Parent Sells Pot Smoking Teen’s Guitar Hero III On eBay
By William on Thursday, December 6th, 2007 at 10:23 AM PST In Nintendo
Here’s the deal:
So I spent who knows how many hours of my life trying to get “Guitar Hero 3” for the Nintendo Wii for my 15 year old son who has been begging for it since he was born (well not really but he’s wanted it for awhile). So after waiting in lines and going into every game store in the city over the last 2 weeks (practically being laughed at when I asked for guitar hero 3) I finally got lucky and got one at EB Games (they just got a shipment of them 25 minutes before I walked in!).
So I was so relieved in that I had finally got the Holy Grail of Xmas presents pretty much just in the nick of time. I couldn’t wait to spread the jubilance to my son.
Then, yesterday, I came home from work early and what to I find? My innocent little boy smoking pot in the backyard with 2 of his delinquent friends.
Now I know santa applies the “naughty or nice” paradigm to determine who gets what on Christmas. My son (Isaac) hasn’t exactly been Mother Teresa this year (he got suspended for fighting in the spring, among other things) but I thought I could still justify getting him this present. Maybe it would make him stay home more and “rock out” on this fake guitar thing. He pretty much spends all his free time at his friend’s house playing it anyways (while high on marijuana, I would imagine).
Anyways, I am now finding it hard to justify rewarding him with this gift after he so greatly disappointed me. I know smoking a joint isn’t the end of the world, but if you can convince me that he deserves the gift, then I will end the auction. You will have to be very convincing. I am an elementary school teacher and I know that rewarding bad behavior is just asking for more of the same…
After I caught him getting high on my patio I did the typical yelling, screaming, kicking out the friends, etc… but I had not decided on a suitable way to punish him. As of the time of me writing this, he does not know I got him Guitar Hero 3. I will show him the auction once it is posted and we can watch it finish together. Sort of a “Father-Son bonding experience”. While I doubt this will keep him from ever smoking pot again, I think it will make him think twice before doing illegal (well I think pot is still illegal in Canada) drugs on my property.
I am still considering getting him a game for his Nintendo. Maybe something like Barbie as the Island Princess or Dancing With the Stars. These games are in stock everywhere I go, and I know he will just love them.
Merry Xmas Isaac. I hope you’ve learned your lesson. –Father.
WHAT IS SO HORRIBLE WITH SMOKING MARIJUANA? WHY DO YOU THINK THE KID IS SMOKING IT? MAYBE YOUR LACK OF PARENTING IS FORCING HIM TO SEEK REFUGE FROM YOU.
Dear Parents,
Punishment is a “great” idea for teaching your child a lesson. Make sure you beat them excessivly and cause as much pain as possible. After all is done be sure to not let them out of the house for atleast a year and drug test them daily.
Good Luck,
Jon
I think that what k_lid has chosen to do is the sign of a responsible parent who cares for the well-being and future of his child. Although, putting the item up on eBay is more than a punch in the face to the child but it ruins the spirit of the holidays to the family. First, you ruined the surprise for the kid and second, the kid is really pissed that his item is being sold. He doesn’t understand WHY smoking pot is wrong. You have to talk to him and make him understand that it is an illegal substance that could lead to jail time.
On a happier note, this is a great way to get more bids for the item and the father could possibly be teaching his son to respect the household rules more and gain some profit for hunting all over the city for the game.
Does the kid even deserve the game after causing mayhem the past year?
Anyway, he’s only 15 and experimenting, thus you must talk to him. Take down the item, wait till New Years and give it to him as a New Years present or better yet, wait till his sixteenth birthday and give it too him. By then he’ll probably have played it at his friend’s house and have gotten sick of it, THEN you could put it back on eBay.
And also, keep an eye on those friends of his…
(**I think I might be contradicting myself somewhere in here**))
Here’s what I would do(16 year old perspective)
Sell the game. Chances are you will make more money on ebay than what you bought it for originally. Tell your son what you did and show him the money you made from the sale. Then tell him the money is his, but only if he earns it. He can earn the money through the normal teenage stuff(good grades, chores, etc) and eventually buy the game himself while making a bit more money in the process.
And for practice, buy him guitar hero 2 or something if you have a system that plays it.
