Dad sells naughty kids' Nintendo DS on EBay

[Edgirl17]

http://http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041225/ap_on_fe_st/ebay_kids_s_gifts

Look at this.

[Demon_Child]

Umm....the link doesn't work.

[Martianinvader]

They actually put that on World News Tonight. The NATIONAL NEWS.

What a jerk that dad is....then again, I don't know how bad his children also are.

[Youko Recca]

Why does this count as news?

[Mek]

LMFAO.

That's cold man. XD

[Conekiller]

how much did he sell it for? :D

[True Noir]

Why does this count as news?
A mean, cold man.....people need to know. :rolleyes:

[Elven Moon]

Are we sure he's not just saying all this so his auctions will get attention?

[Bryangst]

Man. What horrible parents. He says the two of them are partly to blame here, but he goes and puts it all on Ebay anyway? You just don't do that if you've taken part in how the kids are acting... it's just ain't right.

[Spike Mcdougal]

Ohhhhhhhhh.

I thought that was about DS's being stolen and sold on EBay.

Still lame nonetheless

To those who havent figured it out try this link

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041225/ap_on_fe_st/ebay_kids_s_gifts

[Mek]

Man. What horrible parents. He says the two of them are partly to blame here, but he goes and puts it all on Ebay anyway? You just don't do that if you've taken part in how the kids are acting... it's just ain't right.
No kidding.

And if the kids were acting bad beforehand, then why did they even bother to buy the darn thing in the first place?

Man, parents these days are just... disgusting. At least, for me anyways.
(I have a good relationship with mine, though. And personally, I'm glad I didn't ask for a DS this Christmas. Never really saw any need to get one yet...)

[Boy Wonder]

Well, you say they are cruel, but we don't know how bad the kids are. Only variable missing. I saw a similar story about a mom selling a juvinile delinquent's PS2 on Ebay a year back.

[RD!]

If the DS had been out for six years now would any of you care about this story?

I'm forgetting where Christmas presents are written in the constitution as a given right to all Christian children--if they didn't deserve them, they shouldn't get them. Simple enough.

[Fone Bone]

That is NOT in the spirit of Christmas giving. You don't level presents as a bartering tool for good behavior you give them out of the goodness of your heart. The mom must be a wreck.:(

[RD!]

That is NOT in the spirit of Christmas giving. You don't level presents as a bartering tool for good behavior you give them out of the goodness of your heart. The mom must be a wreck.:(He's making a list. He's checking it twice. He's going to find out who's naughty or nice...

[Fone Bone]

He's making a list. He's checking it twice. He's going to find out who's naughty or nice...That's a joke. A laugh parents have at their kid's expense. You don't actually go through with it.

[RD!]

That's a joke. A laugh parents have at their kid's expense. You don't actually go through with it.Jokes aren't jokes to everyone. I mean, when you were younger didn't you behave a little better? I know I sure did. Besides, this is alot of money here. Would you honestly drop that kind of cash on kids who don't deserve it.

[Fone Bone]

Jokes aren't jokes to everyone. I mean, when you were younger didn't you behave a little better? I know I sure did. Besides, this is alot of money here. Would you honestly drop that kind of cash on kids who don't deserve it.I was always a stupid little hellraiser and nothing changed that. As for spending that much money on kids who don't deserve it? No, I wouldn't but I'd also have the common sense not to buy it in the first place if it was that conditional.

My little neice loves her dancing Blues Clues. The look on her face was so priceless that I wouldn't trade the thirty bucks for anything even if she was mean to me (she wasn't). I don't understand how a parent could send a message to their kids that they were so horrible they didn't deserve Christmas. Grinches, the lot of them, only their eyes won't turn blue later on.

[kiddiesunshine]

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!! DISCIPLINE! None of that "Time-Out" crap or slaps on the hand and then kissing it. No empty threats that parents these days don't have the heart to make good on. My hat goes off to the parents if the kids are really that bad. However, the parents should take a closer look at themselves and see if they couldn't have seen signs that their kids were capable of such behavior. I say they should just sell everything and have no material Christmas this year. The parents surely wouldn't mind the thought of getting all their holiday dollars back and then some. It's rough sometimes. But usually kids wait until AFTER Christmas to act a fool. Bad timing, guys. Bad timing.

[Fone Bone]

Gifts shouldn't be conditional. A gift is an unselfish act from the heart that should carry no expectations from it be it good behavior or a present in return. Giving gifts is what Christmas is all about.

[Mek]

This isn't discipline, this is just being stupid on ALL fronts: kids and parents included.

If the kids were little brats before Christmas (from what I've read), then why in the heck did the parents get the DS, anyways?

