The struggle has spanned generations. For as long as there have been chairs, students and teachers, their has been a constant struggle that has resulted in expressions such as “four-on-the-floor” and “We have a no tipping policy.”
The struggle? To get kids (And Elders) to stop leaning back in their chairs. True, it may seem like an impossible quest, but many are fighting it on a regular basis.
Sure, I am the first to admit that it is more comfortable to lean back on your chair. I also know from first hand experience that it is fun to reach over and grab the leg of your friends tilted chair and give it a tug, just to watch him freak out. It wouldn’t seems like a normal Deacon’s quorum without it..
Does it matter? Is it worth making and issue out of it? I can answer that with a definitive “maybe.” The concern is two-fold: Danger, and engagement.
I have noticed in my years of work with the youth, that there is a direct correlation between the kids who tilt, and their engagement with what is happening in the classroom. Unintended body language, perhaps?
But dangerous? Really? Or is that merely urban legend?
If you are a teacher of youth, and seem to find yourself frustrated by mass chair-tilting, I may have a little help for you. Not only do I have a story about it, I have found scriptural backing about the dangers of chair-tilting.
First, the story:
A few years ago, we found ourselves doing vigil in a hospital that specialized in brain injuries. There was a family that sat faithfully in the waiting room, day after day, hoping and praying that their teenage son would recover.
His injury? Severe brain trauma. How did it happen? He was tilting back in his chair, and the legs came out. He fell backwards and clocked his head on the floor.
After a few days, we came into the waiting room, and it was crowded with distraught, weeping people. We asked the nurse what had happened. She told us that the young man had passed away that morning. From chair-tilting.
Suddenly not so funny – is it?
Yes, people have actually died from chair-tilting. I am a witness- so if you need to tell your Scouts that you have a friend who knows a guy who died from it, you have my permission.
Now finding scriptural backing to support anti-tilting is a little more difficult, but recently I found that, too.
In the book of 1st Samuel in the Old Testament, we read about the Prophet Eli and his bad-news sons. The sons had been up to all sorts of mischief and wickedness, and the Eli had let them run with it. The Lord and told them all to knock it off – to no avail.
Finally, after giving Eli ample warning, the consequences began: The Philistines fought against Israel and killed over 34,000 of them – including the two sons of Eli. And to make matters even worse, the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant – and anyone who has seen Raiders of the Lost Ark knows how dangerous that can be, when it falls into the wrong hands.
Back to the chair-tilting:
The Prophet Eli was sitting out by the temple gate, awaiting word about the battle. A messenger came and told him the bad news. Eli was so shocked that he fell over backwards on his chair, and broke his neck.
True story. Here is the actual reference in 1 Samuel 4:18:
“And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.”
See? (Granted, he was old and overweight, but still!)
So there you go. A personal experience, and scriptural backing as to why kids should not lean back on their chairs. If you struggle with this problem in your classroom, I guarantee that these two stories will cause even the most hardened chair-tilter to put “four on the floor.”
For at least 5 minutes.
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My Primary kids and Webelos hear “Four on the floor” more than I care to admit, but it works as long as I am prompt and vigilant in reminding. Chronic offenders and belligerent kids lose their chair privileges for the day. I think I’ve only had to follow through on that once or twice. But I’m super glad to now have scriptural references to back up that rule.
I’m 45 on Monday and I still tip my chair. Not in church, and not in the house where we currently live (wood floors everywhere – too slippy), but in our real home, on carpet – yeah, I tip all the time. Weirdly, I tip the chair back but lean forward. When the DH says ” don’t tip your chair”, both the kids and I look guilty. I’m intrigued by the lack-of-core-strength theory mentioned in the comment above.
Andy Rooney called from the Spirit World. He wants YOU to do his temple work. Said you must be channeling him.
AuntSue
It was very clever of you to find a scripture to show the danger of chair tipping!
AuntSue
Once had the calling of 12-13 year Sunday School class, with 9 boys and 1 girl who had been together since Sunbeams. They had managed to send most teachers home in tears, including a good brother who had taught that class for 20 years. ( I had not fear, I was a substitute at the junior high) Well, we had a class discussion about rules my first Sunday. I told them that they could tip their chairs only against the wooden chair rail as the chair backs would damage the walls. No chair tipping against the accordian room divider, no tipping without the support of the chair rails. It was too easy to fall backwards and then I would have to call the paramedics, fill out a lot of paperwork and give explainations to their parents, and I did not want to do all that! And if anyone ever fell while tipping, there would be NO MORE CHAIR TIPPING IN OUR CLASS AT ALL! It actually worked. Limited chair tipping against the wooden chair rails. With lots of inspiration while preparing lessons, and working to involve all the classmembers, soon our discussions included everyone and there were no more chair tipping incidents at all.
