Jumping on The Bed

My kids love jumping on the bed. Nothing I say or do has been effective in curbing this behavior. Time Outs, Stern Talking, Yelling, Nothing.

The joy they derive from this activity outweighs any penalty that I have come up with. They are sneaky about it, they are blatant, they simply won't stop. Behind my back or in front of my face, they jump and they laugh.

Merry is careful, she rarely has the wipe out that makes you nervous. If she falls it is always controlled. She just misses and lands on the floor on her butt, or she slides off the edge of the bed at the last instance, unable to save it.

David jumps with abandon, when he goes over it can be very scary, I have seen him land right on his head. Visions of evenings in the emergency room race through my mind. These visions are brushed away, David pulls himself together and proclaims "I OTay, Me Wanna Jump on Da Bed!" to which I reply, "I think you have had enough for tonight" and I put him in his crib crying. He is not crying from the pain of landing on his head, he cries because the fun of jumping on the bed is over.

He has taken two of these falls that I am aware of, and he don't care. The kid is going to jump on the bed if it kills him.

To tell you the truth, I am proud. I loved to jump on the bed, the feeling of freedom, the wind in my hair, the sense of danger, what a thrill. These kids must pick up on my admiration, I think they know, even in the midst of my sternness reprimand, that I am really quite jealous and wish I could get up there and jump my ass off as well.