So according to this article, the kid sounds like he has the typical American youth personality of “I’m a badass, I smoke Pot, I don’t really care about school, etc. etc.” So what justifies the dad in the first place for even buying Guitar Hero for his innocent little boy anyway? Nice parenting there, no wonder the kid smokes pot. You can punish your son by getting him off his ass and trying to do a little better in school (I’m gonna go off on a limb here and say he probably doesn’t do so well in that area of life due to his ‘Mother Teresa’ analogy) and by returning GH3 to the store. It’s not necessary for you to sell it on eBay, post your story over the Internet about what a exceptional parent you are, and then shove it in your son’s face and say “hah”. That’s a great way for him to act even worse, or better yet your son steals a guitar hero controller and smashes your head in with it, and then Jack Thompson gets to declare that “Guitar Hero kills people”.
Sorry I kind of forgot where I was headed with that Jack Thompson thing. In conclusion, this is a great example of America’s youth and parenting stupidity.
The guy should just keep it and not let the kid touch if till March or so, and in that time drug test him. That will keep him straight. Pot is fun, oh God is it fun, but it is not appropriate to a 15 year old when brain damage is possible. Selling it will only make him extraordinarily pissed and cause him to rebel more.
i think it all comes down to how much does the parent actually know his/her kid and how mature he is, “i smoke pot” and im not a junkie, i dont spend my life high, i get things done and go to school. my mom once found me getting high as hell and as upset as she was she never said oh you cant do this or punished me because she knows that kind of stuff just doesnt work with me and all she would’ve gained with that was me getting upset at her, instead she just said; its your life and i hope you do the best for youself and keep in mind that you can get in serious legal trouble by having this stuff on you. 5 years later, here i am a respectable citizen who smokes pot. it all comes down to what kind of person you are and weather you have the will to push through in life and not become a drug addict, i guess it works for some people but certainly not for everyone…
just my two cents.
Here is my two cents:
As a 15 year old who has smoked pot and who has gone through the parent-child talk, I can honestly say taking away your son’s present is a bad idea. First off, your son already feels bad about it, as did I when my dad found out. However, adding insult to injuring is no way of getting your son to quit. When my father had a chat with me he understood the general life of being a teenager. YES, your son smoked and YES he will probably try it again. This is the life of a teenager. As a parent, you need to understand that a lot of teenagers try things out of curiosity. If your goal is to lead your teenagers life as isolated as possible then YES, he should be punished for trying something that a HUGE portion of teenagers try. However, if you’re going to be a father figure that your son feels he can turn to, you should keep the gift. By doing so, your son will feel that you see eye to eye with him and he’ll better understand your worry and will respect you a lot more. Maybe instead of taking away his Christmas gift, you should have a calm talk and discuss both of your views. It tends to work out A LOT better in the end.
Anyways that’s just my two cents…
Sincerly,
Kai
and as rachel sort of pointed out, it is better to smoke pot after you’ve gone through puberty, that way you dont stun your physical development, it is a real possibility.
so what. i smoke pot with my dad. its great. he is a responsible man. i respect him and his house. I turned out ok. Im graduated university in 4 years.
While perhaps there is nothing morally wrong with smoking weed, it is illegal, and can get you thrown in jail. Beyond that, it can get the parents in trouble criminally as well if it is happening in their house. Additionally, people who get baked tend to get lazy, and when they get lazy they fall short of their potential.
If you’re a good parent, you’ll want your kid to achieve his potential. Unless your child’s goal is to be a bohemian poet, you should discourage him from smoking weed (heh).
Now, as far as people complaining about traumatizing the kid with respect to Christmas, have people forgotten that it’s a Christmas tradition for bad kids to get coal? Not giving a kid Guitar Hero III, but giving him coal instead, is complete win and merely continuing the complete tradition of Christmas.
Furthermore, it sickens me to see all the people here complaining about how not giving the kid will traumatize him, as if it’s your right to receive Christmas presents. Christmas is supposed to be about being with family and celebrating the birth of Christ, not some materialistic bullshit. Oh noes, I didn’t get Guitar Hero III, and THAT’S THE WHOLE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS!!
How shallow we are as a society, gosh.
upon reading the inadvertant typo in my comment, i must take back my comment. down with dope!
It shouldn’t matter what anybodies personal opinion on marijuana is. It is AGAINST THE LAW. That should be enough. What you think about the law doesn’t matter, as it is the law. And trust me, if I had a son who was breaking the law they would get a punishment much worse than this.
