the opportunity that often if ever, small house, but the thought terrifies me now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 No and I had an adult come over and put her boots on my couch and I didn't know how to politely ask her not to do that. I mean, I just wouldn't do that so I was taken aback. I see people on TV all.the.time wear shoes on the bed, too. I assume on TV it's just easier to have the actors plop down without removing footwear. But I don't know... do lots of people do that? It isn't just about keeping furniture nice with the kids and jumping, it's about safety. I just think it's dangerous. Momma called the dr. and the dr. said... no more monkeys jumping on the bed! :) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Not when daddy is home. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Yeah with bedbugs...no thank you. This. I have had 3 friends that ended up spending $5000+ to eradicate bedbugs brought in by used furniture. I would never risk it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 At all? Ever? OMG. Why kids would drop dead, lol... That's what outside is for. :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 This thread is eye-opening. Another one of those moments where I discover that an expectation I thought was completely typical is not. I gotta say, I can't imagine walking into the living room, where the kids are vigorously trampolining on the couches and being content that nothing was amiss or unusual here. But also, we have a trampoline outside and DS 11 has been jumping on it multiple times a day since he could barely toddle. We're on our second trampoline and it has a rip in it. I cannot imagine allowing that hard use to happen on the furniture, no matter where the furniture was from or how cheap it was. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Nope. We never allowed children to jump on our furniture. It wasn't just about keeping our furniture nice, but about preventing injury. I am a big fan of using objects for their intended purpose. Especially things that are expensive to replace. If children had been doing that at our home, I would have politely and respectfully put a stop to that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 This thread is eye-opening. Another one of those moments where I discover that an expectation I thought was completely typical is not. I gotta say, I can't imagine walking into the living room, where the kids are vigorously trampolining on the couches and being content that nothing was amiss or unusual here. But also, we have a trampoline outside and DS 11 has been jumping on it multiple times a day since he could barely toddle. We're on our second trampoline and it has a rip in it. I cannot imagine allowing that hard use to happen on the furniture, no matter where the furniture was from or how cheap it was. And I thought I was pretty cool. I guess not. LOL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolt. Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Truly, the amount of bounce you get from a couch is not really in the same ballpark as the amount of bounce you get from a trampoline! I think your idea of how to estimate the force of the activity may be skewed by that misperception. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 I like to think Pippi Longstocking would have fit in at our home. We played the floor is lava with our kids too. It was fun. I discovered that I had to be careful walking on the back of the couch because I was heavy enough to tip it but the kids weren't.... It probably changes things that our kids were also raised in a high rise condo until oldest was 10 so going outside wasn't as simple as opening a door and having a yard with a playset or trampoline. I can imagine being less inclined to allow certain things if I had a garden to send them out to. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Never. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 No. I would simply say to the kid and/or the parent (whoever is there), "We don't jump on furniture at our house." I would enforce it. If they don't like it, they're free to leave. I don't expect people to like every household rule I have. We have plenty of space and outdoor stuff to climb and jump on. All parents, regardless of what the rules are in their own homes, should have some sort of conversation with their kids at various times throughout childhood that each household sets its own rules and when you visit you respect the rules of the household. If their rules can't be respected, then don't visit the household. You're free to leave and not come back.I had a woman at my house for a group event for people considering homeschooling come up to me and ask if I my bookcases were attached to my wall. I told her no and asked why she was asking. "My son is climbing up one right now." (?!?!?!??!?!?) So I said, "Get. him. off." She wasn't invited back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 It's not that it's allowed, it's that we've given up 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 My kids have it made compared with my childhood. I lived in an apartment with a neighbor who scoffed if we breathed too loudly. So my kids can make lots of noise and there is nobody to complain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) ... Edited December 18, 2016 by *lifeoftheparty* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 My boys are balls of energy, they are so full of energy, they practically vibrate when standing still. We have a postage stamp size yard, that is not fenced in. My 3 year old can only go outside if I am with him, and I can not be out there all the time. The 11 year old has to come in at some point. Not to mention bad weather. Again, *MY* kids would drop dead if I was so incredibly restrictive that I would not let them jump in the house. That's awesome if other people have kids that are so calm/not hyperactive that they can even HAVE such a rule... but I can't even fathom having such a rule in this house. It would go over about as well as a no breathing rule. I'm not judging that person for having that rule, or saying it's wrong- I'm just shocked that there are people who have such control over their kids that such a rule is even feasible. *MY* kids couldn't follow such a rule even if they wanted to, even if they were beaten/punished after every jump. Again, it would be like telling them not to breathe. So again, not judging, just blows my mind is all, lol!! My kids move around a lot. We have a Kinect and padding on the floor, but the baby's play area is blocking us from using the Kinect games right now. They zoom up and down the hall with trucks, toy shopping cart, etc. and bounce and dance. So I guess there are some ways to get some of the energy out here lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegP Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) It is really interesting to hear the different thoughts on this I can't imagine allowing my kids to jump on the furniture. I don't see why that would be something that they should do. They can go outside for jumping and running. Edited April 9, 2016 by MegP 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luanne Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 I'm curious how you all made the transition from it being OK to it not being OK. To me it just seemed easier to have the same expectations all along and then I didn't have to deal with misunderstandings. