Sofa ruined at sleepover?

Question

My son, who's in fifth grade, had his friend over for a sleepover. The friend was sleeping on our five-hundred dollar couch, and during the night he had a wetting accident. The couch was completely ruined. Now his parents refuse to pay for the damage to the couch. They say it's the risk we run when there's a sleepover. What should I do? I'm considering taking them to small claims court or taking out an ad in the paper and telling everyone that their son wets the bed if they don't pay. But there's probably a better way to handle this.

Answer 1

Well if you take them to small claims court you could ruin the friendship between the two boys. Try to settle it outside  of court if you can. If they know he's a bed wetter they should have sent him with underjams or something.  

Answer 2

get over it you put him on the couch. you take them to court you ruin the friendship of the boys. you take an ad out in the papers you also ruin the friendship of the boys and there is a chance you could be sued

Answer 3

we all have accidents didnt you wet the bed when you were little, He didnt do it deliberately, you should have put a protector under him. Have you got many children, it usually happens with kids, How embarassing for him.  If his parents wont pay something thats a little mean, but I would put it down to experience and not allow him to stay over, if you have anyone else say over put down a protector next time.

But kids spill all the time for example my niece spilt orange cordial all over my off white carpet which is wrecked but she is only 2yrs and it was an accident please dont take the poor kid to court and embarass him. It may make him wet the bed till he is 14years as it is also a nervous thing Sorry about your couch, I understand but put it down to having children and learn from that.

Answer 4

I don't think there is anything you can do you assumed responsibility for him when he came to your house and the damage was done without him intending to do so If he would have done something purposely then it could be taken to court but I don't think you would have a case in this situation. As far as putting an ad in the paper the  newspaper would not print his name without parental consent because that would be against the law

Answer 5

The whole thing sounds very petty. The fact that you are making such a big deal out of it shows your immaturity. $500 is not that expensive for a couch,and if my daughter had a sleepover and her friend peed on our couch (which was $800) I would be more concerned that she was not embarassed and that everything was kept on the down low, than I would be about this nonsense. I can't believe that you didn't just clean it up and be done with it, even if it was leather, it could easily be cleaned. Pee is sterile, it's not like people are gonna get sick. I just think that you want to replace your cheap sofa.

Answer 6

This MUST be a joke.  A $500 couch?  I haven't seen a couch for less than four figures, that was meant for anything better than a trailer home.  Consider yourself lucky that you not only had the good fortune of having a couch that was $500 (not 5-figures) wet on, but that you have found a place where couches are only $500!

Then please pass along the place where others can get a couch for $500, all the places I frequent are in the thousands, often ten thousand plus.

Also taking out a newspaper ad may be a libel lawsuit waiting to happen.  Maybe not, but never assume that you have the upper hand, and never deal the other person a better hand.  Just deal with it, and don't have a sleepover again, or if you do, make them sleep on the floor.  Seriously, taking out a newspaper ad is not very adult like.

Answer 7

This is exactly why I wont let my daughter sleep over at anyones house she is 5 and no she doesnt wet the bed often, but does have that once  in a blue moon type of accident and with just my luck it would happen at a sleep over.  She doesnt wet the bed enough to justify putting her in pull ups (maybe 3 times a yr)  WE are lower working class and if put in the same situation unfortuently as much as i would love to pay for a new couch our finances wouldnt let us because we can barely put food on the table since my husband makes $20 A MONTH TOO MUCH to qualify for any type of assistance.  Dont humilate the child or the parents if they possibly cant afford to pay for it.  Just dont have any more sleep overs or have them sleep on the floor in sleeping bags.  (carpets can be shampooed)

Answer 8

It 's a couch and is worth 500 dollars that's a cheap one so get the fabric cleaner and wash it.Omg embarrass the little boy over a couch you act like he did it on purpose he didn't bring mud on his shoes and then jumped all over the couch    (F*ck yo couch)

