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Author Topic: Dad spends hundreds on Trampoline - kids use it ONCE  (Read 1188 times)

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Offline Matthew

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Dad spends hundreds on Trampoline - kids use it ONCE
« on: June 14, 2014, 03:27:06 PM »
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  • A dad selling his kids’ trampoline in a bitter Craigslist ad has gone viral, hailed as a frustrating situation all parents can relate to.

    Every parent knows what it’s like to listen to their kids whine and beg to have something that will no doubt never be used or played with.

    But occasionally, every parent gives in to the demands—something this dad knows all too well.

    The Boston-area dad created a hilarious ad on Craigslist, perfectly titled “My Kids Suck: Skywalker Trampoline with Enclosure.”

    Any parent can tell right from the start what this ad is going to be about: the kids begged for a trampoline that they never used, and now dad has to sell it.

    Instead of describing the practically unused trampoline in the beginning, the frustrated father uses the description section as a little space to vent.

    “They begged. Pleaded. Told me how they’d use it EVERY day. How our house would become THE place to hang out. We had a hot tub. And a basketball court. And a fire pit. And a hammock. But if we had THIS, well, we’d be rock stars. Plus since I ‘messed up their lives’ by moving them here in middle school, I owed them at least this much. God, dad,” he begins.

    Then, he admits what no parent ever wants to admit: he caved, even though he knew his worst fears would be confirmed.

    The second paragraph begins, “So I caved. And I bought it. And I built it. And that first night they jumped.”

    “Then I watched from my window as the summer turned to fall and the fall turned to winter and the flurries came down and the snowmen went up and the rain came down and the flowers came up and spring turned to summer and I watched even still from the window, waiting, just waiting, for someone, anyone, to use that damn trampoline even once more. Oh please, please, just once,” he continues.

    His story of the untouched trampoline is almost poetic—and definitely hysterical.

    “My kids suck,” he begins his conclusion.

    “So after two years of sitting in my window staring out like a creepy old neighbor, I am selling it to make room for gardenias or tomato plants or a stockade jail to house three grumpy teenagers,” he says as the perfect ending to his rant.

    Not only is this ad one of the most relatable ads for parents searching Craigslist, but it’s also a great way to subtly tell potential buyers that the trampoline is basically brand new.
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    Online Nadir

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    Dad spends hundreds on Trampoline - kids use it ONCE
    « Reply #1 on: June 15, 2014, 04:11:40 AM »
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  • Quote from: Matthew

    Every parent knows what it’s like to listen to their kids whine and beg to have something that will no doubt never be used or played with.

    Kids are trained to whine and beg by their own parents, who raise them with unrealistic expectations.

    The Boston-area dad created a hilarious ad on Craigslist, perfectly titled “My Kids Suck: Skywalker Trampoline with Enclosure.”

    Maybe Americans find it hilarious. But that type of sense of humour seems to me to be particularly American. Or maybe I should just say I can't see any humour in it.

    he caved, even though he knew his worst fears would be confirmed.

    More fool, he!

    “My kids suck,” he begins his conclusion.

    Kids need a man for a father!

    “So after two years of sitting in my window staring out like a creepy old neighbor, I am selling it to make room for gardenias or tomato plants or a stockade jail to house three grumpy teenagers,” he says as the perfect ending to his rant.

    Our kids would have been grumpy too, if we gave them everything they wanted. But it is parents who sow in their children expectations of things which can never satisfy them.

    Not only is this ad one of the most relatable ads for parents searching Craigslist, but it’s also a great way to subtly tell potential buyers that the trampoline is basically brand new.

    I am I the only one who cannot relate to this at all?
    Help of Christians, guard our land from assault or inward stain,
    Let it be what God has planned, His new Eden where You reign.


    Offline Nickolas

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    Dad spends hundreds on Trampoline - kids use it ONCE
    « Reply #2 on: June 15, 2014, 10:16:21 AM »
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  • Most kids think the trampoline is just a grown up bounce house.  If I were the kids dad, I would have first had them watch this video.  Trampoline is gymnastics primarily with elevation.  Now this is trampoline:


    Offline Charlemagne

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    Dad spends hundreds on Trampoline - kids use it ONCE
    « Reply #3 on: June 15, 2014, 11:58:12 AM »
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  • We have a trampoline, and our children use it nearly every day in good weather. They know that they'd better use it, because dear old Dad won't hesitate to dismantle it piece by piece if they don't. As my son told his cousin when they were about five years old: "Daddy doesn't play around."
    "This principle is most certain: The non-Christian cannot in any way be Pope. The reason for this is that he cannot be head of what he is not a member. Now, he who is not a Christian is not a member of the Church, and a manifest heretic is not a Christian, as is clearly taught by St. Cyprian, St. Athanasius, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and others. Therefore, the manifest heretic cannot be Pope." -- St. Robert Bellarmine

    Offline Sigismund

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    Dad spends hundreds on Trampoline - kids use it ONCE
    « Reply #4 on: June 17, 2014, 06:40:17 PM »
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  • High praise from a great source!
    Stir up within Thy Church, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the Spirit with which blessed Josaphat, Thy Martyr and Bishop, was filled, when he laid down his life for his sheep: so that, through his intercession, we too may be moved and strengthen by the same Spir


    Offline moneil

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    Dad spends hundreds on Trampoline - kids use it ONCE
    « Reply #5 on: June 17, 2014, 09:58:54 PM »
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  • Amoungst my friends and acquaintences I can think of examples that fit both Matthew's example, and Charlemagne's experience.  The OP might (it is a bit unfair to judge without knowing the family) say more about the parent's relationship with the kids than about parents buying their kids some fun things if they have the means.

    What crossed my mind though is I know lots of adults who are just like these kids: they have expensive espresso machines, hot tubs, fancy bbq's, jet skies, snow mobiles, 4 wheelers, time share vacation rentals, bread machines, high end carbon fiber road bikes (and so much more) that they blew their discretional income / savings on (or worse, tapped a credit card), justifying it because they will "use it a lot".  After a month or two, or the first season, or a year, the "toy" ends up sitting in the garage, kitchen cupboard, or basement storage.