Running in The House

[Jewels]

And I'm also talking about 1, 2 and 3 year olds, I dont have any school agers that could really do damage.

[sahm1225]

Until they trip over something and smash their face into a wall. Nope. We walk int he house, we run outside.

LOL! I have mostly 1-2 yr olds and honestly running outside is more of an accident waiting to happen than it is inside. Everytime we go outside we get a skinned knee, scratch, bump, etc. At least in our play area it's padded. That being said, they know better than to run anywhere BUT in the play area.

[AmandasFCC]

Well to each their own, I have GRASS in my backyard and to be honest I haven't even had a scraped knee. If they fall they fall, but I think teaching them appropriate behaviour is paramount and for me, we don't run indoors.

[kitkat]

My kids usually don't run in the house, but sometimes they get excited or just really wired and end up running/chasing. When they get like that I give them the choice to play something else or crawl instead of run. A few times crawling around the chair instead of chasing the friend by running and they are ready to play something else. It's amazing how quickly the crawling seems to calm them down ::

[junebug31]

I don't allow running in the house either. I agree that accidents can happen regardless of whether you're inside or outside but I think outdoors there is generally more of an open area. Inside there are so many things to trip on ie: throw rugs, furniture, other children, etc. Not to mention the fact that a falling child can also do damage to your things. Obviously the child's safety is priority but I value my things as well and really wouldn't want to ask a parent for reimbursement for broken items. Also, even though small children aren't in school yet, they will be eventually and running in school is not tolerated. They need to learn what is acceptable behavior. It's the same way with screaming inside, we don't do that either because again, it's not generally tolerated. I think it's best to prepare them for "real life."

[Bizzymom1111]

Well to each their own, I have GRASS in my backyard and to be honest I haven't even had a scraped knee. If they fall they fall, but I think teaching them appropriate behaviour is paramount and for me, we don't run indoors.

I agree with you. If these children are spending the majority of their waking hours with us, then I believe we should be teaching them proper manners and behaviors, such as not running indoors. Two and three year olds aren't going to distinguish where they "can" or "can't" run- if we let them do it at our house, they'll do it at anyones house-and then wonder why they are being reprimanded for it. I have the same rule. NO RUNNING! Then it's one warning, then time out!

[boysx5]

had that all day yesterday I must have said stop running 1,000 times finally I made them sit and read a book and then we went and ran outside not looking forward to the cooler weather when we can't get out to run so much

[Jewels]

Kids are not stupid, They learn that there are different rules, for different situations, and different places/houses, and I think this is very important for them to learn, along with listening and respecting adults...most of my daycare kids can carry sippy cups everywhere at their house, but they know at my house, cups all stay at the table, The children know that during play and awake times, they can be loud, but during nap time if someone wakes up, they must sit quietly, my son always looks to me for permission to do something if were somewhere away from home, he knows at grandmas house he can put in all the DVD's himeself, but at my house and anyone elses he never touches the DVD's without permission. So I think its an unfair statement to say if my child runs in my house, their going to run wild in school, but every child will "forget rules" and need to be reminded throughout their whole life. If the kids are running enough and getting out of hand, they are told to slow down, but that never really happens, because they know how far they can go (most of the time)

[JJPlaycare]

Ahhhh I love to let children be children and couldn't agree with this statement anymore than I do! However, it is also our job as parents/guardians/caregivers to keep children safe!! Children should be let be children, but they also need guidance and need to be taught what is safe and what is not!! There is NO running in my house either! Even though I would love to own a gymnasium and let the children run their brains out I do not own one and therefore there is no running in my house! My house has a fairly open floor plan, but there is still corners and furniture and a slippery wood floor and it is not a wide open spaced area for them to run! Outside is another story I do say run away and we have races all of the time! I do not however let or like a 1 year old running down my paved driveway and will pick them up and set them in the grass and say run all you want over here! Again keeping them safe! It is called prevention! You are right kids will be kids and they will get hurt, but it is our jobs to prevent and illiminate what we can!! My daughter has had stitches twice now from running in the house! So no I obviously haven't come up with a solution to stop the constant running, but I will keep eliminating as much of it as I can to keep all of the kids as safe as I can!

