Are Your Kids Allowed to Jump on the Couch?

My nephew jumped on his couch when he was little ..... until his foot went between the cushions and through the bottom part where he cut his foot on a spring and needed stitches. He also jumped on his bed until he went too far and hit the wall and broke his hand.

Because of him, I decided couches and beds weren't for jumping at my house.

No, I don't.

I do however let them bring all the kitchen chairs in the living room and cover them with blankets to make a tent. I also often get a big sheet out and lay it on the living room floor and allow them to do play dough, painting or crafts. We do lots of other fun things. I just don't find jumping on the couch a safe thing. Nor an acceptable behavior to mimic at other people's houses because I know lots of other people that would have a problem with it.

I don't allow them to jump on the sofa. But, I realize that kids need to jump! To provide a good alternative you can either get a very small trampoline and let her jump on that, or if you have an extra mattress or something you might put that on the floor. We've used old crib mattresses for jumping.

not just no but HELL TO THE NO. I don't have the kind of money (and REALLY didn't when they were little and WANTED to do this) to replace my sofa every few years.

Edited to add: BB I can look at my couch and have wonderful memories of my kids and I snuggled up reading a book together or watching a movie or just simply cuddling. I DO NOT need my couch to be beat to hell and unusable to get great memories with my kids.

And rules I can't enforce? Honey those don't exist in my house ... if I make a rule it gets followed or suffer the consequences.

Also wanted to add that I have no qualms with others letting their kids jump on their furniture :) as long as they do like bug and teach 'em its ONLY AT HOME that it's allowed :) Hey if you've got the money to replace your furniture ... more power to ya ... wanna send some my way? LOL

No, we don't jump on the couch at our house, and *GASP* we still make memories at our house! Who knew you could do that without jumping on the couch? Oh, I laughed so hard at that!

Angi C is so right that you don't have to have a couch that's beat to hell just to have a memory. LOL!!!

The people who do allow it must be the parents of the kids who come into my house and run and jump all over my furniture. If you think that you can train them just to do it in your own home, well........you are living in a fantasy world! :)

Edit* The fact that people are so sensitive about this is ludicrous. Bug, I have PERSONALLY had people come to my house and their kids run rampant over my furniture and parents say "I don't know why they are doing that, they know only to do it at home!". I am willing to bet that we ALL have no idea what our kids do in other people's homes that would mortify us. Lighten up!

No jumping on the couch at our house. Two reasons:

First, we paid good money for our couch. We are not so rich that buying new couches for jumping on is in our budget. (Plus, there are only a few places for them to land from my couch; two of them involve a window and a wood stove. So much for 'memories'.... I don't want a memory of the ER, thanks.)

Second, it's just a good standard to set. We don't jump on *anyone's* couches. I have a sibling who learned this the hard way, when her kids started jumping on couches at other people's houses--and those other people weren't too happy.

Besides, we have plenty of fun things to jump off of in the backyard. If you soooo need to jump, go outside!

Not just no, but H**L NO! My kids got severely scolded and grounded for mistreating our furniture even if it was old, shabby hand me downs.

Just out of curiousity, why would you hate to stop her?

Good luck!

Um. NO.
It's never been an issue really. Much like "no shoes on the sofa" isn't necessary to remind them about. Starting, oh, about the time they could walk, these rules were instilled in them.... and it doesn't take much but a direct look to nip any offending behavior once they know the rule. Rules are rules when it comes to indoor play and the furniture.
Why do you hate to stop her from ruining your furniture?? That is an easy call, in my book. And if you don't teach her now that it is unacceptable behavior, you will likely have some unhappy parents of friends after she goes on play dates down the road.

Never. "feet on the floor" was my motto;). We have lots of family and friends that we visit. I thought it would be a confusing message if I allowed my kids to jump on furniture at my house but then when we were out told them not to.
I hosted a party at my house when my daughter was in 2nd grade. One of her classmates was actually jumping on my couch. Later I found her standing on my fancy dining room table. Parents IMO really need to teach their kids acceptable behavior. This child was 8 years old and did not know this was inappropriate. Very sad.

No jumping on the furniture at our house at all.

Not allowed in our house. DD has plenty of places where she is allowed to jump, including gymnastics class. It's a sofa, not a trampoline. Same goes for the bed. It's about her not getting hurt, and it's also about her learning boundaries and respecting our home and our space, including the furniture that we paid good money for. We are not allowed to jump on furniture in ANYONE'S house. We can create plenty of "happy childhood memories" without furniture being trashed or a trip to the ER.

Yep. GASP!!! He is allowed at OUR house. Our house only. He knows this and strictly follows the rule. I am allowed to jump on the couch, too. Double GASP!!