Been there, done that. I’m inclined to think it’s a boredom issue. Have a better lesson and you’ll have less tipping.
My father got tired of telling us to stop tipping the chairs. One day he said, “OK, I’m just going to number this rule 13. So if I look at you and say ’13’ it means to stop tipping on the chairs.” We heard the number 13 a lot, but it saved him a lot of words.
Ugh. My husband broke the back of one of our kitchen chairs just the other day from tipping it. I’ll have to share this post. ( : Thanks for the laughs.
After years of watching my dining room chairs melt away under the influence of tipping, I got a Chinese dining room set made of heavy wood. The chairs were comfortable and had the side benefit of being very hard to tip. After nearly 25 years of use the chairs are still solid and none of my descendants or their spouses has ever succeeded in tipping one backwards. There is not a lot I can do about chairs owned by others, but the scary stories provided by you and others might help discourage the practice.
As a young teenager, a boy in Sunday School was tipping his chair. It got off balance, and he hit his head on the metal chair railing (olden days chapels). It split his scalp at least 4-5 inches and you could see the skull suture lines. That’s been 45-48 years and tipping still scares me!
I just tell kids that my son had to get stitches in his head from it- that’s my first hand witness. They laugh at me (primary kids usually) but I tell them it makes me nervous so please don’t. Not sure that would work on YM.
So, I have always been told (and passed on as a youth leader) that tilting was disrespectful of the Lord’s house (I think I may have sounded somewhat convincing on this one) and that it damaged the chairs (I have always been pretty sure this was bunk, considering the aura of indestructibility that the plastic and metal chairs the Church wisely provides the meetinghouses have about them — and hence, have worried that I came across as less than convinced of my position). I have seen a wrecked folding chair or two, but that has been about as frequently as I’ve seen all the children waiting respectfully to join the food line at ward dinners.
By the way, I just happen to have been reading 1 Samuel this last week and was really struck by Chapter 5 — it must be some of the best under-appreciated scripture in the Canon. If I twittered I would twitter:
#bummertobeDagon
#emerodsinsecretparts
#hotpotato!
Wow! Beautiful article. I looked over at hubby and asked, “Were you ever a chair tilter?” He responded, “Yes, but I get chairs designed for it.” LOL
I had to read more, I read the last three verses in chapter four and also chapters five and six. Love those Old Testament stories.
Whenever I see “Be nice” on your blog it brings a smile as I think of my dear mother. One of her famous sayings was, “Be nice.”
Thank you.
Seventy-five years old and this is a first; an article on chair tilting. A very good article on chair tilting with scriptural references!! You never cease to amaze me. If you’re ever in a quandary as to what to write about, here is a favorite scripture for you to sink your teeth into…Genesis 45:20.
I’m laughing even though chair tilting isn’t funny….
As a SS teacher for the 16-17 year old class, I actually had to tell the girls not to tilt their chairs because my husband and I did not want to know the color of their underwear….(I did it privately, girls only chat)
What about our personal chairs being tilted in the cross winds of the world around us. We think we’re safe to be on two legs, but in reality, unless we are firmly rooted and have “four on the floor”, we may find our testimonies, our discipleship overturne.
Great post and very thought provoking for me.
And it’s not just backwards tipping. I’ve seen many a primary child tipping forward, resulting in pinched fingers, sliding off to the floor, and annoyance/distraction of the children in front of them. Little rascals.
And all this time, I thought “four-on-the-flour” was a BYU Honor code rule along with not using a coed’s bathroom.
I think he was heavy with sorrow and exhaustion after so much unheeded advice and counsel. That’s just my two cents, though. Even light hearted, skinny people tip over.
Actually he was fat fat. His sons had been stealing the sacrificial meats, and the Lord rebuked him for making himself fat with the offerings. (1 Samuel 2:29)
I have heard from a reliable source, the Internet, kids and older people tip their chairs because they lack proper core strength to sit up properly, all those loungey couches, video games and lack of daily excercise
As a kid, I didn’t understand why my parents were anti-tipping. As a very broke single mom with chairs from a junk shop that I had laboriously woven new rush seats for, I understood that cheap chairs came unglued easily. As do single moms who watch their hard work and their budget being endangered by the boyfriends du jour. I got very good at Mom Look + “Unless you want to buy me a brand new chair, four on the floor.” I seldom had to repeat it.