The hate the gift my DH bought

[rabbitsy]

DH recently bought a huge inflatable armchair for the kids and it's caused me nothing but stress. There's been fights over who gets to use it and thrown around the house like a ball, I've had to move it out of the way from the stairs and doorways. The one time I packed it away it was just taken out again, blown up to a ludicrous size and DS blocked the valve with glue and tape.

I don't hate fun, and I like to think I can take a joke but the fact that that they've actually gone to the point of stopping me from packing it away feels like the last straw. DH doesn't seem to care, and I feel like I'm left cleaning up a mess he created

Is that recycled gimp suit?

If its causing arguments it goes away. It can come out when DH is around to referee.

As for fighting being age appropriate - so is sticking fingers in light sockets for one year olds, I still stopped it happening.

That chair would be in the bin in my house after they refused to follow rules about its use, including putting glue in it to prevent adults packing it away.

Good grief, stop letting them rule the roost!

These are the sorts of squabbles and situations that happen in my house. I do get VERY irritated in the moment. But I am also increasingly aware that kids being kids like this is a fleeting moment in time, and one day I’ll miss it. In a few short years you’ll be asking them if they remember that godawful inflatable chair dad bought that used to drive you mad….

You set the rules and stick with them on penance of you bursting the thing. My rules would be “if I hear any raised voices whatsoever, I’m bursting it. Learn to share it without yelling at each other or running to me, or it’s gone. Also, if I see big kid bullying or taking advantage of small kid, I will ban big kid from using it at all”

haha. Good luck!

How long has it been in the house?

I'd give it a month and then see who's still interested in it.

We've had things like this in the past. A massive bloody beanbag comes to mind. The novelty wears off.

Could you stick a bit of gaffer tape on it to make a hook and hang it up somewhere when not being sat on?

Oh no, wouldn't it be awful if you accidentally stabbed it with a sharp knife while you were peeling an apple or something! Shame.

If they can't share it nicely then it goes.

Can you just put it in one of their bedrooms, set up a rota system, and tell them that if they fight over it or move it out of the bedroom it will disappear forever?

The end of this conversation with them would have been, "if I hear one fight, one cross word, one problem, I will take a big knife and pop it, immediately no warnings. Do you both understand?"

But I'm a natural consequences mummy.

My rule would be - if it gets in my way, or causes a fight, it gets popped.

I'm rather surprised it hasn't accidentally landed on something nice and sharp yet. Perhaps it needs help.

Could be worse OP. Could be a craft set with 16 pots of glitter, confetti, play dough and some other weird painting ooze that is now blended altogether, all over DS, the furniture, my hair…

can’t see how an inflatable chair can be that annoying tbh. They’ll get bored of it if they realise you’re not bothered by it anymore and they’ll get sick of throwing it around once it’s not a novelty

Ahh we all had these in the 90s a couple of front rolls over them soon made them pop 😭

It goes in the shed with the deckchairs and patio set for next summer.

You do have a patio, dont you? 🤔

any updates on this OP, is the chair still alive?

Put it in a child’s room? Then you don’t have to deal with it…

Are you living in the 90s??? My wee sister had one of those in 1995 although it was blue and it stayed in her room. I think she had an inflatable backpack that matched it.

I feel annoyed for you op.

Put it on Olio.

Saw your link, OP. It looks like it belongs in sex dungeon 😬

Is it 1998?!? Who the fuck is still buying inflatable chairs 😂 (other than OP’s husband of course!)
sounds annoying but could have been much worse. My brother bought my ds a drum kit when he was 5. I then bought my nephew a sandpit in retaliation 😂

The 90s are back!

We’ll probably all have one to pop between Xmas and NYE!

You can't pop it! It'd be a real let down for the kids!

What a perfect time for you to fancy starting a cactus collection - ideally huge very spikey one!

Time to try smoking for one evening?

I’d also be stabbing that thing