Answer 9

You don't want to cause a lot of problems & ruin the kids' friendship.  I think announcing it to others is in poor taste.  What if your son had an accident at someone else's house?  He'd be embarrased enough, the parents don't need to make it any more humuliating for him.  The boy should have been sleeping in a bed, or you should have layed something under him on the couch.  I think the fairest thing would be for his parents to pay to have your couch shampooed.  I do not think they should be responsible for replacing your couch.  The child was under your supervision, not theirs, so it's your responsibility to replace the couch.  Accidents do happen.  He may not be a consistant bedwetter, maybe it only happens rarely, & this was an unfortunate time.  My son is 6 every once in awhile he pees the bed, so I don't find it necessary for him to wear big boy diapers to bed or tell people about it.  I would be pissed if someone acted toward my son for something he couldn't control like you are.  Put yourself in the kids shoes, quit being a booger about it & think about if the situation was reversed.

Answer 10

To be honest I dont think there is much you can do other than pay to get your couch professionally cleaned...If you talked to his parents and they didnt even consider paying the couch they probably wont pay the cleaning either..I wouldnt go as far as taking them to small claims court because it will ruin your sons friendship and cause more problems...And DO NOT put an ad in the paper about the boy wetting his pants..do you even know how devestating that could be for a boy that age...Just take it as a hard lesson learnt and be more careful when having sleepovers you never know what will happen...Sorry for your luck.

Answer 11

That's cruel of you to even think of taking an ad out telling everyone their son wets the bed.  Can't you get the couch professionally cleaned?  They should at least pay for that.  They should have told you he was a bed wetter so that you could have taken precautions.  I don't know if it's worth ruining your son's relationship with his friend though.  

Answer 12

Haha..i don't think you were taking a risk, Hes in the 5th grade. did you explain that to the parents. i would be so pissed off! but i can't tell you how to handel this because I'm 15... lol

Answer 13

I suppose you could take them to court but really is it worth that much to you?  If the parents refuse to pay then refuse to have this child over the next time your son has a birthday party.  That's about all you can do.  I wouldn't suggest the ad in the paper because although it may force the parents to pay it will be devastating for the boy.  Think about it, would you want something like that published about your son?

Best of luck

Answer 14

ok - it's a couch! who cares! get over it - accidents happen, i don't care how old you are! (and really, a five-hundred dollar couch? woo hoo. get a new one! ) you're pathetic for even thinking about "making" the other parents pay for something like that - if it was intentional, that'd be different, but this was an accident - and especially threatening to put an ad like that in the paper. shouldn't you be setting a GOOD example for your son???

Answer 15

see if there is some way that you can resolve this with the parents without ridiculing the child - i think the damage to the child and his embarassment would be worse than the damage to the couch. maybe the parents can pay to have the couch professionally cleaned or re-upholstered...maybe you can have a gorgoeus professional slip cover made and have the parents pay for that...and if you are still having trouble with getting them to pay for anything suggest splitting the cost.  also, you could see if your homeowners insurance would cover a new couch, although putting in a claim for such little money might not be worth it, your deductible might even be higher than the cost of the couch.  i would try any of these options but make sure that the child didn't suffer throughout any of the negotiations...children can truly be scarred by these kind of instances...best of luck!

Answer 16

Get the sofa professionally cleaned and  Btw it's not the kids fault for pissing on your sofa while he was asleep  the parents of the boy who peed on your sofa should have taken the responsibilities to tell you that he was a bed-wetter and should have sent with him diaper's or under jams for him to put on before going to sleep.

I wouldn't take out an ad in the paper to spread the word that so and so's son is a bed-wetter and wont pay me for the damage done it could ruin the boys friendship.

I think your a shallow cold hearted person for being so shallow it's just a  piece of furniture that can be cleaned come on seriously why make a big deal out of nothing.

