6 seats, 7 people. Who gets the floor?

[overagain]

Situation cropped up yesterday: 6 seats, 7 people. The 6 seats are 5 on sofas and 1 arm chair.

The 7 people (family members so know each other well and know each others health issues so no 'hidden' issues) are: an elderly person with mobility difficulties. A middle aged person with mobility problems. A middle aged person who is healthy and well. 3 healthy and well 30 something's and a 7 month pregnant woman with sciatica and PGP.

Who should sit on the floor? And who do you think sat on the floor?

Get a dining chair or stool or something for the 7th person to sit on

The pregnant woman I’m guessing? But in this scenario people are mainly thoughtless not cruel so whoever ended up on the floor should have kicked one of the healthy people off their seat.

One of the healthy 30 somethings should sit on the floor but I’m guessing pregnant woman did sit on the floor

I would expect any of the healthy and well 30 year olds to sit on the floor.

One of the three healthy and well 30 year olds should have.

I have a feeling you are going to say pregnant woman did?

Surely one more person can squeeze onto the couch/sit on the arm of the couch. If it really isn’t possible for everyone to sit them one of the four healthy people.

Nobody sits on the floor , either find another seat of some description or one of the fitter people perches on an arm .

ChoudeBruxelles if that was an option I would have said. The situation was as described.

Seventh person should have sat on the arm of a sofa.

Youngest, healthiest should be on the floor.

The sofa arms aren't suitable to be sat on for a couple of hours. The seats were full.

Sounds like a laborious riddle.

Impossible to say because we don’t know what the situation was, how long it involved sitting, where it was, or indeed what each individual actually wanted. For example, when I was 7 months pregnant and had severe back and hip pain, the floor was preferable to a squishy sofa (provided I had someone to haul me back up again!)

I take it you are the pregnant woman. Why didn't you just ask someone if you could swap?

Any of the people with no health issues: I wouldn't esp expect a 30 something to sit more than a middle aged person, personally.

But I'd actually expect someone to perch on a chair/sofa arm rather than the floor in that scenario... (except me, I love to sit on the floor!)

Youngest

I’d have sat my fat ass on one of the healthy people.

I would, for reason of manners, expect the host to be the one to sit on the floor (although I would, as others have said, consider arm perching a better option than floor sitting). If the host was unable to sit on the floor for one of the health reasons given in your OP, then I would expect the host to ask one of the healthy people present to sit on the floor so that s/he could take a seat. Really up to the host to organise/sort out.

One of the 30 somethings. They should have intermittently swapped with each other.

If the pregnant woman was expected to, then she also should have found her voice and made someone else do it.

one of the fit and heathly people, regardless of age (dunno what you mean by middle aged).

In my family...the youngest.

If I was the pregnant one with no seats left, I would have sat on someone else.

Your MIL should sit on the floor. Actually, she should probably stay in the car. Or just go straight home.

I was not one of the 7 people, but it is my family.

I popped in yesterday to find the above scenario.

The house is small (older persons sheltered accommodation), no dining table/ chairs or stools and the sofas are small, getting 3 adults on the larger one is a big squeeze and they overspill on to the arms, which are thin and wooden - sitting/ perching on one would mean practically sitting on the shoulder of the person on the sofa and be very uncomfortable.

Obviously the healthiest/youngest sits on the floor.

I'd always choose the floor as I prefer it, although I've never been pregnant.

At a guess the pregnant woman sat on the floor in your scenario, though unless someone refused to move for her, in which case SNBU, she's pregnant, not invalid, and subsequently could have simply said "does anyone mind swapping with me? I'm sitting for two." or something lighthearted.

But seriously. Anybody but the pregnant woman and the person with mobility issues. The others should have all offered and she should have been able to choose the most comfortable seat for her

Well people need to speak up. Or leave.