Allowing kids to disrespect furniture?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a neat freak (people always comment on how clean my house is). I grew up in a very conservative environment where I wouldn’t have ever even considered putting my bare feet on the couch. I let my three kids jump all over the damn couch and in fact I bought a sectional with multiple pieces so they could move them around for obstacle courses. It horrified some guests but it’s good for my kids and they’re not hurting each other or anything I care about so why not. Kids need to move. Like others have said, they 100% know not to go to someone else’s house and start jumping.

I realize moms in particular have an actual blind eye to the behavior of their kids in public, but this takes the cake. No, I promise they do not know not to do this. I host play dates all the time and it’s appalling how some kids act. I feel terrible for them because they’re not being taught social norms at home, but this makes more sense when people like you think they don’t have to teach their kids boundaries yet fully believe their kids know boundaries outside the walls of their house. Hysterical.

[Anonymous]

I get it OP. I’m 36 but my sister doesn’t have kids thankfully 😂 I don’t want to buy new furniture. My boys ripped a sofa chair in the playroom and it’s only a year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a neat freak (people always comment on how clean my house is). I grew up in a very conservative environment where I wouldn’t have ever even considered putting my bare feet on the couch. I let my three kids jump all over the damn couch and in fact I bought a sectional with multiple pieces so they could move them around for obstacle courses. It horrified some guests but it’s good for my kids and they’re not hurting each other or anything I care about so why not. Kids need to move. Like others have said, they 100% know not to go to someone else’s house and start jumping.

I realize moms in particular have an actual blind eye to the behavior of their kids in public, but this takes the cake. No, I promise they do not know not to do this. I host play dates all the time and it’s appalling how some kids act. I feel terrible for them because they’re not being taught social norms at home, but this makes more sense when people like you think they don’t have to teach their kids boundaries yet fully believe their kids know boundaries outside the walls of their house. Hysterical.

I've yet to see an adult jump on couches, aside from Tom Cruise that is. The kids will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People keep saying “get back to us when you have kids!” but weren’t we all kids at one time? I never did this to my parents’ furniture as a kid. Y’all were jumping all over your furniture growing up?

Absolutely no one is interested in the opinion of someone who doesn't have kids and posts to General Parenting Discussion.

Agree with PPs that furniture can't be "disrespected" - her house, her boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is about teaching your children to respect the property of other people. Personally, we bought high end furniture from beginning because I was reared in a home with high end furniture and we were not allowed to behave as feral animals and our children were trated the same. It is a waste of money to buy cheap junk furniture. You are judged by how your children behave and how they respect the property of other people!

We are all very impressed with your "high end furniture," congratulations.

[Anonymous]

My kid has never jumped on the back of furniture. That said, I don't think furniture deserves "respect".

[Anonymous]

I have a lot of strict rules for my kids. Indoor voices, food only at the table at designated meal times, you must ask to be excused, shoes must be taken off and put away and hands washed as soon as you get home, strict bedtimes, you must stop playing and greet any adult who comes into the house, you must stay in bed until the your okay-to-wake clock comes on, no toys in bed, no touching the bookshelves in the living room, you must put your toys away before bed, etc, etc. We are do not do this modern “gentle parenting” where only conversation and natural consequences are okay. We do old fashioned time-outs.

But we let our kids jump on the couch. It’s an old couch. It was already old and scratched up when they were born. What do I care if they jump on it? It’s fun. The couch cost $500 7 years ago. Do your worst, kids.

People should never be disrespected. A couch is an object, there’s no such thing as “disrespecting” a couch. I, the owner the couch, don’t care about it. So there’s no disrespect involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My step grandchildren are teens and they stand and climb on my new sectional. Their parents never correct them because they play and hang their legs over the backs of the sofa. I’ve seen the parents walk across sectionals before, too. I can’t understand why they feel this is appropriate. When sitting at the dining room table, they put their feet on their chairs and their knees are up. How does one deal with a group like this?

Why did you resurrect a four year old thread? Bored much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I’m at my cousin’s house. She has two little ones, 5 and 3. These kids are allowed to jump on the couch, jump onto it by scaling the back. They’ll go from a trot on the floor, up, and into a trot along the couch cushions. Not once has my cousin told them to stop, and yes, she witnesses it happening.

What’s up with parents who allow their kids disrespect furniture? It makes me feel older than 36, but I’m appalled! I’d never let my kids do this, nor would they even try to do this.

I wasn't like her and regret it. Furniture is for kids, kids aren't for furniture.

[Anonymous]

I have been trying to get my kids to stop doing it… the ottoman in the center makes it so easy to jump from the sofa to the other arm chairs. They love the swivel chair the most. I don’t want to repair or throw away new furniture. Furniture isn’t even made well nowadays. I’d like to keep for a long time and jumping reducing that. Putting furniture in the landfill too frequently is wasteful. In some countries they have wooden sofa and use cushions. That’s definitely better for the environment but less comfy.

[Anonymous]

I allow kids to climb all over and, if it happens, destroy the couch. I just don’t really care. We bought a couch for the kid years knowing we’d replace it afterward, and we bought at a price point where we won’t stress if it gets ruined.

I don’t let kids draw on the walls. But in general I feel like furniture is all easily replaced. I have bigger parenting things to work on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is about teaching your children to respect the property of other people. Personally, we bought high end furniture from beginning because I was reared in a home with high end furniture and we were not allowed to behave as feral animals and our children were trated the same. It is a waste of money to buy cheap junk furniture. You are judged by how your children behave and how they respect the property of other people!

Why do you assume that I let my kids destroy other people’s furniture just because I let them destroy ours? That’s not a logical leap to me. I teach that different families have different rules, and you must obey other families’ rules in their home. Kid guests in our home are also welcome to climb all over our (maybe) expensive couch because I don’t care about it.