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Twisting in the Wind · Joined: 20 Oct 2003 Posts: 571 Location: Purgatory

Updated: 03:13 PM EST
Kids Naughty, So Dad Sells Their Gifts on eBay

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HOUSTON (Dec. 24) - A father of three children in the Houston area has gone from playing Santa Claus to playing the Grinch.

The man decided that his children were being naughty instead of nice -- and he's taught them a lesson by auctioning their presents on the popular auction site, eBay.

The man, who asked the Houston Chronicle not to reveal his name, decided to sell off the presents because the youngsters had misbehaved. His children are nine, eleven and 15.

"Three undeserving boys have crossed the line," the eBay listing says. "Tonight we sat down and showed them what they WILL NOT get for Christmas this year. I'll be taking down the tree tomorrow."

His auction posting continues, "This isn't a scare tactic for the kids. This is the result of bad choices that can't be undone. Neither can this."

You Said It

The man is offering to sell three of the wireless video game systems as well as several games.

The bidding was up to $1,025 as the auction wound down.

"Your e-mails, good and bad, are much appreciated and will be put in a scrapbook for when the boys have their own children," the man writes to those seeing his listing. "Since this has become a bit of a Christmas soapbox, we would like everyone to think about what it says about (our) society and culture when good family values and accountability are taught and it becomes worldwide news."

"My last name is not Scrooge," he adds.

WOW! There was a poll next to the article that asked if respondents felt the man had bad parenting skills.

I think it was MEAN showing them what they would NOT get. Sheesh! Give them their presents, and maybe also a coal in their stockings and explain to them what this meant. Poor kids.

What do some of you think?

Merry Christmas (Bah Humbug!)

juststeven · Joined: 18 Aug 2004 Posts: 117

How many children do you have, Twister? It sounds a bit extreme on the surface but, how does a parent make a point to disrespectful, spoiled children that demand everything? These are the type of children that threaten their parents with government intervention. Evil or Very Mad

When you have children and they turn on you let's see what you will do. When I was young, it meant a whippin', but, that's child abuse now! Rolling Eyes

Twisting in the Wind · Joined: 20 Oct 2003 Posts: 571 Location: Purgatory

Twisting in the Wind · Joined: 20 Oct 2003 Posts: 571 Location: Purgatory

Well, I did some research (chuckle).

And here I was thinking they had gang-raped the cat repeatedly or something (chuckle).

And JustSteven had me thinking even worse offenses. (chuckle)

Here's what those loathsome little future felons did.

Ahem....

"(They were) flying single-digit fingers in the air, kicking, yelling, and using grammer (sic) you would not expect from anyone."

That's a quote off EBay from the "Dad."

Well, this completely changes things! If they were my little rugrats, I'd take away their Christmas presents for the grammar offenses alone.

This is Texas, people. Yee Haw!

bluffer · Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2004 5:15 am Post subject:

Well done dad is all I can say.

Imagine being in the presence of these brats who flip you off, swear at you etc. You cant hit them - that would be assault, you cant ground them - that would be unlawful detention.

More power to parents!

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

Yikes! I think the dad was a bit heartless. And doing it publicly, over eBay, is just humiliating the children.

And no, I don't have children. If I did, I think I'd have a really hard time publicly humiliating/shaming them, because it just seems like such a hurtful thing to do. I'd try to keep any punishments private--or at least, keep them off the internet!

d

justcolleen · Joined: 07 Jan 2004 Posts: 654 Location: Egypt, baby!

Ya know, at first I was thinking perhaps dad (and maybe mom?) learned the meaning of "last straw". Then, like Twisting in the Wind, I felt compelled to dig a little deeper.

Here's what I found (in part):

http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/1223ebay-grinch23-ON.html

"These are normally really good kids," he said. But in a single day, he added, the boys fought one another, used vulgar language and gestured obscenely. The family discord has been in progress for about two weeks, said the man, attributing it, in part, to the laxness of previous discipline.

