When you have teenagers who drive, what rules do you make? That is a hard one for those parents who are more concerned about being their kids’ friends, rather than their parents these days. Time and time again, we hear stories about kids who misbehave, often with no consequences. The Gorilla personally knows kids such as these. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish who the child is, and who the parent is, because quite simply, parents just aren’t disciplining the way they used to 20 years ago. They seem almost afraid of their kids today! But one mom in Des Moines, Iowa sure wasn’t afraid, and she let everyone know it! Jane Hambleton doesn’t seem like the “meanest mom on the planet,” and when the Gorilla saw the headline to this story, he almost didn’t read it. The headline read “Meanest Mom Sells Car After Finding Liquor.” It did seem mean if you just read that headline. But then upon thinking about it, and reading on, the Gorilla realized that, in the long run, what this lady did was very bold. Yes, it is true that she did find alcohol in her son’s car, and yes, she sold the car upon finding the booze. That does seem harsh at first thought, but then again the lady made a rule. The rule was broken and this mom didn’t balk at the thought of following through on her side of the deal. Now that’s a brave parent!
So, did she go a bit overboard? Well that depends upon whether or not you believe in the “follow through” of discipline. Jane informed her son that she had only two rules for his car: No booze and always keep it locked. She warned her son ahead of time that there would be no exceptions to the rules, and that if he broke them, he would lose the car. This lady wasn’t messing around! When she found the booze, she immediately placed an ad in the paper to sell her son’s car as promised. The ad reads: “OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents, who obviously don’t love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom, who needs to get a life, found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet.”
So, what happened when she place the ad, you ask? Well, not what you may have thought would happen, that is for sure! Did she get criticized as one would imagine? Absolutely not! In fact, just the opposite happened. She was praised over and over again by 70 people, who called to respond to the ad, but not to buy the car. They called simply to commend her for being a good parent. Some even called to thank her for acting responsibly. Yes folks, it is very hard to be a good parent. Being a good parent often times means teaching your kids lessons that unfortunately make YOU the bad guy. But if you are smart, you know that it is only temporary, and your kids will eventually get over it. At least this young man is learning about consequences! The question to ask is, “Has the teen learned his lesson?” I bet when he gets another car (if he gets one!) he won’t break the rules a second time!