Running inside the home - Reasonable expectations or not...

[Anonymous]

That's just plain old mean. There are other ways to discipline children, aside from saying "I won't comfort you if you get hurt." That girl may grow up thinking her mom doesn't care about her. How sad.

[Anonymous]

Not only do I let my DD (almost 3) run, sometimes I join her and sometimes she chases my husband around and we have no plans of stopping her anytime soon. I think that this is a great way to let off energy and she has so much fun doing it. The layout of the main floor of our home make is great for running and our furniture arrangement actually creates a few running "tracks".


In terms of safety, I make sure that she is barefooted or wearing shoes/socks with traction. She has had a few bumps along the way but nothing serious.

[Anonymous]

OP here - It is very interesting. My husband and I are of different minds on this and if the posts on this board are any indication, DC Urban Parents are all over the spectrum on it too.

[Anonymous]

I take the perspective of there should be no running in the house for two reasons. Number one for safety reasons and two because we live in a townhome and it causes too much noise for the neighbors. I imagine it's a lot worse if you're in an apartment or condo and have someone living below you. Our nextdoor neighbors have two children who are constantly running up and down the stairs, jumping off beds and who knows what else. I sometimes get a headache from all the noise they cause and my husband has had to talk to the husband once already. I feel it's just disrespectful and laziness on the mother's part because I NEVER see her take the children outside, even when it was nicer and warmer. I have a two year old who already knows the no running in the house rule and does have to be reminded from time to time. If we were in a single family home with an area where running would be safe, I may be more lenient with the rule.

[Anonymous]

We live in an apartment with hardwood floors and we allow running (we only have 1) and we play chase all the time! We don't wear shoes in the house, so there's no bothering the neighbors and we don't wear socks either so we don't slip.
There is no ball throwing in the house. I used to allow her to kick a ball, but she's much too strong now!

[Anonymous]

maybe a kids' workout video would be a good idea, if the issue is being cooped up inside during cold/wet weather. just a thought.

[Anonymous]

As with all rules, the question for us is whether it's absolutely necessary to have it. You know, like "no juggling knives!" (That one applies both inside and out of the house.) Is it a real safety issue, or just an "I'm kinda worried about this, although I can't really point to a specific hazard and I guess could just move a few things out of the way and there wouldn't be much of a problem at all" kind of safety issue?

Like "ya can't have Cheerios for every meal for six consecutive months." Really? Why not? (For the literalists out there, six months is an exaggeration, poetic license taken to try to make a point.)

Overall, my view is that the fewer rules, the better. On this particular issue, with our particular kids, in our particular home, with our particularly crummy collection of chotchkes, and in the overall context of our particular kids' behavior, interests, and physical durability, we've opted to let them run (and roller blade, for that matter -- not an exaggeration).

[Anonymous]

whuh? PP, are you serious?

[Anonymous]

yes. which part? i'm sure the rollerblading sounds funny, but it's less than the sum of its parts (or something like that).

we have a very small house, with one little hallway. and now that i think of it, maybe i made it sound more like a routine than it really is -- i guess it happened 2-3 times, as the kids got their wobbly legs under them. it was sort of a slow, safe space to get the balance, including by hanging onto the walls.

so forget i said anyhthing, except that for us, at least, it was a good opportunity to resist the obvious temptation to say "no, that's ridiculous -- you can't rollerblade in the house!" and instead recognize that there are pros and cons to every decision. sure there are obvious downsides to allowing it. with our kids, though, "opening a door" or "starting down a slippery slope" isn't a real danger. When we say OK to something, that's great and they have a ball. When we say NO never, or NO no more, they know we mean it and, having heard us say YES so often, they know that we're not just saying NO reflexively, so they appreciate the difference and cease and desist.

I'm not saying any of this is easy, heck no, or that the times to say yes and the times to say no jump out and make themselves obvious. My only points, really, were that saying yes or saying no is a "decision moment," or "choice moment" (i.e., there is a choice to be made) and that saying NO as rarely as possible is easier and healthier all around, including for the times when we have to say NO. I do try to keep the "juggling knives" image in my head when confronted with these decisions.

[Anonymous]

PP, I let my kids Rollerblade in the house as well. I would like them to have a better grasp before they hit the pavement.
When they were younger I let them ride their trikes inside as well.

I am the mom who runs and slides on the hardwood floors.