I applaud you for this. Humans can easily be conditioned, and by doing this your teen will understand that smoking pot means consequences.
As another person put it, you are not there to be a child’s friend, but to be their parent. They’ll thank you for it later.
Consider for a moment what will happen if this backfires.
Think for a moment what you would do if you were publicly humiliated like this.
Resentment and vindictiveness can run deep; I sincerely hope the father understands how he may be affecting his son from this point out.
To the father: I really, really hope you know what you’re doing, because you may be starting the snowball rolling down the mountain with this very action.
I think all this “aww he’ll be scarred for life” stuff is fairly misguided. Isn’t the POINT that he’ll have massive negative reinforcement linked to his actions?
Far too few teenagers seem to learn that their actions have consequences.
You screw up and get caught, bad things happen. Welcome to the real world.
It’s not like his child is eight years old either, he’s in his mid-teens, time to start accepting responsibility.
I agree – GHIII for the Wii sucks. Don’t waste your money.
upon reading kyles comment, I think he should smoke some pot and chill out. anyone who has to abuse caps lock to communicate his screaming through a blog about an issue involving strangers probably could receive some utilty from a joint.
I think the son will learn a very valuable lesson from this.
“Drive around and smoke pot in my car, instead in a setting such as my home, to avoid consequences.”
BLAZE ONE!
Marijuana is not a drug, get that through your fucking head
Yes your son screwed up…but you spent all of that time hunting this game down. Don’t punish yourself. Give him the game for Christmas…but take his Wii for a month or two.
This is brilliant. The kid needs to learn that there are consequences to breaking the law. I agree with Kyle Goetz, nobody DESERVES anything on Christmas. You’re entitled to exactly NOTHING. The spirit of Christmas is to be with family and love one another, but its been twisted by greed to be the holiday of over-consumption and materialism. This kid will be fine. His relationship with his dad will be fine. He will learn a lesson (though he may not take anything away from that lesson) and life will go on. Does he deserve the game? No. Should he be damn thankful that the ONLY thing that happened to him was he lost his game? Hell yes.
Regardless of how you may feel about smoking pot, legal or not… The fact remains that at 15 years of age, he should not be smoking anything!!! The proper response would of been finding a way make him actually feel guilty for doing so(either by breaking your trust, or damaging his body before he fully understood how he was doing it), and selling something he wanted will not bring feelings of guilt for sure(especially a Christmas gift, and most especially to a 15 y/o boy). Men don’t FULLY finish puberty until their early 20’s, taking something into your body before that point on a regular basis WILL mess up your bodies chemistry. After your body is done developing, turn your closets into grow rooms and smoke out the neighbors for all it matters!
So, Dad bought the gift and is selling it on ebay rather than returning it? Sounds like a scam to make profit to me.
I was raised to have the punishment fit the crime. My brother snuck out once, and was grounded from driving for 6 months. Your son smoked pot? Does he do it while he’s playing his Wii? If so, ground him from it for however long you see fit. If not, ground him from leaving the house to hang out with his hooligan friends. Don’t sell his Christmas present right in front of him.
I promise, he’s not going to think you’re rewarding his behavior by not spoiling his Christmas.
And to all of you who think pot is soooo bad because it’s against the law… In middle eastern countries, women are beaten to death for not covering properly in public, and it’s the law. The law is subjective and unless you understand the subject, STFU you ignorant moron! 40% of prison inmates are in jail being brutalized(going from innocent to gang wanna be) in the united states over something as simple as smoking a plant that grows in nature and, believe it or not, the simple act of smoking it hurts no one other than the person who is doing the smoking(unless your sitting next to the smoker you leech… roll your own!). If you want to get up on a high horse about whats right and wrong in society, go after the a-holes who kill innocent people with alcohol, coke, meth, or any other drug WORTH bitching about.
Flamekebab: The problem with the “negative reinforcement linked to his actions” plan is that the negative reinforcement will most likely backfire and a snowball effect will occur: the kid will start smoking pot or worse in secret, potentially leading to horrible lessons and life experiences in the future.
The best approach is to give the game to the child, but tell him he can’t play it until he has completed, say, two weeks of doing his chores without complaining and without being asked. Don’t make your kids fear you; teach them that mistakes can be made whole again as long as you’re willing to work through it and compromise.