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) . Edited December 18, 2016 by *lifeoftheparty* 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 When the kids were little, and we had a dedicated "play room" where balls and gymnastics and free-wheeling nuttiness were encouraged, the couch down there was jumpable and destroyable. The rest of the furnishings in the rest of the house was never allowed to be *jumped* on. Gently climbed on, yes, but not jumping. I don't think I was worried about the couches, which are generally hard to destroy (without scissors or glue or paint or such), but I was more worried about jumping into the light fixtures, knocking a painting off a wall, etc, so "horse play" was generally confined to safe spaces such as the play room, outside, or to some degree kids' bedrooms. I'd certainly not allow "jumping" on anything other than a bed or couch, as tables/chairs/etc are all too fragile for jumping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolt. Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 It is really interesting to hear the different thoughts on this I can't imagine allowing my kids to jump on the furniture. I don't see why that would be something that they should do. They can go outside for jumping and running. The idea of going outside is restricted by various things like living arrangements, climate, and supervision capacity. Eventually many parents realize that children's play activities are not inherently more irritating, more dangerous, or less 'respectful' simply because there's a roof and walls. It also has to do with philosophy around children and their place in families. In some families children are considered closer to the 'full family member' end of the spectrum, and in other families they are closer to the 'clearly subordinate' end. In families that resonate with the idea of children as 'full family members' they view the family's space and belongings as things 'for all of us' and its natural for them to be used 'by all of us' in ways that make each one's life pleasant. That means that we aren't surprised that some people enjoy jumping more than sitting on couches, and since the family couch is (in a way) 'theirs too' it doesn't seem like a choice that needs to be curtailed in their own home, where they feel like full members. I suppose (maybe) that towards the 'more subordinate' end of things, the couch and the space belong to the adult(s) -- and the children's desire to jump doesn't really warrant much thought. I'm not really in either end, but I do like my kids to feel like they are at home in out home, and that the things here belong to all of us. I set limits, but not without a serious reason. I try not to set limits just because I want my preferences to matter more. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) ... Edited December 18, 2016 by *lifeoftheparty* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Our hallways, for the most part, are stairways.... which are often jumped down, lol.... our hallways (& doorways) were climbed up regularly. Washable paint ftw :) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Yes, they were allowed to jump on the furniture. Last night when I went upstairs ds (10) was doing flips on my bed. That's unusual, I haven't seen him do that in a long time. They never really jumped on the couch, I don't think it's very bouncy. They never tried to jump on the furniture at anyone else's house. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 How else are you supposed to play WWF? You have to climb up something in order to do your signature move on the poor pillow below. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) ... Edited December 18, 2016 by *lifeoftheparty* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 our hallways (& doorways) were climbed up regularly. Washable paint ftw :) Ours too! Actually we've been known to *tell* DD to go climb the wall! It seems to be a good sensory activity for her that helps in certain situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Actually I did sometimes and I didn't expect it to be kept nice but since it was only sometimes we never had an issue.. But, my kids would never have jumped on someone else's furniture, ever. I actually taught them how to do "no hand" front flips on to the bed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 our hallways (& doorways) were climbed up regularly. Washable paint ftw :) I did this as a kid and showed mine how to when they were little. DD strong for her tiny size could "walk" all the way up until her butt touched the ceiling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) Oh my, you should have done a poll. I didn't realize so many people were anti-jumping, lol. But I think it's healthy to have them understand what they're allowed to do in THEIR home vs. someone else's. Yes I let him play on my furniture, but he gets corrected if he tries to do it at another house. And if someone is doing it and you don't like it, you just politely say "Oh, that's not our house rule. In our house we don't jump in the furniture." Done, end of discuss. Then give ice creams or popsicles or something. Edited April 9, 2016 by OhElizabeth 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 My son may climb the walls and door frames. He mayn't touch the ceiling with his greasy paws, however, because I spent a lot of time painting before we moved in and painting ceilings is not really that much fun. So my ceilings are off limits. You have to draw a line somewhere. Kids need boundaries after all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 We have a rule that there is no jumping on the furniture. Do the kids jump on the sofa sometimes? Yes. Do I tell them to stop? Yes (if I see it or if I hear that it is getting too rowdy). Do I punish them for it? No. Do they do it again when they think they can get away with it? Yes. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 Zombie thread Welcome to the boards, Reno Love. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 (edited) . Edited February 21, 2022 by Amethyst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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