And another thing: ending Christmas just like that all because of a stupid game console? Sheesh.

What a piece of work this family is. :rolleyes:

[krazymed]

If the kids were little brats before Christmas (from what I've read), then why in the heck did the parents get the DS, anyways?
Might be due to having a little faith that their kids would shape up if they actually saw what cool presents await them if they do. Basic "parents hope for the best in their kids" stuff that most parents exhibit. Besides, the Nintendo DS is very hard to find, so waiting on it may not have been an option. If the parents were being really strict, they simply wouldn't have bought them at all until they saw actual proof that the kids had improved. The kids would have known they would have had to wait at least six months before getting another shot.

That said, I don't live in that house, so I can't possibly break down the situation in a fair manner. Neither can any of you. The parents probably did discuss many different metohds of dealing with whatever's going on, this is how they chose to handle it. Only thing I will say is that the national coverage was way too much. I seen worse Christmas tragedies. Here's one. When I was young, I had a NES. My sibling and I were arguing so loudly playing it one day that my father smashed it to pieces with a crowbar. 200 hundred bucks completely wasted over something trivial. I've never played a console since. I've also never spoken to my father since, but that's a consolation prize.

[Bryangst]

No kidding.

And if the kids were acting bad beforehand, then why did they even bother to buy the darn thing in the first place? Exactly! You don't buy this thing, that they probably REALLY wanted, if your kids have been acting that horrible before it was purchased. Unless, of course, the behavior began after the DS was purchased.


If the DS had been out for six years now would any of you care about this story? Sure I would. The father says that normally the kids behave really well. All little brothers and sisters get into little fights and behave pretty poorly all the time. Even AFTER they're told to knock it off. I just don't think it's that right in general to sell the gifts you're going to give your kids after they haven't behaved all that greatly. It could be any gift and I'd feel the same way.

[RayChuang]

...If I were eBay Customer Service I would have started asking serious questions about this auction. In my humble opinion, such a sale is public humiliation and the person who posted the auction runs the risk of getting a call from the local Social Services department.

I have this feeling that eBay might ban such auctions in the future. http://webpages.charter.net/connectingzone/disagree/18.gif

[RD!]

I have this feeling that eBay might ban such auctions in the future. http://webpages.charter.net/connectingzone/disagree/18.gif
Right after they ban the sale of "mysterious black ghosts" in jars right?

[Matt-a-Tastic]

Can I just piont out to you guys that all we know is half the story, we have no idea how bad the kids actally were, for all we know the kids could of beem driving them into a breakdown

[SilverKnight]

Maybe I'm just small-minded and/or stupid, but I'm going to play the Devil's Advocate here and say I don't entirely see why everyone's so ready to crucify the parents. The father was acting in the spirit of Christmas, but the kids turned out to be a royal punks, so he wanted to teach them a lesson and get his money back while he was at it. Maybe it's public humiliation, maybe it's indian giving, but damn if those little brats won't think twice the next time they open their mouths, lest something else of theirs winds up on eBay. Honestly, if I was nice enough to shell out $200 for a family member, who then turned around and completely disrepected me and what not, I can't say the thought wouldn't cross my mind, either. Normally, though, I'd just settle for telling them to go away until they felt like acting like human beings again.

If anyone in my family ever--ever--made an obscene gesture or swore, even if we were just repeating/imitating something, we'd just get a book thrown at us (and that was no joke because mommy read hardbacks and had an arm like Nolan freakin' Ryan), our mouths washed out with soap, and stood in a cobwebbed corner for the entire day. So, yeah, to me, recanted Christmas presents isn't as severe as getting Stephen King's The Stand upside your head,and it can't possibly be any more emotionally scarring than your family pretending you don't exist for about five hours while you're in the corner. Ergo, I have no idea where any of you are coming from with the 'cruel and unusual punishment' angle. Oh, and it's not in the spirit of Christmas to take the presents back? How is it any less in the spirit of Christmas than, say, flipping off your parents, cussing out people, and generally acting extremly rude towards the people who have raised you all their lives and were giving you the benefit of the doubt for sake of Christmas spirit? Please, explain.

Of course, I can't say I necessarily agree with the specific course of action the parents took, or if the action will even have the desired effect (with a brat like that, and especially at that age, it's likely to backfire) but I can appreciate the sentiment none the less. Sometimes you just gotta break bad with your kids and be an unrelenting ass to prove a point--you're not in charge, and childhood is not a democracy. You do as you're told, and if you don't, get you punished. Plain and simple. It's called tough love. It sucks, but they already made the threat, and if they didn't go through with it, the parents would lose even more face and credibility. "Oh, mom and dad said I wouldn't get anything, but look at my Nintendo DS!" Yeah, right. If you think that letting them keep the presents would do anything, I think you need to head to an airport and book the next flight to Reality. As krazymed said, worse things could happen. They might not have gotten anything at all, and then think of the news coverage! Gasp and shock! Whatever.