"It seems like we'd say what we were going to do, then bend and back off a little," the father, 41, said. "We'd ground them for a week, but they'd really be grounded for three days; we'd take away video games, but they would still watch television. ... It decayed to the point that groundings don't work, putting them in their room, timeouts don't have any effect."

It seems like a case of bad parenting, all the way around, to me.

But then my children live in fear that I'll make good on this threat: If I'm ever called to their school because they've misbehaved, I will present myself wearing green sweatpants, red high-heels, and whatever else I find to throw on in the moment.....

Colleen

Twisting in the Wind · Joined: 20 Oct 2003 Posts: 571 Location: Purgatory

Thanks, JustColleen for that helpful link! :>)

What is a family who admitedly is having financial problems doing buying all that electronic game equipment?

This was just the way I was raised, other posters may disagree. Christmas, Halloween, and family vacations were special, magical times of year. Times when normal bickering, rivalries and other negative behavior that had been going on was set aside by the grown-ups, so that the kids could have a good time. It gave a breather to everyone. In my opinion what this man did was psychological child abuse. These kids really did nothing out of the ordinary that normal kids everywhere don't do. Good grief, when I think back to some of the stuff [/b]I was into...I'm lucky my parents didn't ground me for life or cancel Christmas forever. But they didn't. Because they were "bigger" than that.

It sounds like these parents just ran out of ideas at a particularly bad time of year to do so.

justcolleen · Joined: 07 Jan 2004 Posts: 654 Location: Egypt, baby!

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

No doubt this man's "parenting skills" - another sociologese term for what, actually? my parents merely raised and educated me! - are somewhat dim; however, I laud him.

Clearly, some kids get too many gifts. And some kids get them for no other reason than to maintain an illusory link to the past with its quaint traditions.
I think some of today's kids can unrealistically hope to get their most extravagant wishes automatically granted. They need a lesson in modesty. Is modesty out-fashioned? I hope not.

Look at China and its little emperors and empresses! The same brattiness brought about in less than 20 years! Look at what has been going on in the U.S.A. and Japan: kids becoming tyrants, parents their slaves, teachers their ersatz educationists.
Where is child viollence the greatest? Yes, in those countries where parents do not have appropriate child handling skillls - unable to stand up to a child and say "no! You are not going to get a Benz before you can buy it on your own!"

BethMac · Joined: 23 Dec 2003 Posts: 79

It isn't the gift-giving that creates bratty behaviour...it's the lack of parental guidance and discipline. Most children nowadays have more stuff than they need. However, not all of them are brats. It sounds to me as if this father is reaping what he has sown. In other words, he invited bad behaviour because he didn't set limits and stick to them in the past. Now he is going to ruin Christmas for his family and make a public spectacle just because he was a bad parent and did a poor job of raising his kids. Unbelievable. The worst part of it is that the only thing he is teaching them with this heartless and cruel punishment is to be heartless and cruel themselves. Children model what they see. Good job, Dad. We look forward to being mugged and assaulted by your little darlings in the future.

Rolling Eyes

Twisting in the Wind · Joined: 20 Oct 2003 Posts: 571 Location: Purgatory

I'm a little confused. According to a more recent article about this incident, bidding was only up to $465.01, below the price the man had originally bought the games for.

In the original article I posted bidding was up to over $1000.00.

The newer article said that he would relist them on EBay, even though the wife was in "tears."

Brute.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

BethMac · Joined: 23 Dec 2003 Posts: 79

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

Well, thank you BethMac, for your clarifications. I am glad I was not raised in NOrth America. I follow some chatrooms there dedicated to teaching and "parenting", and I must say Americans are a bit lonely in their 'parenting wisdoms", and that may very well be why they have the world's worst-behaved kids.
I still feel some sympathy with that guy. I can even sympathise with criminals, and if you can't perhaps you have a Cain gene!