[Jewels]

My son recieved six staples in his head, from having a cozy coupe car tip over with him in at, at his old daycare, One of my daycare kids, broke their leg this summer going down a slide at the park, and one of my neighbors had there kid in need of stitches from running and not watching and going right into a tree. I do not believe that by letting the older kids chase around the center island, that I am not keeping them safe, My husband and I chase our children in the house all the time, its a game chasing to grab them to get jammies on, I have a song during dance time, That keeps getting faster and faster while we march around the living room until were almost all running. But I have had many more injuries outside. They'll get injured anywhere, I dont think its fair to say I am not keeping my kids safe by doing this, again I am not telling anyone that they should let children run wild in the house, and I do not allow them to run wild.

[Bizzymom1111]

My son recieved six staples in his head, from having a cozy coupe car tip over with him in at, at his old daycare, One of my daycare kids, broke their leg this summer going down a slide at the park, and one of my neighbors had there kid in need of stitches from running and not watching and going right into a tree. I do not believe that by letting the older kids chase around the center island, that I am not keeping them safe, My husband and I chase our children in the house all the time, its a game chasing to grab them to get jammies on, I have a song during dance time, That keeps getting faster and faster while we march around the living room until were almost all running. But I have had many more injuries outside. They'll get injured anywhere, I dont think its fair to say I am not keeping my kids safe by doing this, again I am not telling anyone that they should let children run wild in the house, and I do not allow them to run wild.

jewels, I don't believe I recall anyone saying that you don't keep your kids safe. We're all just voicing our opinions on the subject-which btw, we're getting away from. Sorry Heather! Heather, I haven't had any one trick work to get my kids to stop running, I usually give a warning and then a time out. I've also tried what some previous posters have done, and make them go back to where they started running, and walk. I loved the speeding ticket and parking space idea!! Although theonly forseeable problem with that might be that the kids LIKE to get tickets, and turn it into a game! Hence- more running!!

[Unregistered]

Daddy

I have a 4 and 7 year old. I agree that children should not run in the house because accidents happen. I also agree that there should be a time where parents can organize a short safe oberved fun run. I've read some of the suggestions posted and offer the following guidline that can be used as a teaching tool to instruct children about running in the house.

No Running in the House
The rule is no running in the house
Acceptable behavior is to walk inside the house
Running is for outside
Unacceptable behavior is to run inside the house
Running is not for inside the house
Running in the house is not safe
If you run in the house, you can have an accident (trip, fall, and hurt yourself)
If you are disobeying the rule, you will perform the following learning measures
You will walk back and forth across the floor 6 times
You will get a speeding ticket with one of corrective measures for violation of the rule
You will be sent to the parking space for 2 minutes for speeding (running)
You will sit in the parking space for 4 minutes for speeding
You will not play with your toy for 8 minutes
You will go to your room for a timeout of 15 minutes
We love you but the rule is no running in the house

[Heidi]

Hey Mel...

i have placed all the furniture in a way that they can't run in the house. the daycare room has "centers", the dining room (where we eat, do crafts, messy stuff, etc.) is too small, the couch seperates the dining/living room, and they know NOT to step a foot farther then the couch....

my 8 yr old son still has issues w/ running in the halls at school, especially down the stairs. his teacher(s) always make him go back and do it properly. he's realizing now that its alot of work, and is not doing it as much

Do you mean they are not allowed in the livingroom area?

After taking down my christmas tree today, I am thinking of doing some rearranging here....

[2ndFamilyDC]

I do not allow running in my house either. For safety reasons.

But all my 2 & 3 YO boys want to do is run.

I arrange stuff so they cannot run back and forth but they

still run. Grrrrr, just cannot get them to stop.

It does not help that these two are cousins and play

together at their homes all the time and of course are

running and wrestling.

[melskids]

Do you mean they are not allowed in the livingroom area?

After taking down my christmas tree today, I am thinking of doing some rearranging here....

yeah. only the SA are allowed in the "living Room" area. thats their space to have toys with small parts, like legos, puzzles, etc. All my SA are really good, they dont jump on furniture, or any of that.

the littles must stay in the daycare room, or in the dining area where we do messy stuff.

All three rooms (and the kitchen) are open and run into each other, so i can see no matter what area i am in.