Kids learn best from trial and error – he made an error, so now let him try to redeem his actions.
@neo- well considering christmas is a christian holiday, i think the people that partake in it should at least be trying to be good christians….last time i checked smoking pot and defying your parents was not in the bible
To the people who don’t think this will NEVER work… It can. My parents did something similar to me, and I haven’t smoked pot since.
you guys are all retarted. thats the problem with society today is that nobody lets their kids smoke. it does nothing bad. it has been proven to slow cancer groth cells, increace vision, help with glaucoma, it has no tar or anything like that, and it comes from the ground. the fact that yall are ignorant is the problem.
@Alex
Then you’re just in that small percentage that it would actually work on…
SUCKER!
Ok…
1. The majority of resolves here are entirely opinionistic and are unjustified. Unjustified in that they are based entirely off of what the comment-ers think they know about Isaac’s son. He is Isaac’s son after all, and none of you know him personally, so who are you to justify what he should be doing to punish or not punish his son. I’m surprised, even at the more intelligent and reasonable comments, that this hasn’t been thought through.
2. There is still yet a valid reason why the father shouldn’t sell the game.
3. It’s obvious the majority of the people here are ignorant of the big picture of the idea, being that, the game is and object of which his son will potentially enjoy, there are many other items of which he potentially enjoys, by eliminating one it is a show of punishment for the actions of his son, which has been explained to his son, the son either understands this, or is just plain stupid.
4. Neo… learn how to correctly type please, if your such an amazing intellectual with great insights on what this man should really do to take care of his son, show it in the way your communicating, otherwise, you are totally irrelevant to the majority of readers.
Christmas is suppose to be about unconditional love and forgiveness right, so where does it say we all deserve gifts. I think that you cant just give your kid guitar hero III after you just caught him smoking pot, I dont think you can give it to him ground him and then give it back to him. I think it teaches poor responsibility, it doesn’t really cost him that much and is an ineffective punishment. I think you go online and sell it and make someone elses christmas a little bit better. But there’s no need to rub it in your kids face, I think you can still get him a christmas gift, you guys can still have your talk and your groundings and etc. But you can do all of that without relating your punishment to losing the game. I just dont think giving him such an awesome gift after he has been bad this year is necessarily the best idea. Maybe I would have spent the time with my child making a connection instead of waiting in line at all the stores…..
You ask where Christmas is in the father’s actions.
Haven’t you bought into the commercialization of Christmas hook line and sinker? It’s about giving, you say.
I thought (and I’m not a Christian) that it was about the anniversary of the birth of Christ, hence the derivation of the name and that it’s about family togetherness, love, peace… not Guitar Hero.
The traditional Christmas gift was once a candy cane.
The average cost of a child’s Christmas gift has now risen to in the region of $600.
So I ask you, where’s Christmas? Is it in a family sitting around a family meal and expressing familial love for each other? Or is it in wrapping paper, with a receipt in your back pocket, just in case.
You punished your kid for using something that he has every right to use as a human being.
You’re a douchebag.
In the real world, kids who get punished this way, because they got baked, are just going to think “okay well fuck you then asshole, ill just be more careful about how i smoke”
he’s in canada, where it’s a socially accepted norm in some places, smokin pot isnt bad, you should kick his ass if you see him smoking cigarettes though, that shit has cyanide and all kinds of poisonous chemicals.
Well Neo, I agree with you. I am not sure how many people here have had the pleasure of being told (when they were 15) that they didn’t receive a single thing on their Christmas list simply because my parents did not like the fact that I enjoy playing video games. But let me tell you, it hurt really bad, it made me feel like my parents cared more about their pride and their ideals than they did for me. Kids mess up, all of them do.
