Naughty kids lose gifts to eBay

[rainbow4321]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8761AU00.html


The father of three children went from playing Santa Claus to playing the Grinch after he determined his children were being naughty instead of nice, and taught them a lesson on by auctioning their presents on eBay.


A Pasadena information technology specialist decided to auction the presents because the youngsters, ages 9, 11, and 15, had misbehaved
"BAD CHILDREN get no Nintendo DS. Santa will skip our house this year," the man announced in his eBay posting to sell three DS systems with PictoChat and Metroid. Also offered were three games for use with the system. "No kidding. Three undeserving boys have crossed the line. Tonight we sat down and showed them what they WILL NOT get for Christmas this year. I'll be taking the tree down tomorrow."

Thursday night, the auction wound down with bidding at $465.01 — below the price the man had set. "If you don't buy them, we'll return them to the store," the seller known online as magumbo_2000 reported on the site.

"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 man blamed at least part of the family discord on being lax.

[Dogmudgeon]

1. What an a**hole

I wonder what that flaming psycho has in mind for Easter -- Crucifixion, maybe?

--p!

[Deja Q]

2. 'in a single day' gets THAT reaction?!

What were they fighting about, did he bother to listen? Or just hear?

And, look at their ages. Doi. That's the time when all children learn the juicy words. That's normal.

And who were they gesturing obscenely to?

How long did these 'normally really good' kids' misbehaving last, for a 'single day''s worth of naughtiness they exhibited?

Maybe he's harsh all the time, which explains why they're usually really good but decided to rebel a day or two too early?

And how will Baby Jesus feel?

Also, I suspect there's some disgusting greed going on: Those items are hot this time of year and I doubt he'd lost or destroyed the receipt. He could have returned everything. I hope the bidders are all uber-spiners so he gets 99% less than what he bought them for.

Punishment is one thing, but without any proper context surrounding their 'normal' lives, that's why I'm asking the above.

[name not needed]

3. Fucking prick.

[mac56]

4. "One thing we teach around this house," said the man,

who asked the Houston Chronicle not to reveal his name, "is that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people."

One thing they obviously don't teach around that house is PROPORTIONALITY.

[Deja Q]

6. And the cowardly nameless man keeps forgetting that

bad things can happen to good people.

What will the three Juniors think of him if he loses his job, even though he's in a civilized country like Canada? They'll think he's bad. (if they hadn't already.)

Whoops. Circular logic - never leave home (or a homo) without it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. He also doesn't teach reality and is living in a made-up utopia

of false Christian belief: that good people have good things happen, and bad people have bad things happen.

What a nasty, rotten, awful thing to teach to children.

I bet he would label himself as a SuperChristian, too.

Stupid ass.

[buddhamama]

5. this man is...

a frickin' jerky. One day of bad behavior does not warrant the cancellation and, withholding of X-Mas presents. grrrr :mad:

[Z_I_Peevey]

8. Those poor kids

First he takes their toys away, then he makes a big public spectacle of it.

I'll bet those kids are subjected to hours-long lectures about their failings.

[SmokingJacket]

9. And that's what his kids will remember when he's dying in the nursing home

Hope he enjoys it.

[progressoid]

10. Aw lighten up people, it's not corporeal punishment

The oldest kid dared his dad to do it! I don't reward my kids with bad behavior. Putting it on Ebay was a little dramatic and they obviously have some other serious problems to work out, but giving them 700 bucks worth of video games is just re-enforcing the behavior.

[mac56]

11. "A little dramatic"?!

"The oldest kid dared his dad to do it!"

Bullshit. That was flat-out cruel. Punishment way out of proportion to the offense.

He's the parent. They're kids. He's got all the power and he abused it. I've seen too much of this in my own family.

I agree with the other poster who said this is what those kids will remember when Dad is dying in the nursing home.

[Orangepeel]

19. it isn't not giving them gifts that the problem

anyone who doesn't want to give his/her kid a nintendo is alright by me. Even taking it away because they misbehaved doesn't bother me.

It is the whole big "dramatic" "you're a BAD kid and Santa doesn't bring presents to BAD kids" that is cruel.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. Me too

Dad is a publicity hound. But he makes himself look worse than the kids.

[acmavm]

12. Kids act out at Christmas. The closer it gets, the wilder they get.

Doesn't this dumbass realize that kids feel extremely stressed out at this time? I'm not saying that they may not deserve some sort of disipline at all. But this is crazy.

I've heard that at Christmas all kinds of people start to act up because of the pressures put on them by our crazy material society. I believe it.

[gollygee]

13. Kids freak out around Christmas

Everyone goes a little nuts around Christmas - it's a stressful and crazy time - but especially kids. There's just SO MUCH excitement.

He is stupid and cruel. If they're normally good kids, then no matter what they did in one day, short of some Menendez-brothers thing, should be enough to take away their Christmas presents.

[buddhamama]

15. agreed

kids will react to the stress and craziness of their parents too, in addition to the general "excitement" of the holidays.

[mac56]

16. That is so true.

If parents are wigged out, the kids will mirror that.

I suspect Dad was more than a little bit wigged out before this all happened. Wonder if this overreaction on his part is a smoke screen for something else?

[Deja Q]

21. It's an ORGANIZED holiday.

As with organized crime and organized religion, it's bound to cause trouble at some point.

Make holidays random and an act of love and that will keep kids in line far more than the set-date of "gimme gimme gimme".

[derrald]

14. Taking down the Christmas Tree?

Now that's prickish - the presents, that's an 'I could maybe come to laugh about it when I was older' kind of thing, but to go so far as to take down the Christmas tree, that's like saying "Nah, no Christmas at all this year" That's ridiculously cruel - the barrier between discipline and abuse

[Guaranteed]

17. It's dad's fault, and he blames it on the kids.

What a bastard. He raised 'em. His genes.

[Deb]

18. Santa needs to bring Daddy a

visit to the psychiatrist.

"If you don't buy them, we'll return them to the store," Well, I guess he told us too. :eyes: What a authoritarian bully!

[Solly Mack]

20. We had to give one of our new presents to charity

we always got great stuff so it was never a case of the the "yucky" toy going....and we had to "learn" to appreciate the point.....even thought our mom was cruel to make us do this before we understood. As we got older, we all knew to buy a toy with our allowances to place under the tree....and those toys we gave away each year.

But damn...this man is harsh.

You can either discipline your children with cruelty...or you can discipline them for life with positive examples.

Discipline is a life-long goal....not some short term bullying tactic to aquire a moment of peace.

[mac56]

22. Unfortuately, Bill Cosby was right with this quote:

"Parents do not want justice...Parents want quiet."

[MrScorpio]

23. Dad is an asshole

That's the lesson that's taught here.