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.

Yes to sofas, no to upstairs.

I’d assume that was fairly normal. We expect no eating on sofa or bedrooms.

My children are all under 10 and mainly eat at the table as otherwise they’d run around eating and risk choking. They sometimes eat outside.

They can drink water but juice at the table!

However apples seem to break the rules and I find cores all over.

Meals at table but snacks on sofa fine.
Sofa is scotch guarded. Dp and I occasionally eat dinner in front of telly.

Food up stairs hasn't become an issue as Dc small but milk and tea ok up stairs.

Whatever happened to the word 'biscuit'? (Weeps quietly.)

Breakfast in bed, delicious.
TV dinners, what a treat.
Movie nights need a lot of snacks, as does binge watching and a long lie in.

I think its a bit cruel to force people onto a table 100% of the time and miss out on some of life's luxuries.

@JennieLee I assumed OP wasn't British, don't worry, it's still very much a biscuit in this house.

No food on sofa or upstairs at our house

It's not a rule here. I wouldn't want to live like this myself so wouldn't expect my dc to.

We've had mice in our sofa, so no food unless at the table. Nobody breaks that rule.

I'm pretty relaxed. But if an under 8 year old took a Brownie upstairs and cut it on the carpet with a comb - it would be taken away (and binned). He would be marched downstairs, maybe allowed a healthy snack at the table. And the rules repeated.
At under 8 you can put things you don't want them to access out of reach. Put locks on cupboards if necessary - but also enforce no climbing rules.

Teenagers eating in rooms is a different thing to under 8s. If you have snacks on the sofa as a treat, you can endeavour to make them healthy ones.

Mine can eat in rooms and on sofa as long as they tidy up their mess and bring all crockery back to kitchen

Growing up, we always ate meals at the table, but we were allowed snacks like popcorn, etc. on the sofa and in our rooms. We followed the same general approach with our own children, although we sometimes would have pizza served from the coffee table and eaten on the sofa while watching TV on family movie night.

What walkingdead said!

We have that rule too. Well, only food at the table. If they say no and take it to the sofa, I say no and take it off of them. I also don't give out a snack next time they ask.

It is also valid for visiting children. Much to the astonishment of one child who had swiped a packet of biscuts off the counter and taken them to DS's room, my two wrestled if off him and told him they were only allowed to eat at the table

My dc's aren't allowed food upstairs but we do eat in the living room.

Same rule here OP. No shoes, food or dog upstairs. And my kids have never ignored the food rule. How old are yours?

And no definitely no food on sofas! Yuk!

I allow food to be eaten wherever - upstairs and on sofa. However they must use a bowl and it must be put in the dishwasher the same day.

And only water upstairs.

I see from other posters I may be the weird one here...

We do allow popcorn as a treat when we're all watching a film together.

No dogs upstairs?

Our dogs have always slept with us. But I guess that is for a different thread.

they ignore me

The reasonableness or otherwise of your rules is so not the point here...

They get told off but still ignore me.

Perhaps, something about your style of parenting is not working. How old are the children who are ignoring you? I would react to early 20s still at home differently to under 5s...

Do they help themselves to snacks or do they have to ask first?

If the latter, get them to sit at the table before you give it to them. If they get up then remind them once about the rule and then just remove the food without fuss if they ignore that. If you are consistent then they should get the message pretty quickly.

I don't think it makes any difference whether the rule is in other houses or not. You need to get your children to respect the rule in your house.

Mine can eat snacks on the sofa or in their rooms but the under 8's have to ask for a snack so I can make sure they have a plate/bowl/tray as needed. When they've finished they have to put the dish in the dishwasher, any rubbish in the bin/recycling and clean up any crumbs.

@FASH84 I don’t drink tea or coffee and DH only drinks it occasionally so not too much of a hardship!