I have this rule in my house- no walking on the furniture.
This rule also encompasses things like "no jumping on the furniture and no jumping from the furniture."
It is a rule I must remind my four-nearly-five year old of at least twice a day.
We have a wonderfully bouncy sectional in the family room. Jonz loves to walk up and down the length of it, bouncing with each step.
I've told him the many reasons we don't walk on the furniture.
"You could fall and get hurt."
"You could break something (a toy or heaven-forbid-a bone) if you fell off."
"It's not good for the couch and we want our couch to last a long time."
"I don't like it."
You know, normal reasons for the rules I've made.
So today, I gave Jonzy a bowl of popcorn and told him he could watch a show. While I readied the television, Jonz sat on the couch with his popcorn...or so I thought. I turned around just in time to see him walking across the couch carrying the popcorn bowl and lose his footing. Down he went, up went the bowl.
As he laid in shock on the popcorn covered floor, I took some steadying breaths. What follows is the conversation we had:
Me-"What happened?"
Him-"I fell."
Me-"Why?"
Him-"Cuz I was walking on the couch."
Me-"Are you supposed to walk on the couch?"
Him-"Nope."
Me-"Then why did you do it?"
Him-"Because I did."
Me- "I'm trying really hard not to yell at you, Jonzy. I am so mad right now. Do you know why I'm mad?"
Him-"Because you're mean?"
While taking more steadying breaths because I'm trying super hard not to raise my voice or yell (as has been an unfortunate habit of mine that I'm working hard to break) these thoughts ran through my head-Dagnabbit, boy! I tell you over and over again that we have this rule not to walk on the couch so we can avoid situations just like this one, you break that rule again, and I'm the mean one?!?!?!
Aaaaaaaah, the injustice of it all!
Anyway, I explained that I was mad because he knows this rule and he keeps breaking this rule and now that he's done it again we have a huge mess to clean up.
I'm hoping that the combination of the dangerous edge in my voice and the drudgery of cleaning up every piece of popcorn will keep him from breaking this rule again. I can hope, right?
And hey, at least it was spilled popcorn and not a broken arm!
Plus, now that it's over, the room is clean, and everyone's obedient again, I think it's pretty darn funny. "Because you're mean?"
Honestly.
3 comments:
You are just mean. That is why we tell our kids things, isn't it? I had to laugh at that one. I have to remind mine of the no standing on the couch rule multiple times a day, too. It doesn't help that he told me today that his best friend (whose house he was at today) likes to jump off the couch.
LOL, that's hilarious. I probably would have lost it (if not before then) and told him to go away from me (which is the worst punishment ever devised for Hayden, until the next punishment, of course).
When I upset the kids lately (yes Aly too) they fold their arms and mumble, "OO I'm mad at you!" WELL I'M MAD TOO! But we don't get to throw fits do we. Once when the kids were both screaming and throwing a fit, I threw myself on the ground and started to "cry" and kick and flail around. They were unamused and screamed louder, but I felt better :) Ah the adventure that is parenthood! Way to go not screaming, I'm working on it too, some days are better then others, today was not one of them :)
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