This is topic "Selling Son's Beloved Play Station 2 For Punishment!" in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
 
I'm popping in from my self-imposed hiatus (due to moving and end-of-school craziness). I just couldn't resist sharing this. Finally, some parent somewhere is imposing consequences (Hatrack parents are excluded from that mini diatribe - I know y'all don't stand for the outrageous behavior I see parents brush off everyday).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8107675670
 
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
 
That auction had me laughing on many levels!

"Since when do bugels have slides?"

[Wink]
 
Posted by Pixie (Member # 4043) on :
 
::giggles:: That's great! I wish my younger brothers would be handled that way now and then - maybe they'd actually start behaving!

That and what on earth are 13 year olds doing with alcohol, etc? ::sighs:: [Frown]
 
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
 
great punishment
 
Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
 
I wondered about that, too, Pixie. If I learned my 13 year old was drinking, I'd be far more concerned about it than the cost of the beer/wine! [Frown]
 
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
I only want to know one thing. What is she going to sell to recoup the other $54.50?

This is brilliant! [Big Grin]
 
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
 
Did no one else experiment as a kid?
 
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
Sure did, mack. And generally speaking, my parents ensured that I had to live with the consequences of my bad decisions.
 
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
 
Oh, right. I'm with the consequences. I was just surprised at people being shocked at a 13 year old experimenting with alcohol.
 
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
Ah. Misunderstood. [Smile]
 
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
 
I experimented (a bit - in a very nerdy and goody two shoes way) as a kid.

However my parents also allowed my little glasses of champagne (more like sips) on special occasions,and talked to me about different brands etc, so there's no way I would have drunk the 1995 Dom Perignon!

(Though why the parents where keeping it in the fridge if they were storing it I don't know)
 
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
 
Trumpets have tuning slides, but I don't think bugels do. Not a slide like a trombone, but a little piece of the tubing you can move to get in tune.

I still think the story's crap, but that part could be true.
 
Posted by slacker (Member # 2559) on :
 
I don't know much about bugles myself, but people over at ATOT have looked into it, and some bugles do have slides (though the pics make it hard to figure out how it works).

bugle auction

Can anyone see if there is a slide on this bugle?
 
Posted by Ayelar (Member # 183) on :
 
The auction description makes me sad. The kid's only 13, but she's already managed to make him lose all respect for her. And why not? She's stooped way down to his level for this.... you hurt me, I'll hurt you back, you little bastard!

They have 5 more wonderful years to look forward to before he can finally move out. If she interprets the weekend's events in terms of the monetary loss she's suffered, and decides that punishment means he must suffer an equal loss, then she's an idiot. Not that her grammatical choices would really lead you to believe otherwise.
 
Posted by BrianM (Member # 5918) on :
 
Um, did anyone else read that she said the kid was 13 and was 6'3" tall?! [Eek!]
 
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
 
My middle son was 6'3" at age 13... (now he's 6'4")

Farmgirl
 
Posted by ctm (Member # 6525) on :
 
I have a 6'3'' 13 year old.

I think these people have some real parenting issues...
 
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
 
another reason why I don't keep alcohol in my house...

FG
 
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
 
I know that trumpets have a tuning slide, but I'm not sure that bugals do; I think so, but I'm not sure.

I think it is a good thing to sell his stuff to recoup the loss, but I wouldn't do it on e-bay. I would see it to someone he knows, so that he sees it all the time but can't have it at home.

Now that is torture...
 
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
 
Well, if she's truly trying to recoup the loss, she should give him a time period to come up with the money himself rather than choosing which of his possessions to get rid of.

There's clearly an element of petty vengeance as well as ineffective parenting here. But at a visceral level, I like the idea of him losing his prized possession because of his actions.

Dagonee
 
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
 
One thing that makes me a little suspicious of the story is the corkscrew. First of all, you don't use a corkscrew to open a bottle of champagne. Second, it is nigh impossible to reinsert a cork into a bottle of champaign once opened. Champagne corks are severely flared at the bottom, presumably to help maintain a grip in the bottle neck against the pressure from the champagne inside the bottle.

Now I wouldn't put it past some teenagers to try to open a bottle of champagne with a corkscrew, but the likely result of that is going to be a big mess and maybe a cork in the eye (if not the corkscrew itself).
 