Sunshine - Not living in a fantasy world, thanks. My parents allowed me to jump on the couch, and not ONCE did I do it anywhere else. In fact, my son will announce to other people that he won't jump on their couch, and it's just fun for at home. If you think you know how every other house in the world is run, and how every other child in the world behaves...YOU live in a fantasy world!!

The next thing you know, the frame of your couch will break and you'll end up having to buy a whole new couch instead of restuffing cushions.

What will happen when she does this at someone else's house? And breaks someone's knick-knacks?

You need to have a special place where she can jump. Not on beds, and not on couches/furniture. Not near furniture, either. One of my kids was bouncing on a small bouncer with us all in the room with him, and he bounced funny and flew into the piano, splitting his lip. We spent the night in the ER with him, having to get a screaming kid stitches in his upper lip. Do you know how hard it is for a doctor to stitch up a kid's lip when they are screaming?

Time to say NO to any more jumping.

Dawn

There is no jumping, standing or walking on any furniture. Why would that be allowed? The way I see it they have tons of toys, and can create forts and the like out of spare blankets and pillows or cardboard or anything else. Jumping is strictly for outside.

Nope. Not even a little bit.

Um, no. The living room is NOT a playground. My kids were not allowed to treat it as one.
Keep in mind that the things that you allow at your house, your child will assume are okay to do at others' homes. The child who jumps on the furniture or otherwise disrespects the property of others is often not invited back for a second playdate.

Sorry but couches are for sitting not jumping.

Yah, I let my kids bounce, flip off of, and jump on the couch.

My couch is 26 years old (the same one I used to jump on). Over where we are, there are a lot of very rainy days. My kids need to move around a lot. We make obstacle courses out of furniture, jump from the back of the couch, or have dance marathons from high places. My couch gets a lot of love.

Our rule is that there is a time and a place. We don't jump on other people's beds unless invited to, for example. It's not okay to jump on Nana's couch but it's okay to jump on P.'s couch. We don't run or touch the walls in Grandpa's house and we get to do headstands against the wall in your room. My room is a quiet space. If you're in here your body is slow and gentle, unless we're having tickle wars in bed. Also, when I say, "That's enough", that's enough. It's good to know how to settle down/change pace.

So yah, we jump on the couch.

That was a long time ago, but no, it wasn't allowed. Neither was jumping on the beds.

Rough play is for outside, not inside. You can make rules and stand by them, both for your sanity and her safety.

No jumping on furniture. I do let them build forts with the cushions though.

Jumping on the furniture was a no-no for my kids.
For one thing, TV time was for settling and calming down.

However, I must admit that my son was Batman for Halloween one year when he was little and he did take a few flying leaps off the arm of the couch in an attempt to test his cape out.

Furniture, including beds, is not for jumping.

Just my opinion.

UPDATED: I think people are thinking I'm saying you cant have memories without the couch. You didn't read. I never said that I said the memories are worth it to M.. Sure If I decided not to anymore we'd make other memories. Same as someone saying , they go on rides with their kids for the memories and another person can say, I don;t and make memories still...relax people--saying the memories are worth it does not = you do't do it so you have no memories=) to each thier own--we're couch jumpers=)

Whats the amex commecial.
Bed $100
Couch $450
Memories and fun of reliving your youth and jumping on them with your kids - PRICELESS

wow I'm suprised by so many no answers. I thought it would be 50/50.

YES! We do. On sleepovers the girls put a chair behind the couch and were using it to do tumbles onto the couch. (it's u shaped so extra room for rolling on) I have great pictures=) Also sometimes I bring her bed into the living room and she jumps off the couch onto it. We got her a cheap bed and my couch was $425 (expensive for M.) but the memories and laughs are priceless.
As for the "It's dangerous" replies so is running on concrete- but we don't walk all of the time as kids

OH Btw I DO TOO! =)

Oh HECK NO! No jumping on the furniture at this house or anyone elses! Not only because I dont want my furniture messed up, but I always get scared they would jump and have some kind of an accident hurting themselves. Maybe you can get her a little trampoline to to some jumping. :)

no. i'm all about kids being kids and bucking and snorting and kicking up their heels. make places in the house for them to do that, and make sure they get plenty of outside time. destroying the furniture is not a given, and will make one's kids unwelcome in other people's homes.
khairete
S.

It's not allowed. Furniture is for sitting or lounging on, jumping is for outside.

I don't understand how some are making a connection that you can't have fond memories without ruining furniture - confused!

No - my kids don't. They know they they do and I see it, they are on the floor for the rest of the night. Sorry, but furniture is not a toy...they have more than enough toys. Our set in the basement cost us $60 from the Habitat for Humanity store and they aren't even allowed to jump on that. Feet on the floor, and if they can't follow that rule, they are welcome to put their bottom's on the floor too.

