To think this is a normal rule..

[Butterflykissess]

that children are not allowed to eat food in bedrooms or on sofas?! Does anyone allow their children to do this? as much as I tell my children they are not allowed food upstairs or on the sofa they ignore me and do it anyway. Aib u in thinking this is normal and most parents don't allow it.

I don't care where food is eaten as long as there is no mess and its cleaned up. I wouldn't allow plates of food to be eaten in bedrooms however. Meals are at the table or occasionally on the sofa.

I have that rule MrsHathaway! I got fed up of cleaning the waste paper bins. I'm not very good at enforcing it mind you.

Some very rigid people on here. Are your children allowed to breathe?

I'm starting to realise I don't and never have had any "rules". There was never really a need.

Although once when my daughter was little I found a hard boiled egg Behind the sofa. When I asked her, confused, if she threw it there she said "yes mum, I just did this when you went to the kitchen" and mimicked quickly chucking it over her head.🤣

I do think my husband could do with a few rules though...

at Bluntness' DD.

My kid is messy and I don't want my sofa stained so she does not eat on the sofa.

Nobody in our house eats in bedrooms unless there is a special reason, like being ill in bed.

Generally the rules here are no food on the sofas and bedrooms however, as a treat, I let DD eat her sandwich lunch in her bedroom during the holidays now and then. She always brings her plate and rubbish straight down so I don't mind. Sofas are new so we would rather not have them stained

@dexra my children breathe all day everyday.
My sofas are clean and lovely to sit on.
My children can be taken anywhere to eat as they are used to sitting at a table and having good table manners.
It really makes life terribly easy!

How about the next time it happens with cookies, depending on age, maybe they vacuum the sofa, and then certainly no cookies get purchased for the next 2 weeks?

It hasn't really to do with the mess for us, but more about eating at certain times and not eating all day long.
This is something that I noticed when I moved to Australia. People eat and drink (juices, smoothies, coffees, .....) all day long, toddlers in strollers, young kids, older kids, parents, adults.....
Walk in a street in Paris, most people don't eat. Possibly yes , maybe at 12.30 pm. Kids in playground don't have lunch boxes with them, you play at the park then go home and eat lunch at the table. In the afternoon, you might stop at a bakery to buy a croissant, but you don't go at a park with cheese cubes or sandwiches and you certainly don't eat them at 11am.
The same applies at home. There are meals, a snack after school, but otherwise, you don't eat outside these. It is ok to feel a bit of hunger at 6,45pm. But dinner is getting prepared and will soon be served.

I have that rule here too, seems sensible. Exceptions will be for some sensible snack like a fruit or something which can be eaten on the sofa. Food upstairs is a no no. There is no need for it. Food is for eating on the table. Makes sense. Kids are happy with it (so far).

It's been days now, and I'm still laughing about the poster who makes everyone wash their hands before opening the fridge.

Bedtimetea sounds about right to me. Same here really.

We may seem strict but no food allowed in bedrooms! There isn't any need, they can come down to eat. Eating on back room sofa is fine but proper meals at table.

I've been to other houses where the kids are allowed to take food everywhere with them; big 6 pack bags of crisps, cakes, pizzas.

Nope, a bit of respect to appreciate cooked meals, know what crap they're eating and ask for and if we say no because they're already had crisps and an ice cream so more than enough, it's respected.

Yeah, shower or bath every (other) night, bed at a reasonable time. That's it really, basic boundaries. No need to eat in the car, we stop off on long journeys but eating outside anything goes!

Kids do quickly learn and appreciate sleeping in a bed without crumbs, picking friends up in a relatively clean car, being and smelling clean and not tired for school the next morning.

Is there a problem with these sort of rules to hopefully develop a sense of responsibility and self respect?

This thread is YEARS OLD!

Mine were allowed to eat on the sofa when they were old enough not to make a mess.
I never allowed food upstairs.

Yep, it’s a rule for us all in this house, however if they have friends staying over, I relax the rules.

Perfectly normal rule, but there's no point if you let them just ignore and disobey you. Introduce some actual consequences - they have already learnt that "telling off" is just background noise. You could start by taking the food off them. Then go to loss of screen time or pocket money or whatever they care about.

Well, I'd hate never to be allowed a snack on the sofa watching tv.

Is this maybe a rule for toddlers or something like that? I guess I can understand if they are still at the "spreading food around" stage. I can't imagine telling my teens where they could eat, that seems controlling. I just ask them to clean up any mess they make.

If you have told them not to do this, and they still do it, then please revisit the way you parent them. Perhaps, just to begin with, you could stop buying cookies.