Last night, my son asked me if he could get another game controller for his PS3. He broke his other one from miss use. He kept bugging me as to when I was going to take him to Game Stop. I told him Amazon was a better way to go.
I told him he can order one up on Amazon if he wants. So, he grabs my laptop and eventually finds the controller he wants. He then hands me the computer so I can make the transaction.
The first thing I notice is the damn thing costs $60. I’m not a gamer, but I do happen to know that this is a little pricey for a damn game controller.
So I ask him: “You got $60?” (I happen to know he’s got around $80)
He responds with: “I have to pay?”
"Me: “Well, yeah son, it’s your controller and you broke it from throwing it around all the time. Give me $60 and I’ll make the transaction.”
Son: “Well, wait a minute, let me see that computer again, I’m not sure if that’s the one I want.”
So he goes back and finds on that cost $15. He hands me a 20 dollar bill and I make the transaction. He then asks me for his $5 in change back.
I tell him there was $5 in S&H and tax.
A defeated son turns around and walks sluggishly back to his bedroom.
Who knew teaching my son the value of a dollar could be so fun?!
I’d also love to hear of similar stories from you guys as well.
The sadistic joys of parenting.
Last night, my son asked me if he could get another game controller for his PS3. He broke his other one from miss use. He kept bugging me as to when I was going to take him to Game Stop. I told him Amazon was a better way to go.
He shouldn’t let the miss use it, to prevent future breakage.
Well, this isn’t on a par with the OP, and I was the kid, not the parent. But it’s how I learned to count change.
I was eight, and just getting an allowance for the first time. I was whining about the difficulty of counting out the coins, so my father said “if you can’t count it, you don’t get it!” Suddenly it was, for me, “five, ten, twenty five, thirty five…” and so on. With such an incentive, I suddenly knew how to count my allowance.
This was maybe a little too intentionally sadistic… and no one really learned from it… but it’s still a good story.
When my kids were 4, 5, 6, I used to tell them that the ice cream truck played music when it was OUT of ice cream. So they’d sit there looking all glum when it passed. “Sorry, guys, maybe next time.” hehehehe
One of my kids was about 10 and came running in the house all upset because he hurt his shoulder and couldn’t keep playing. So I did the Mr. Miyagi thing from Karate Kid on his shoulder. It worked, because he wasn’t really all that hurt, just upset about how it happened. A couple of years later his brother told him it was from the movie. He was pretty mad for a few minutes.
My kids always wanted to stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve so I’d start early in the day, setting the clocks ahead one hour. At “midnight,” when they were happy to go to bed, it was really only 9 or so. They used to tout proudly that they always saw midnight on NYE, and then just a couple years ago I told them. They were a lot more incredulous than I thought they’d be. I think they were mad, too.
Before my daughter got her license and a car, I used to drive her to high school. On occasion, I got out and hugged and kissed her. In public. In front of everyone.
Once upon a time when my daughter was in middle school, she forgot her lunch. So I decided to be a good mom and deliver it to her on my way to work. When I got to the school, the youngsters were still outside waiting to be allowed in, so I walked over to give her the lunch. She saw me coming, ran over, GRABBED the lunch and stalked back over to her associates.
Later that evening she declared, “Don’t EVER embarrass me like that again!”
“What?” I replied. “All I did was bring you your lunch.”
“I would *rather *have starved!”
“Why?”
“Jennifer said, ‘Oh, nice shoes.’”
“So your friend Jennifer liked my shoes?”
“NO! Those shoes are horrible! I was SO embarrassed!”
So ever after, if I wanted her to do (or not do) something, I would threaten to come to school to see her wearing the ugly shoes. I have no idea what was so awful about them; they were perfectly ordinary and relatively new shoes of the type that one would wear to an office job.
I don’t take delight in torturing my son…I’m just glad I’ve trained him to do the dishes. Did you hear that? NO MORE DISHES. Almost makes this parenting thing pay for itself…
No, it’s much worse if it’s a son you’re doing this to.
I too Dweezil to a nearby waterpark - consolation for making him stay home from summer camp that week when he caught what was probably H1N1 flu (the jaunt was later in the week when he was feeling better).
I got myself a snack, wrapped some money up in our pile of towels, then went out to where he was in the wave pool and told him about it in case he wanted something.
My sister and her husband celebrate New Year’s on GMT. That’s 8pm our time, which works well for their kids.
I’m 37 weeks pregnant, and already practicing my asshole parenting moves. I wear Crocs in public. Not only Crocs, fake knockoff Crocs. Bright purple ones, though I will have to replace those soon, as the soles are wearing through. The plan is to replace them with something equally bright colored, since I like bright colors. I’m sure whatever I pick will not meet with the approval of my future teenager. I also like T-shirts with science-geeky things written on them, tie-dye T-shirts, and Russian fur hats (though I don’t get to wear the fur hat very often, since it doesn’t really get cold enough for it here).
Nice, Anne! Anything handmade is a good way to go, too. Get fabric markers. Make an insipid design with, like, butterflies and flowers, and wear that to a school function. I’m a Californian in New England and I find that unshaved legs used to put my kids on “stunned.” Their little friends and some of the parents, too, but that’s collateral…
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[li]When VunderKind was an early teen, walking in to Wally*World or Tarzhey with him, then talking very loudly to him about the need to go to the en’s department to get him some underwear;[/li][li]Pulled this just a couple of weeks ago. VunderKind is now grown and working his first career-related job, and he brought his girlfriend with him for a visit. Wife and I brought out the nekkid baby pictures to show to her.[/li][/ul]
No kids here, but a very eclectic mother. My favorite thing was probably the dance she did in any sort of public setting with music in the background. It really didn’t (doesn’t, as she’s got two younger ones that I’m sure still get the benefit of this) matter what sort of music. It’s something like a cross between a hula dance and a shimmy, with excessive enthusiasm. I only hope I can do a passing imitation, when I have children of my own.