Excuse me, I think my bitter is showing. Merry Christmas indeed.

[Mek]

On a somewhat related note, if those dumbass parents really wanted to stick it to the kids, they could have simply just given the DS to a kid at a homeless shelter who might have gotten NO presents at all this year. Not have to go through this... public humilation for the entire family.

Let's just face it: everyone involved are dumbasses and this whole thing is a complete farce. This family gets NO sympathy from me whatsoever.

[ThePeterNetwork]

Here's my analysis on children and their relationship with their parents.

Children are naturally naughty. It's in their nature. Parents hate them for that, so they try to control them, often by threats of violence but mostly by other threats. This makes the children hate their parents, so they become even more naughty, which makes the parents hate them more. It goes on like this until the children are grown and decide they can live on their own.

So what we have here is a basic case of parents hating their children and children hating their parents. I wouldn't be surprised if because of this, the children will act up even more out of spite for their parents getting rid of their toys.

If I have children, I will never buy them any toys. I also won't let them watch TV or be on the Internet. Too much of a distraction, and it will warp their minds.

[Fone Bone]

On a somewhat related note, if those dumbass parents really wanted to stick it to the kids, they could have simply just given the DS to a kid at a homeless shelter who might have gotten NO presents at all this year. Not have to go through this... public humilation for the entire family.

Let's just face it: everyone involved are dumbasses and this whole thing is a complete farce. This family gets NO sympathy from me whatsoever.If they HAD to do it donating it to a homeless shelter would have been the way to go.

SilverKnight, the kids may be too stupid to get into the spirit of Christmas but the parents should know better.

[Toss]

He's making a list. He's checking it twice. He's going to find out who's naughty or nice... exactly. I think kids should give back to their parents what was given to them, but in the from of being WELL-BEHAVED and respectful. and he did warn them.

[PRdude]

Okay, well, the oldest one brought it on himself when he double-dared his father to do it.

But still, who really cares about someone else's kids acting up? You're the parent, you know what to do, so just do it, and don't make some big ass production out of it.

[Wanted]

Gifts shouldn't be conditional. A gift is an unselfish act from the heart that should carry no expectations from it be it good behavior or a present in return. Giving gifts is what Christmas is all about.All that sentimental stuff. I wouldn't give a gift to someone who had been undeserving of such said gift.

And besides, Christmas is a time for celebrating the birth of Jesus. Well, at least next year it had better be.

Gifts are conditional!

[tucsoncoyote]

On a somewhat related note, if those dumbass parents really wanted to stick it to the kids, they could have simply just given the DS to a kid at a homeless shelter who might have gotten NO presents at all this year. Not have to go through this... public humilation for the entire family.

Let's just face it: everyone involved are dumbasses and this whole thing is a complete farce. This family gets NO sympathy from me whatsoever.I've heard the story and I have to just add in my two cents here.. (You're right by the way here, Mekairinek.)

Frankly the Parents (and Most notably the father) didn't use wise judgement here.. and this goes into saying that it makes me wonder if this happened to the father as a Child..(After all Abusive Parents who do things like this really just do humiliate the family, turn themselves into a mockery for their neighbors, and in essence really show the low side of "Parental Control")

but in today's World where now they're teaching kids that if a parent lays a hand on them, they can have their parent arrested for "Child Abuse" wouldn't a Case like this make it such that the teenage boys could really muck up the family's Life, by saying that the parents abused them by selling their Nintendo DS machines?

Frankly that's where it makes me shake my head on the matter.. The family in this case really are a bunch of morons (not Dumb A***s) and in fact it shows that "Human Nature around Christmas" has sunk to a new low..(After all you got State Governements Banning Christmas Trees and Religious Groups Banning Nativity Scenes and even going as so far as boycotting businesses that have the words, "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" on their Windows..

Frankly though in terms of Humanity.. We're Doomed.. and sooner or later before you get married, you'll have to take a "Parenting Test" mandated by either the State or Federal Goverment in order to have kids..(which in a way is a Form of Censor ship..

so why don't we all just go out and blow away Santa Claus with an Uzi.. Oh that'll go over good..

in conclusion... I just have to say this to the parents.. and Also to the kids...

