Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

A few weeks ago, my girls started this bad habit of jumping on their beds. To absolutely no avail, I have tried to discourage this extremely dangerous exercise, largely because bed-jumping is the reason why most kids end up with a broken limb at the closest emergency room.

Last night, we put the girls to bed as usual. Within a few moments, we could hear the springs squeaking. Instead of running upstairs to attempt altering their behavior, I thought, "They'll get tired of it soon and eventually fall asleep." Let's just say, my motherly instinct was completely off-base this time. We all have bad days, right?

At 8:25pm, the creaking mattress spring suddenly halted. Then we heard a piercing scream from Dagny. At the same moment, Valerie panicked and screamed, "MOMMY, DADDY COME QUICK. DAGNY IS HURT. HELP! HELP! HELP!"

What felt like slow motion, Ken and I ran through the kitchen, up the stairs and through the hallway to their bedroom. I found Dagny screaming while sitting on her bed. Her hands drenched in blood, covered her nose and mouth. As parents, we wanted to do anything to take away her pain and to stop the blood. We offered cold cloths and ice to reduce the swelling.

Apparently, little Dagny jumped right into the headboard and smashed her face. By 10pm, the house was quiet and the kids were asleep. All night, I feared her nose was broken.

Fortunately, this morning, she looks better. Her nose is a little swollen and tender, but she is not black and blue. A couple of times, her nose has dripped a drop or two of blood, but she seems in pretty good spirits.

For those who allow their children and grandchildren to jump on the bed, I hate to say, "I told you so", but really it's not acceptable to teach children how to jump on beds. Our job is to protect them - not to teach them how to permanently maim and disfigure themselves.

I am just so thankful that she only hurt her nose and did not break a limb. Hopefully, this will be the last time they jump on the beds. I explained to Valerie that anyone who jumps on the bed in our house or who encourages jumping on the bed under our roof will sleep in the garage without bed privileges until further notice!

As the doctor says, "That's what you get for jumping on the bed."