No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

I’m rethinking our tradition of allowing jumping on the beds in hotels.

Awhile back, I heard of someone doing that, and I thought it was a fun way of discouraging jumping on the bed at home (which to be honest, has never been a large problem). We don’t let them jump on the bed for two reasons. First, their bed slats are wood, and jumping can damage the beds. Second, jumping on the bed unsupervised can be dangerous (not just on a bunk bed, although two of three beds are up high). We’ve given both reasons when discussing why we don’t jump on beds. But on our infrequent trips, they always remember to jump on the hotel beds.

Here’s the problem. I want them to respect other people’s property. I don’t want them thinking that we must be good stewards of what God has given us personally (their toys, our furniture, our house, etc.), but that other people’s belongings don’t matter. When we borrow something, or use something that belongs to someone else, we are responsible for it. That’s why we should take special care of library books (I’m feeling convicted, since this very moment I’ve got thirty strewn hither and yon). That’s why we return a borrowed car with a full tank of gas. It’s why we replace something if we damage it. And even though hotel beds are made strong, that’s why they won’t be jumping on them in the future.

It will be a good discussion.