I try to pretend that kids have a right to their personal property. I really do. But when you're standing at the door of what used to be a playroom that now resembles the Midwest right after a twister blew through, it's hard.
Personal property?! In the family home? My LEGO brick imprinted right heel! I think mom and dad own all the property. And if a mom feels her kids' toys should be sold because her kids deserve a little punishment, then I stand by that mom. But one mom is getting a lot of flak -- she's been targeted by 4chan for trying to sell her sons' toys on eBay.
Word has it her boys used their Beyblades -- spinning Japanese magna toys (pictured) -- in the bathtub, ripping the enamel to shreds. Mom got a $500 estimate from the repair guys, so she decided to sell the Beyblades on eBay with a photo of her heartbroken sons and their precious toys to cover the bill.
4Chan took up the kids' cause, shooting bidding up to $999,999. No surprise. That's how the site rolls. They've covered the "oh poor kids" side quite nicely.
But here's how I roll. I think moms have it tough on the toy front. The economy was in the toilet last year, and yet the U.S. Toy Industry continued to see sales growth of 2 percent because parents just can't say no to their kids. And it's not just us. Lay down the law asking guests not to bring toys to your kid's birthday party, and you're branded a grinch ... and ignored completely.
Everywhere I turn, my kid seems to be getting something new from someone. Grandparents. Friends. Even something seemingly innocuous like a box of Valentine's candy seems to have a stuffed animal attached or a little dinosaur hiding inside. And it's hard to donate it away when you know Granny expects to see your kids playing with X when she shows up at her next visit.
They have so many, it's hard to teach them any responsibility. You take one away for any of a myriad of lapses -- consistently leaving them outside in the rain, scattering them around the living room floor and refusing to clean them up, destroying the bathtub -- and they just move on to another toy, no harm done.
I wouldn't touch the toys that are properly cared for or the treasured toys, but this is why I've been known to grab a garbage bag (or two) and just start shoveling doll shoes and dried out chunks of Play-Doh right in. This is why I ask my daughter quarterly to pick out a few toys to donate "to the poor kids." This is why I think the mom who sold her sons' Beyblades on eBay was doing exactly what needed to be done.
What do you think? Are their toys their own, or do you retain rights over them when they use them inappropriately?
Image via clogozm/Flickr