As a parent myself, I find this "understandable", but a bit extreme. I'm saying, Take away the car, yes, but selling it is a but harsh. But at the same time, I set rules for my kids. This lady set rules with her son, and he broke them, straight and simple. For that, I applaude her for standing firm on her rules. - Syf
I understand her position. She gave her son two rules, Lock the Car & No Alcohol. Seems to me like relatively simple conditions, given that (I'm assuming) she bought the car and he's on her insurance (in TN, Minors are automatically listed on Parents' Motor Vehicle Insurance).
The ad reads: "OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet." - CNN
::applauds::
Dad and Mom had warned their sons that the Nintendo DS video system — and the three games that go with it — were headed for the auction block if they didn't get their act together.
The boys pledged to be nice, but were back to their old ways the next morning.
That night, Dad announced that he would indeed be putting $700 in video games up for sale on eBay. The oldest boy double-dared his dad to make good on his word. - USATODAY.COM
Maybe it's because of the fact that I was raised in the South where Disciplie is a major facet of growing up, but I can honestly say that I agree with the Parents' decision, simply because it should have the desired effect of showing them that their actions will have consequences.
TORONTO - A Canadian man who said he sold his 15-year-old son's prized video game, a Christmas gift, on eBay after catching him smoking marijuana has sparked an online debate on who is wrong — father or son.
The unidentified man decided to punish his son by selling the popular and hard-to-find "Guitar Hero III" videogame he had bought him for Christmas for $90 on the auction site where an Australian buyer bid $9,100. It was not known if the sale at that price actually proceeded.
Dad says, "Then, yesterday, I came home from work early and what do I find? My innocent little boy smoking pot in the backyard with two of his delinquent friends." - MSNBC.COM
Again, showing the children that actions have consequences.
As an aside, allow me to explain my reasons for my opinions.
#1 (Mom/Car) - When I was going to school for my degree, I took a job in a local hospital as a Maintenance Man. I can recall three distinct incidents directly wherein kids were brought to the Hospital after having accidents involving Driving Under the Influence (of Alcohol). Since the Hospital was understaffed during the hours I was at work, 11PM-7AM, we were required to assist the EMTs in the unloading of patients if called. One night, I was working on the air conditioning unit on the Sixth Floor when my Pager went off. I rushed downstairs to the EMERGENCY ramp. A 16 year-old girl, her friends, and her 4 year-old sister were out joy-riding. The driver's friends had begun passing around the alcohol, of which the driver partook (B.A.C. was x2 the legal limit). They swerved into the oncoming lane and hit another vehicle. The driver was ejected from the vehicle (killed on the scene), two of the friends in the backseat were uninjured, one in the front passenger seat broke her right arm/right leg. The little girl, however, was in the center of the front seat, not in a seatbelt, and her head impacted the dashboard. When we unloaded her from the Ambulance, she was in a neck brace. Later on in the night, while I was on break, I asked one of the doctors what had happened to the little girl. He told me she was more than likely going to be paralyzed from the neck down, having suffered severe spinal and brain damage in the impact.
I think the mom was in the right, having sold her son's car after violating both of her rules. Every time I hear about incidents involving kids, cars, and alcohol I cannot help but picture that little girl, growing up confined to a wheelchair because kids can't follow the rules.
#2 (Dad/DS) - Can't say as I blame the dad in this story either. From the sound of things, the kids were constantly raising Hell and probably making Home Life incredibly difficult. When we were kids (there were three of us), our Dad worked nights and our Mom worked days, so raising Hell was not EVER an option unless we wanted to get a whippin' (which, amazingly, we got pretty frequently). On top of everything, the kids were warned ahead of time to straighten up or else. If you use the "..or else" card, you had best be prepared to back it up, otherwise you'll be seen as "more bark than bite" by the kids and they'll run all over you until the point when you reach your boiling point and flip out. In my opinion, they should have started laying down the law earlier and enforcing it.
#3 (Dad/GH3) - Guitar Hero sucks anyway (No Irish Bands), but y'know, it could have been worse. If they had been out in a public place, they might have been arrested. I think it takes a lot of courage to BE a parent and a lot more chutzpa to bring 'em up right in this messed up world of ours. By doing this, the dad shows his son that actions have consequences. If smoking a doobie once cost him his favorite video game, what would he lose the next time? Girlfriend? Car? Job? If the kid has any brains in his head, he'll stop and think about this before he sparks up a quail again.
And for the record, I applaud everyone here that has kids. My dad died when I was 15 and my mom took care of us three kids by herself and it is a hard job. You try to keep them happy, but you also have to do right by them as well and it's not easy at all. I don't know what has happened to the world in the last 10 years, but I don't like where it's going. Hopefully by taking charge and teaching your kids the right things, we can roll back the ravages of time and start making it safer to live again.
Honor and Xin Sheng.
Great responses from everyone.