Why would you have rules that you can not enforce properly? Yes, my 4 year old son is allowed to jump on the couch, from the ottoman to the couch, on his bed, and remove the cushions and jump on them from the coach. I supervise. I only have one child and I feel that one day I will look at that couch and have happy memories. How sad to think that in 20 years there are people that would only have a beautiful couch to look at and no memories. To each his own.

I think it also depends on the age and number of children too. At 10, I doubt my son would even want to jump on the couch but that would be unacceptable. If I had 3 or more children then once again, pretty much no. Jumping every day? No. But if the kid is in the moment, they why ruin it? Our couch is over 10 years old by the way and still looks great. I have no concerns about him "ruining" it. When it's time to stop jumping then the child needs to listen to you. And no jumping at other's homes unless the parents say it's ok. Rules are meant to be enforced and if you cant' enforce them there they shouldn't be rules!

Couches are for sitting.

Sorry no jumping on the couch......I do not let other children jump on my couches either. She can have just as much fun jumping on the rug or floor. Its not safe and it will ruin your couch. I know in the past when little ones have come to visit they will jump on my couch and I tell them thats its not allowed here. Personally I think its really rude to let anyone jump on furniture.

No jumping on any of the furniture at all. Of course they always try to break the rule. We've already had a broken ankle because of furniture jumping :(

No jumping on furntiure - but I do have a small trampoline for him to jump on when he needs it.

You know what, it really depends. We just bought brand new living room furniture, and no, I don't let our kids jump on it. Also, my kids have new-ish beds, and no, I don't let them jump on them. Why? Because when we had older furniture, they broke the legs off the couch by jumping on it, and broke the box spring on the bed by jumping on it. Kids need to learn respect for property.

Yes! Not trampoline type jumping. That they did on the beds. But some jumping, lots of tumbling, jumping from the arm rests onto the couch etc. I'll do anything to give them exercise and they had so much fun doing it. Worth it to me. And they also knew only in our house.

There are certainly other places for them to jump. Furniture is off limits.

I wouldn't mind it if it was just my 4 year old but I keep 4 other kids during the day so yeah, no jumping on my couch. Ever. Dangerous and destructive.

No, our kids do not jump on the furniture. They have a trampoline out in the yard they can go jump on.

I don't care if they take the cushions and build forts, or jump off the couch onto a pile of pillows from the beds. But they are not allowed to jump on the couch cushions or the couch.

NO.
No jumping on ANY furniture.
They can jump on the floor. Or those little exercise "trampolenes" that are made for a living room.

There was no jumping on furniture in my house, for two reasons.
First and foremost, it's dangerous. Miscalculate your landing, and you could end up with a skull fracture when your head hits the floor.
Second, it damages the furniture, and furniture is expensive to repair or replace.

No.....are you kidding me!!!

I am also shocked at how many no's there are. I do...they take the cushions off, put them on the floor and jump into them. Or they build a fort with the cushions. I guess they don't actually jump directly on the couch that much but they do. It's fun for them, gets energy out, and there are a lot of worse things I can imagine them doing. I would never invest in good furniture with young kids. Best investment we ever made with kids was 2 leather cubes and got rid of our coffee table!! They are so much safer and, well, they jump from these too!

Nope. I'm not spending $800 -$1,000 for furniture she can tear up.

When our older daughter was younger along with my twin sisters and nieces, they broke a bed at my mother's house by jumping. They removed the mattress, duct taped it back together, and made up the bed. It was ritual for my brother in law to come over and go lay down in the room. He is a big guy. Well, he shamefully came out and told my mother he broke her bed. After a bought of laughter everyone went in the room to see how bad the damage was. They pulled the mattress back and found the bed had been taped from end to end with duct tape.

No jumping on the couch! There is thin pieces of wood under all that pretty upholstery.

If it's theirs(meaning that they purchased and paid for it), they can jump on it all they want. It's an accident waiting to happen, and not ever a good idea.

Feet go on the floor. Furniture is not for jumping on, period. They have beds and mini trampolines for bouncing inside.

he's not allowed but that's mostly because i can't afford new furniture and our couch has a rip in the seam under the cushions. but i'm pretty sure if i saved up and bought a new couch i wouldn't want him jumping on it either. i do let him jump on his bed though. to each their own, we all have our reasons.

An old couch in the basement: Yes.

The brand new/reupholstered/re-stuffed living room couch: No.

Children need to learn respect for their belongings and their family's belongings. How much did you pay to have those cushions restuffed?

I'm sure she can come up with an alternative. Perhaps some pillows and stuffed toys from her own room?

I have never let my daughter jump on any furniture in our home. If your kids want to jump get a small trampoline. I guess I was taught to respect my parents and everyone else’s stuff and not jump or destroy it.

