WWAS

[boodie]

As some of you might know, I do some part time volunteer work for a kids resource phoneline, theres a little magazine that the kids can subscribe to, in it we have a help column, sort of like a 'dear abby' for kids, this isn't for the important stuff, the abuse, suicidal feelings, drugs, etc, thats all handled by the on staff team of Doctors and Psychs, this is for the non life threatening stuff, but still important to the kids, of course.

This month it's my turn to provide the answers to the kids problems and to help them out, this little gem arrived in my email, I've changed the names, and anything else that may be an identifier.

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Dear KayCee,

My name is 'Shane' I am twelve years old, last summer my Mum and Dad said that I could have an Xbox if I paid for it, so all of summer and for half of this year I saved all my pocket money and did all sorts of extra jobs for anyone who wanted them, and I got enough money to buy my xbox, Dad helped me find a good secondhand system on eBay and I gave him the money and he bought it.

Because an xbox is more fun when you have two controllers and someone to play with I got an extra one of those, and me and my brother played together, Mum said I had to have the xbox in the loungeroom because she wanted to make sure I wasn't playing it when I should be sleeping or doing my homework.

Four weeks ago it was my birthday and my Nanna gave me a really cool game for it, and I'm really good at it, my Dad wanted to play as well, but the first time I won against Dad he got really mad and said I must have been cheating, the second time I won Dad got REALLY angry and he unplugged the xbox and said that because I was cheating I couldnt play it anymore.

I wasnt cheating, I dont know how to cheat on that game, I just really like playing it, then last week I was playing cricket with my brothers and my brother hit the ball and broke the side window on dads car, dad then went inside and got my xbox and took it away, he said he sold it to pay for replacing the window.

I didn't even break the window, I worked all year to buy my xbox, and now Dad has just taken it away from me and sold it, I feel all angry inside whenever I think about it, I tried talking to Mum and she said to just let it slide, but whenever I think of my xbox I want to cry and hit things, it's not fair.

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My first reaction to this was to want to slap the father around the head for being such a poor poor loser, yes he got beaten by his son, kids have better hand/eye coordination at the age, once the kid learned how to play the game properly it would have been only natural.

My second was that, if anyone else has done that, it would have been classed as theft, the kid paid for it with his own money, and the father 'stole' it from him.

I'm not allowed to say what I wrote in reply, but I was asked to 'tone' it down twice by people who thought I was being too hard on the father, and too inflammatory.

I'd like to know what you lot would have said 8-)

Comments

[ngarewyrd.livejournal.com]

my thoughts, Rather unchariatable towards the father, Mostly along the lines of 'yes, your father is a bastard for doing this, alas, there's not a lot you can do about his actions.'

apart from that, I would have suggested he talk to his nan about the loss of the xbox, as she is the one who gave him the game which caused his father to lose, (twice) and then pack it away under alligations of 'cheating'.
reasonably sure that the father has a, slightly nasty temper, and possibly overrides the mother in everything that she says/does/thinks.

but yeah, like I said, Not much that the kid can do about it, he's right, it isn't fair, but that doesn't mean he can do anything about it.

[funnelwebkitten.livejournal.com]

clever clever nigglies!!

[benthecube.livejournal.com]

Castrate the father before he has a chance to produce any more children that may turn out like him. Sounds like this kid came out okay, but you don't want to take the chance that the next one might be like his father.

[funnelwebkitten.livejournal.com]

extreme, but a good idea... someone who treats his son that way doesnt deserve kids.

[slavkei.livejournal.com]

Well, you know me, I'm straightforward. "Dear kid, your dad's an ass. Plot revenge."

[funnelwebkitten.livejournal.com]

LOL

i have to be a touch more diplomatic, I can't advocate revenge or reprisals 8-)

[funnelwebkitten.livejournal.com]

That thought crossed my mind too.