Mysteries

December 14, 2009 in Mysteries | 7 comments

Why do parents make the rule, “no running in the house?” 

And while we’re at it, why do parents make the rule, “no jumping on the bed?”

Baffling.

  1. Trey Givens on December 14, 2009 at 2:53 pm

    1) Because little people are clumsy to the point where parents also make the rule, “No operating heavy machinery” and routinely administer breathalyzer tests to check for sobriety. Clumsy results in hurting and broken valuables.

    2) This is really just capricious cruelty because parents hate children. My parents at least came up with the pseudoscientific excuse that it can break the box springs and whatnot under the bed.

  2. Bill Brown on December 14, 2009 at 4:44 pm

    We have both rules in effect at our house. It’s part of our “Wildness Stays Outside” initiative. With four kids, the likelihood that running or jumping on the bed will result in injury to self or bystanders approaches certainty.

  3. Amy on December 14, 2009 at 4:49 pm

    Yeah, I got my answer here and on Facebook. The answer is “when you have older or multiple kids.” But for my little one, it would be a ridiculous rule.

  4. Kelly Elmore on December 14, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    Well, I broke my parent’s guest room bed by jumping on it. Over time, I ended up bending the metal part, and one night, while a guest was sleeping on it, it fell in!

  5. Kevin McAllister on December 14, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    Yep. With just two kids running in the house I’ve observed that their relative gravitation goes to infinity. It’s amazing how they can always seem to collide with each other.

  6. Lynne on December 16, 2009 at 4:35 pm

    Scaredy-cat parents make these rules attempting to avoid:

    1) outrageous dental bills,
    2) stitches which leave permanent scars on heads where hair no longer grows (and which are especially likely required if the bed is near a radiator).

    In short, I think parents makes these rules to avoid seeing blood pour from the general head region of their children. I’m just guessing.

  7. Kim on December 22, 2009 at 11:25 pm

    Here is another take: The manners your children have at home are likely to be manners on display at other people’s homes. I was appalled when a friend’s child came to my house and started jumping on my furniture. That was also a parenting mistake–the child’s parents should have warned her that not everyone allows their things to be used as a jungle gym. It is also why (aside from my own comfort) I enforce table manners such as eating with one’s mouth closed, asking for items to be passed politely, sitting still in one’s chair (depending on age, of course), elbows off the table, keeping one’s lips closed while chewing, eating slowly, small bites, and all food on a utensil that goes to one’s mouth goes into one’s mouth, etc.