Posted by Ayelar (Member # 183) on :
 
True, Karl, not to mention the idea that this woman would have had a bottle of Dom at all. I mean, who on earth would give someone a $120 bottle of champagne if you thought the recipient would store it in the fridge?? With loser teenagers in the house, no less?

It doesn't quite add up. [Razz]
 
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
 
Unless they didn't undo the wire cage - that would be interestingly messy.
 
Posted by beatnix19 (Member # 5836) on :
 
Sorry, but this just screams BS story to me. (hmm... I want to seel my PS2, how can I make it stand out above the hundreds of others?)And if it isn't than this lady has bigger problems than just her son acting up. She obviously has no idea how to raise a child if she''s more concerned about the cost of all this crap than the behavior behind it.

<-- Can't stand stupid parents when he sees the results everyday.
 
Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :
 
It actually said there was a piece of cork stuck in the bottle.
 
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
 
if my child lied, snuck around, and took things that weren't his i would probably have no problem selling his game system. it's a material posession, and a luxury.

eventually i would probably let him earn the money back by doing extra chores so he can buy a new one, but only if he proved that he learned something.

while i don't neccessarily agree with the lady's commentary, i am not disgusted by the punishment.

teenage boys are really difficult. a lot of them, anyway. especially when they are bigger than you are.

(i have five brothers and have witnessed the veritable Slaying of Dragons on a daily basis.)
 
Posted by ak (Member # 90) on :
 
This story seems very made up to me too.
 
Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
 
I think this story is a load of crap.

However, if it was true, and as a video game-obsessed teenage boy, I think it was a very just punishment.
 
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
 
I agree... It can be hard getting through to kids that age...
However, I am reminded of the worse way to punish me: Take away my music. You could beat me with sticks, I don't care... But take my music from me.
Dang, I am glad I am an adult. My former stepmother used to take my walkman from me for the slightest small infraction.
It was the worse thing... No music... Torture. [Cry]
 
Posted by Altįriėl of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
 
That was hilarious. God help if mom took away my GCN....
 
Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :
 
It is actually illegal to sell something that belongs to someone else without that person's permission.
 
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
 
Good heavens. That was ridiculous.
 
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
 
unless you are a parent and you bought said thing for the minor under your care.

incidentally, my little brother has a friend who bought all his own game systems, and when his parents were getting divorced his very abusive father stole all his game systems, and the boy charged his dad with grand larceny [Smile]
served him right.
 
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
 
You know - Nathan gets lots of logical consequences for things . . . and some pretty smooth bribes.

This logical consequence had them rolling in the dentist's office:

Nathan handles the co-pays for any fillings he needs -this was mandated six months ago after his "I don't care" attitude towards teethbrushing.

This bribe has me rolling (becuase of his reaction):

He wants a gameboy (he's 10 1/2) for about the last four years. We do extremely little media in our home and no electronic gamnes except for our quarterly visit to the pizza parlor with Donkey Kong. I told him I'd buy him a gameboy once he memorized his multiplication tables, 0-12. Was he happy? Nope. He was rather upest. However, he's slowly memorizing them . . . [Evil]

These are the days when I love being a parent (for purely selfish reasons)

So - whaddya think of that, Mrs. M? [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 
My teenage opinion...

I think that this, instead of being a punishment which will end the rest of bad-doings, is going to start this boy on a long, terrible decline into more rebellion. The kid obviously had issues to begin with, now he has a reason to disrespect whatever his mother says.

It's unrelated to the actual problem, and therefore the punishment does not fit the crime. She should have made her son do other chores in order to make up for the money lost, instead of selling his prized possession.
 
Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
 
Really? I would much rather give up my Xbox instead of being in debt with my parents. They're so bossy when I HAVE to help them. So when I owe them money, I would rather put it on my credit card instead of owe them work.

Sad that I would rather be in debt to my credit card company than my parents.... [Dont Know]
 
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
 
I'm against having kid's do chores to earn money to repay debts.

First, kids shouldn't get paid for chores. Chores are a contribution to the household each family member should make.

Second, setting the net worth of a chore seems too difficult to do fairly. Imagine if a judge ordered someone to pay $100 in restitution, but said only money made picking up trash off the streets could be used?

This kid, assuming the story is true (which I don't), needs to pay back the items he destroyed. He also needs to be punished - restitution is not punishment.

Dagonee
 


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