But to each their own, if you don't care about your stuff then let them.

I personally don't like it, and my furniture screams out no, buy my kids have such fun pretending they are all kinds of stuff. It's a car, it's a fireman ladder, it's an ocean, it is all kinds of stuff. I don't like to stop their imagination, but I do put a curb on it when it is excessive. I do not have much visitors, but if they do come over, I would like to treasure what's left of it for them to sit on..that's why they have the old rule, do not buy new furniture when you have kids...lol

No they aren't, drives me insane. But they do anyways, it's a constant struggle. I used to let them jump only on their beds... until one fell off and hit his head and had to get 6 stitches.

I don't allow the kids to jump on the furniture at my house. However, that doesn't mean they don't do it or try to when I'm not looking. We recently moved and got new couches, so I've been hyper vigilant about keeping sofa jumping non existant. If they start bouncing on the furniture they have to sit on the hard wood floor. I do allow them to go bounce on their own beds though.

I read this as are your kids allowed to jump on the coach and I was thinking noooooo but then they haven't tried.

I don't even let them stand on the couch let alone jump. Sometimes they forget I am mean but then I remind them. :p

Strangely jumping on the bed doesn't bother me at all....

Not on the sofa/couch.. just because we always had nice things around here, if she accidentally knocked them over , I would not be pleased.. But she could jump on her bed every once in a whole..

Then we purchased an "Air Pogo" And a "Twizzler" to hang from the tree outside.. Never had a "jumping in the house" problem again..

No jumping on furniture in our house but when dd was little we used to put the cushions on the floor and she could jump on them. My Grandma always tells the story of my Dad being 4 and jumping on the couch, he then fell over the back and broke his nose. YIKES!! Still has the scar and he is 64. lol

I don't like it~ Once in a blue moon, if he's wrestling with his friends, I'll let it slide..

Jumping on the furniture....no.
Jumping off the furniture....yes.

My couch is one I got from a pawn shop in college 10 years ago and any jumping on it would probably break the thing in half! And I don't want to have to go buy a new couch.

no I do not let them jump on the couch. We are borrowing my brother in laws couch while he is living in CA for a year. Our other couch (that we own), the cushins don't come off so there is a big rip where it is sewn on because the kids were jumping on it.
Someday when they are older I would like to get a nice pottery barn style couch so I'm trying to teach them now that they are not allowed to jump on it

Well our son has fallen off the couch onto the hard hard floor. We made a deal that if he didn't jump on the couch, I would try to take him to the "bouncy place" more often (a local indoor play place with 5 bouncy castles). So he is reminded when standing on the couch that he is NOT to be bouncing.

I don't allow my kids to jump on the couch, but of course, it was still happening. So, for Christmas, I bought them two small trampolines with the handles for them to hold on to. It's one of the best investments I've made. They get the joys of jumping, they get exercise, and I keep my furniture in great shape. Plus they learn that furniture is for sitting and cuddling and that there are items that are not meant to be toys. They are making plenty of memories and actually enjoy the trampolines more than they did jumping on the couch. Oh, and my sanity is saved from not having to correct them all day long about jumping on the furniture!

Yes - we do allow it but not a lot and if we had a really nice new sofa, I wouldn't. But we have 2 sofa's always (LR/FR) so I'd say go jump on the other one. I'm in the camp of it's fun and if it keeps them entertained, it's worth the expense to me someday.

no but they do it occasionaly anyways

Before marriage yes, after marriage no.

Before marriage the couch is gone
After marriage the couch is 4 years old and looks new.

No "jumping" per say but we do make obsticles courses with our furniture. So it's more of leaping from one to another. Our furniture has not been updated since ahem "college" for the reason of kids peeing and what not so I don't mind the furnature being used in this way.

Jumping on the bed in our house is prohibited!

I'm with momma l. They aren't really allowed to; however, the are 4 & 6 so they do it anyway. Same with the bed. Their newest thing is jumping off the loft onto a pile of blankets. We explain the dangers and remind them not to do it, but they don't get punished for it. Some lessons have to be learned by experience. My 4 yo won't keep his shoes on outside. He currently has a pretty good cut on the bottom of his foot. He STILL isn't wearing shoes. Oh well, it's his feet.

I didnt let mine unless it was initiated by me as a special, spontaneous treat, sort of like jumping on the bed... same rule.

Officially, it's against the rules in our house. My friends boys both broke their arms by jumping on/off the couch. But it's one of those things I don't have the energy to fight every time so sometimes I pretend I don't see them....

Jumping on the bed is a never allowed though. My kids beds are full size "grown up" beds (i.e. not toddler beds or anything smaller) so it feels so high to me. If they fell off or hit their heads on the head or foot boards it would not be good.