But every child has a right to be loved. I don’t mean to say that trying to teach him to smoke pot is a cruel thing (in fact, I believe it is the right thing) but having him watch as the present of his dreams gets sold to someone else or having him sell it himself… well folks I hate to break it to you, but that qualifies as psychological abuse. Which makes you a better person, a more mature adult: showing your kid that you still love him even though he messed up or mentally abusing him?
christmas isnt about religion anymore. its too corporate nowadays and what isaac did is what parents need to do to prevent the new generation from going down the shithole, which it is…….
he really just should’ve made him donate the gifts, that would teach him two lessons in one and open his eyes better
You punished your kid for using a substance that psychiatrists, doctors and most medical research scientists recommend to promote health, and he has every right to use it even though the “all-knowing” government funded by pharmaceutical companies doesn’t like that a mere plant can beat practically all of their best medications without any negative side effects. The kid does not deserve this, as he should not be punished for doing something that pharmaceutical manufacturers deem to be bad in order to command the majority market share; would you punish your kid for taking an anti-depressant or a pain reliever such as ibuprofen?
I got $10 saying half the people who say “Dont sell his present or he’ll keep smoking” are the kid and his friends trying to stop this from happening. Which by the way, would be hilarious as shit.
Oh blake? Guess what? The shit in cigarettes comes from the ground too.
Selling his christmas present right in front of him is basically the definition of “Grinch.”
I think you owe it to your son to lead by example. Punishing him this way smacks of your own egotistical power trip. I am not saying your intentions are not good, but to a 15 year old it will only reinforce two things: his father is vengeful, and he should be more careful not to get caught.
If you feel that he does not deserve the game, fine. Don’t give it to him. Tuck it away and perhaps let him earn it one day. And then, on that day, explain to him why he didn’t get it for Christmas, and remind him how much you love him and want the best for him. That will clearly demonstrate how big a man you are. But don’t stoop to such a level as pawning it and showing him the receipt. It’s petty, and you will gain contempt while losing respect. Best wishes.
Simple parenting, but I think the OP could’ve been a lot harsher on the kid. If you treat your child with mediocre discipline, you’ll end up with a mediocre kid.
I think if the father wants to teach the son a lesson, he should sit the kid down, show him the guitar hero, and EXPLAIN why he’s selling it. As well as grounding him. As well as taking away his allowance. As well as selling his nintendo wii. As well as taking away anything else he’s treasured.
Before you rip me a new one over “he’s just a kid”, realize that if explained properly, the important thing is to make the punishment so severe that every time the kid thinks about smoking pot or doing anything else, it’ll remind him what happens. The key, however, is to not be angry when he talks to the kid, but to explain WHY he’s getting punished.
When I was around 14 years old, I stole a strobe like from a local store because it was “cool”. When my parents found out, not only did they take everything I treasured away for a month, took me back to the store to return the product and apologize, but TOOK ME TO THE POLICE TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED. The local officer recognized what it was and sat me down to explain what happens when someone gets arrested for theft. He took me to the local holding cell, and explain to me the trial process, what probation meant, what house arrest meant, etc. He spoke to me like an adult, calm, collected, and matter of fact.
The next year I got straight A’s, became student council president and started a local charity organization.
I don’t think I’ll ever thank my parents enough for that. I can’t imagine what happens if I was rewarded with video games after being caught for it.
Also, auctioning the one game he’s wanted for so long in front of his face is acting far more immature than a 15 year old smoking pot.
Some example that would be setting for your child.
My cousin and i started smoking weed at 14 and 15. I was living with my uncle for that time and never had a problem. I improved my grades from a 2.0 to a 3.5 from 10th grade to 12th grade all while smoking weed. I also had a weight problem (was 235 in 10th grade), but also dropped to 180 by 12th grade. My aunt and uncle found out about us smoking weed in 11th grade, and our lives were HELL for the rest of the time i was there. Although the one that was really pissed was my aunt. We got drug tested and had to spend extra time at the christian church (my aunt and uncle were devout born-again christians) altho me and my cousin were not religious at all. We were grounded, we were allowed to work a job, but were not allowed to spent the money, we had presents taken away from us on birthday’s and christmas’s, spanked and slapped almost every other day. My aunt and uncle made their own lives hell trying to police our lives. Of course those tactics did not work, and it caused a lot of strain on their marriage (they are now divorced) and made the whole house completely full of stress. My cousin was treated like that until he moved out, and he got into some bad drugs (meth) after he left. I was smart and joined the navy just to get away from that house. It took a long time before i would even talk to them again.
To this day, me and my cousin still smoke weed, i am a partner in a great business, i own an island, a boat, and i make my own hours.
The general conscensus is that marijuana is bad, that it dulls the brain, that it makes you stupid. But its the person that makes it bad.
