For some moms and dads the question isn’t do you lie to your kids, but how often do you stretch the truth, and how low do you go when you decide to fib?
Well, you can’t stoop much lower than the following dad, who gives the term “bad parenting” new meaning:
Have you heard the one about the guy who used Craigslist to advertise for an actor to take the family dog for a walk, then come back and tell his kids the dog bolted?
It’s no joke.
A single dad trying to not look like a villain in the eyes of his dog-loving kids actually placed this ad on Craigslist as part of a questionable plot to rid his home of a hyper pooch:
“My deceased aunt gave my two kids a Cocker Spaniel a few months back. The dog has been a terror and become overwhelming for me. I am a single father raising two young children. I cannot face telling the kids that the dog must go. I have found a good home for the dog, and just need someone to transport the dog, and play the villain.”
Insert evil laughter here.
The diabolical or creative dad (depending on your parenting philosophy) even went so far as to detail his mock canine caper. According to the ad, the hired “villain” would transport the pup twenty minutes to her new home, then return with only a leash in hand.
Per the Craigslist ad: “The story will be that Skittles broke free of the leash and took off. At this point prepare for crying, things being thrown at you, and possibly cursing. My kids are young and dramatic, their girls.”
If you respond to the ad, and are able to pull off the dad’s elaborate scheme you will be rewarded with a cool $500 payout.
So, what do you make of this guy’s parenting tactic?
I get that he doesn’t want the burden of taking care of an obnoxious tail-wagger, and I sympathize with the fact that he doesn’t want to look like the bad guy in his daughters’ eyes (especially when he’s raising a couple of dog lovers), but let’s take a good look at who’s really being “dramatic” here.
Apparently, drama dad would rather shell out $500 and concoct an ostentatious ruse to cover up a lie to his own daughters. Essentially, he would rather have his kids think their precious Skittles is somewhere out roaming the city streets crying, starving or (gasp!) bleeding to death after being struck by a car rather than sitting them down and calmly explaining that he found a nice new home for their dog.
What’s wrong with telling kids the truth?
Daddy found a great place for Skittles to romp and play, and the people who took her in are as nice as can be, and they will make sure she is clean and well fed, and they’ll buy her a chew toy and a nice doggy sweater… you get the idea.
It sure beats having some stranger walk up with a leash and no dog and setting off the overly “dramatic” girls. Think of the anxiety and torment those girls will be made to endure thinking their beloved Skittles is flea-ridden, hungry, lonely, and desperately trying to find her way home.
What’s more, telling the truth could avoid harsh retaliation from his girls.
What do you make of the dad’s decision to enlist an actor lie to his kids?
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