Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Are your kids moving and engaging in enough physical play? do they have the opportunity to do so, multiple times a day? Are they boys? i also just sat and colored in the corner as a child for most of my childhood, but I have a high energy boy and floor is lava with couch cushions is almost a daily occurrence.
This was one of my thoughts as well. If they’re jumping on the couch regularly, they have excess energy that needs to be redirected. A trampoline in the backyard could help, or time at the park.
Anonymous wrote:I guess I’m an authoritarian parent because at 5 and 6, the issue I’d have is not the jumping on the couch—it’s acting in defiance of direct instruction from me about what NOT to do.
IMO there’s just no negotiation on that at such a young age because it only gets more difficult from here.
Right now they need firm and clear boundaries and the point is not whether we think it’s dangerous or not or whether or not you should or shouldn’t allow couch jumping.
The point is—what is YOUR rule about it?
If the rule is “no jumping on the couch” then THAT’s the rule and there needs to be a clear and consistent consequence if/when they choose to violate your rule.
The equivocation and the “DH doesn’t think it’s a big deal but I do” creates confusion and inconsistency.
If you make it a rule, then follow through. Otherwise you’re just teaching them that your rules are negotiable and there’s so much wiggle room that they don’t know where the line is, OP.
You don’t need to be angry about it when they test the boundaries. Just consistent.
Anonymous wrote:I guess I’m an authoritarian parent because at 5 and 6, the issue I’d have is not the jumping on the couch—it’s acting in defiance of direct instruction from me about what NOT to do.
IMO there’s just no negotiation on that at such a young age because it only gets more difficult from here.
Right now they need firm and clear boundaries and the point is not whether we think it’s dangerous or not or whether or not you should or shouldn’t allow couch jumping.
The point is—what is YOUR rule about it?
If the rule is “no jumping on the couch” then THAT’s the rule and there needs to be a clear and consistent consequence if/when they choose to violate your rule.
The equivocation and the “DH doesn’t think it’s a big deal but I do” creates confusion and inconsistency.
If you make it a rule, then follow through. Otherwise you’re just teaching them that your rules are negotiable and there’s so much wiggle room that they don’t know where the line is, OP.
You don’t need to be angry about it when they test the boundaries. Just consistent.
Anonymous wrote:Are your kids moving and engaging in enough physical play? do they have the opportunity to do so, multiple times a day? Are they boys? i also just sat and colored in the corner as a child for most of my childhood, but I have a high energy boy and floor is lava with couch cushions is almost a daily occurrence.
Anonymous wrote:
1. Jumping on the couch is a minor offense, and not that dangerous. Your husband is correct.
2. Straight to punishment and BIG TIME TROUBLE is for something that can kill them. Running with scissors, or playfighting with the kitchen knives, or using the lighter, or pushing someone down the stairs. Or running across the street without looking.