The father wants to punish him because why, its illegal? Its been so decriminalized that at most if a cop saw you smoking, he MAYBE will give you a ticket. The father seems to have some stigma about drugs (or never learned about them, or he’s bought in to the propaganda that weed is dangerous).
The father should look at his position. Does he want to be the teacher, or the cop. The teacher would show his student a documentary about weed, have them do a research paper, or have him write a paper about his feelings about weed; the cop would just punish, jail, and fine the criminal. What way do you think is the best course?
Oh please. This is nothing more than a huge publicity stunt to get this “controversial” story on Digg and others sites so the hype will rack up thousands of hits on the auction. And knowing very well that eventually some dumbass schmuck out there will pony up more than top dollar to (supposedly) reinforce your… read that their… belief that you would be doing the right thing.
Otherwise, why the hell would you even feel the need explain why you’re putting GHIII up for sale? There is no other reason. ~M
im 15 and ill admit i do smoke pot.. all i can say is. consider it like this.
pot.. will eventually be legal. there are articles upon articles upon articles of official documents showing the progress of the case towards legalizing marijuana.. now on the other hand.. he could be smoking ciggarettes. which are simply filled with toxins(marijuana isnt all that bad for you) are going more and more towards illegalization. but smoking pot in the backyard.. pretty dumb move..still if my #1 gift was getting sold.. id walk out and smoke all the pot and drink all the liquor i could.. probably wouldnt be back for a few days
Merry Christmas, world. I hope you’ve learned your lesson. -God
I agree about not taking pot at an age where you’re developing your truly influential habits as an adult, but ONLY if there is no goal in life being worked towards; It would be far more important to provide your son with an informed reason that shows that BOTH you and he understands the reasons for forbidding weed. Parents have declined promised reward as a method of punishment for as long as I can imagine; The real trick is making sure that the lesson leaves a ‘positive pain’ in both of you. Obviously it’s bittersweet that you managed to find this present for your son and have to auction it, but it’s also remarkably irresponsible to not address an insightful dialogue between you and your son on such an important subject. My parents asked me if I would stay away from smoking until I was at least 21 because they said that it was important to them that I try at school and learn while I have the opportunity.
Even more than shunning the bad habits, you have to encourage the good ones that manage to excite your child. It doesn’t even mean that you have to take part in the activities, just let them know that you’re impressed with progress and enquire as to how they’re doing on something they’re interested in. Get interested in it yourself and come to a conclusion.
Children, teens, and adults all find more enjoyment in something they relate in, and believe me; This is a time in his life and a subject that he will stonewall you if you walk in yelling and trying to intimidate. Your actions are what he doesn’t like; smoking is what he does like. Do you really think that he’ll suddenly ‘come around’ because you sending his friends away will show him the error of his ways? It comes down to human action and reaction. I haven’t heard witnessed or encountered any misunderstandings EVER turning out in the favour of a parent who is repressive on matters important to their child.
Encourage having a positive, informed discussion. Your kids are more open to talking comfortably about a subject than trying to yell over you. Even then, they’ll be more enticed to avoid you all together about anything questionable than let you know and gather your advice. You’ll solve most any disagreement, and if not, at least you won’t be shunned over it.
Don’t let him see the sold Guitar Hero if you’re set on selling it. I promise you that is an act that will be a grudge that won’t be shaken easily in his later years especially at the age he’s at now. Inform yourself (if you haven’t smoked before, try it or research it (really research it beyond your TV news), form an opinion, and talk to him about any social, legal, and academic consequences of using marijuana without an end goal.
Finally, as a 24 year old whose teenage years aren’t that far behind him and a quickly growing professional career; I’m going to pause for the cause, have a few tokes, and play some Fire and Flames before I head off to work. Good luck.
I’m sorry, that doesn’t seem to cut it, some people think pot is harmless but it’s illegal if not unethical if not disgraceful to one’s family, I’m sorry dad but selling his game wont be enough, I personally would punish him so bad that he would really feel how this little fling affected our relationship, non the less I couldn’t get over you saying [think twice before doing illegal (well I think pot is still illegal in Canada) drugs on my property] you have got to be kidding me, what if not in your property? is that ok? please put some common sense into him, instead of thinking for him, let him know the consequences and live it, not so long after this he’s going to live alone and not under your shadow.