To the Parents of the Kids: Stop acting like such a selfish jerk... and at least show some restraint.. after all this was your own doing to get on the news (and at what cost to your Family's Happiness)

To the Kids, I have this to say.. Go Join the Marines! They'll teach you really how to hate your parents! (or persons of Authority (After all Has anyone been around a Military Drill Instructor? No Okay then they're 10 times worse then your parents! (and if you're not a whimp then you can go fight for the right to own those Nintendos! after all If you survive 11 weeks of "Basic Training" then you can call yourself "An Adult and have those games you wanted as a kid!"*

Nuff Said..

:coyote:

*Edited Note: Note to the folks, Frankly send the kids to some sort of Military/Bootcamp or Prison Camp! they'll whip them into sobbing babies just by the verbal and psychological abuse alone!

[RD!]

Gifts are conditional!No I wouldn't go so far as to say that. But to me there's a difference between Christmas and gift-giving, especialy from a parent's angle. A parent doesn't just give a gift one gift to an older child, they have to get several gifts. Several gifts that their kids want, infact. If giving a gift should be conditional, recieving one should be too. This isn't what Christmas is.

[Fone Bone]

No I wouldn't go so far as to say that. But to me there's a difference between Christmas and gift-giving, especialy from a parent's angle. A parent doesn't just give a gift one gift to an older child, they have to get several gifts. Several gifts that their kids want, infact. If giving a gift should be conditional, recieving one should be too. This isn't what Christmas is.I can buy that. My best friend treats me like crap so I only got her a ten dollar gift. But it's still a good one and it's the thought that counts. If the parents were that insistant on good behavior they shouldn't have bought the thing in the first place not to mention sell it on Ebay to humiliate their kids.

[RD!]

If the parents were that insistant on good behavior they shouldn't have bought the thing in the first place not to mention sell it on Ebay to humiliate their kids.*shrug* I think the parents went overboard on both ends here. They bought way too much and went to the extreme with their punishment. But I'm not going to crucify the parents over it.

[Bubblegum Girl]

(Don't bash me on my opinions so here goes! >__<; )

I don't feel sorry for the kids at all because they got whats coming to them.(I mean the older kid dared his father to do it! That's was really smart) They acted up so they had to pay the price. I mean their father told them to straighten up and they didn't do that. :shrug: I was lucky that my dad never did that whenever when I acted up during the Christmas time. He would just yelled at me and that's it. :sad: I don't see why the parents had to be crying about it. I mean they were trying to discipline their kids. IMO it's alot better than a painful beating.

[PaQ]

I don't see really anything wrong with what the dad did. Perhaps the only thing he did wrong was show them what they were going to get in a last ditch effort to get them to cooperate. I wouldn't have bought them in the first place, but hey, it's Christmas and you do want to give something to your kids that is fun, it's just unfortunate that they didn't respond to their parents efforts of goodwill, and I'm glad to see the dad do what he did after. They didn't deserve those DS's..

[Conan-san]

I think the idea might of been right but the exicution was...sloppy, I meen geting it slaped up on Public News was not the right way to go about it.

The person who said "Give to ophanage" or such, yeah. I think that would completely blow the kids away. "You, even though your my kids. Are less important than a bunch of Parentless Starngers." Sankyo and good night.

But that realy took it an all, way to go, now you'll be hunted as the Grinch, you Grinchy bast-.


Wise Words of the Kai-oh-tay (Sorry, I jus' love the way that Dan Green pronounces that...)

:coyote:
Yeah, we are pritty Fisked arn't we?

Ah well, maybe Bush will kill us all this year coming. That will be a nice, long prermant break from it all >:D (And no-one push this as Anti-Bush, I'm just saying on the idea of Humanity being ****ed)

[Duke]

Personally, I'm with the group that sympathizes with the parents (such as SilverKnight and PaQ). There are far worse tragedies on Christmas than a couple of kids not getting a Nintendo DS. Hell, a few years ago I was going to get a TV for Christmas, but our house was robbed 2 or 3 days before.

I don't believe it was the father's intention to have this thing become as big as it did. Hell, I seriously doubt he reported it to any network, he just put the thing on eBay and someone else ran with it.

Nobody's mentioning the guy who bought it. He was the same person who bought that grilled cheese sandwich that looked like the Virgin Mary. IIRC, the DS systems sold for a few hundred each. That could pay off a bill or two. :P

I do disagree with them selling it on eBay though. They should've given them all to me, because I'm selfish. :P

[Wanted]

No I wouldn't go so far as to say that. But to me there's a difference between Christmas and gift-giving, especialy from a parent's angle. A parent doesn't just give a gift one gift to an older child, they have to get several gifts. Several gifts that their kids want, infact. If giving a gift should be conditional, recieving one should be too. This isn't what Christmas is.Yet another case of me trying to sound stupid.

But, if gifts are unconditional, we could give them for no reason. But, I'm not rich.