Answer 17

First off don't embarrass the kid. I'm sure he really badly and is embarrassed enough. about the sofa, buy some resolve. my dogs p**s on the rug whenever they can and it's really annoying, but resolve makes it virtually unnoticeable unless its a really good expensive french fabric it won't harm the furniture any further. if that doesn't work ask the parents if they'll chip in for part they may not want to pay 500 dollars for a small mistake there son made which would only cost sheets in the washing machine at home

Answer 18

don't embarrass the child with an add in the paper, for what his parents are doing.  Is there any way to have it professional cleaned?  if so try to have them pay the cost of that, I'm sure that would be cheaper than replacing it, or if you are able to get replacement cushion's for it.  and if they refuse to pay for that then I would do the small claims court if you feel you must.

Answer 19

Ask them again, but I suggest going to court. Although, this 'happens' at sleepovers. The parents of the child should have let you know about his problem, or sent him with special underwear or whatever with him. They should have let you know .

Answer 20

"taking out an ad in the paper and telling everyone that their son wets the bed"

That's really not the best or most mature way to handle the situation. Accidents DO happen, even if the kid is 10/11 Though I agree, the parents should have helped take some preventative measures.

Answer 21

Well, this question has seriously provoked some protective and good answers in favour of the poor bed wetter and against your idea of humiliating the child and his parents.  You've registered your concern with the parents.  Now just rent a carpet/upholstery cleaner and clean up your couch asap.  

As another writer told you, the product "Nature's Miracle" (available at any reputable pet store) is very good at neutralizing urine/f***s odours.  Unbelievably good......get going on it:  "Nature's Miracle" and shampoo the couch.  

Next time the boy stays with you, put plastic underneath the bed sheet.

Good luck!  Be nice.

Answer 22

This is pathetic!! You want to embarrass a CHILD over a $500 sofa?! Get over it! I agree with the parents that it's a risk you run when there's a sleep-over. That's probably one of the reasons why most of us use air mattresses for sleep-overs~~they're a lot easier to clean. At this point your only option in my opinion is to either get that sofa cleaned or just replace it.

I wouldn't bother the parents any more over this at all. Its going to lead to hard feelings and your son may lose a good friend over this. Now you've learned something about sleep-overs so you'll know how to handle this better next time.

Good luck!

Answer 23

I just answered a post from parents who were punishing there 10 year old for bed-wetting.  The child can't control the problem and you may have opened up a mess for him at home.  

Call the carpet cleaners who advertise they remove pet stains and odors from carpet, it works on any upholstery.  You can also buy Natures miracle in pet stores which does not harm fabric but helps get rid of stain and odor of urine.  

Don't black list the kid or alienate the parents.  Talk it out nicely, with some compassion and concern.  You're raising a stink (sorry about the reference), over a sofa.  Get a grip, this was no doubt a horrible thing for the kid and embarrassing for the parents.  Yes, I do think they should have offered to pay for cleaning, but I don't sense they got any compassion from you.  The kid may need some help to stop wetting the bed - why not be a hero instead of worrying about a sofa.

Answer 24

Well, this situation stinks, but I would suggest talking to them about it one more time, and telling them you had no frickin' idea their son would wet the bed. If they still refuse, recover the couch, it's cheaper and hides the stains. That's so annoying! argh.  

Answer 25

Definitely a better way than humiliating their son!

Small claims sounds like a good solution to show them you are serious...maybe they don't have much $$$ and are concerned about that issue..could you take $50 a month?

Is it that badly ruined they couldn't just get a furniture cleaner in?  I have a daughter that still wets herself and has done so at friends' houses..I would be shocked if they asked me to buy a new couch, but always offer to get it cleaned.  

Answer 26

take it to court, its their fault, but at the same time never let kids sleep on your couch! lol i know it happens and at the same time  you feel bad about makin them sleepin on the floor but this is what happens when we feel bad. so ya take them to court if they absolutly refuse to pay.