Parents are the very last people who ought to be allowed to have children.

March 5, 2011 10:54 AM

Parents are a pain. Kids are a pain. But kids have their uses--and sometimes, parents do too. They can build things like a marble track around your room. Or just hire someone to design a pirate ship bedroom for you. Maybe teach you the alphabet in Star Wars. Build a mini catapult for your toys. Turn you into Robocop for Halloween (or the Death Star). Cut snowflakes with you in the winter. If they get tired of pulling you and your sled up that hill, they can rig an engine to do it for them. And who knows, they might inspire you to start building your own projects.

Sure, you may have been cursed with a bad name, but your aunt can make up for it with a self-destructing cake on your birthday and your uncle is always there to teach you math.

Previously. Previously. Kind of previously. And let's not even get started on the Tardis cake.

posted by therewolf (10 comments total)

Also previously.
posted by fings at 10:59 AM on March 5, 2011

My goodness, that tiny robocop is adorable.
posted by tjenks at 11:21 AM on March 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yeah, industrious parents with a sense of humor are great.

Regarding Halloween costumes, my father played a bit of a prank on the neighbors once with my little sister's costume; he cut leg- and arm-holes into a large black trash bag, stuffed my tiny sister into it (obviously with the top of the bag tied around her upper shoulders), stuffed packing peanuts inside it and made my sister a little hat with pieces of detritus glued to it. When people asked what she was, that cute little girl would reply, "I'm garbage," then asked if they had any extra candy, y'know, to throw away. It seems a little cruel if you weren't there, but she laughed and she got a hell of a lot more candy that year. Not particularly skilled, either, but my sister loved it.

Also, I hope that if I ever have kids, I'll be creative enough to come up with an awesome room for them. I have always wanted to try to create a room themed like a peter-pan-like treehouse, complete with little rope bridges and a little cubby inside a faux tree for the bed, but I'm probably not that cool.
posted by neewom at 12:18 PM on March 5, 2011

Damn. And I was feeling pretty good about that Thomas wooden railway we built that ran all over the living room.
posted by gamera at 12:26 PM on March 5, 2011

Or maybe they can just dance with you.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:45 PM on March 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

Or maybe they can just dance with you .

I saw that this morning. Ode to Joy! that. What a delight. Weird looking, truck driver, life coach, raw foods, divorced Dad, has no shame and a sense of rhythm, and makes his daughters the happiest girls in the world.

Complete with sulking tween, who finally breaks down and boogies with them. A pet rat, running around the outside of it's cage. And a pair of sweatpants that steal the show. Click that link, it will make your day.
posted by Toekneesan at 2:40 PM on March 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

My mom once helped me build a robot costume from cardboard and aluminum foil. It was a little silly, but I loved it and I never forgot the effort she put into helping me make just the right costume.

And who knows, they might inspire you to start building your own projects.

My dad has always inspired my projects. From model rockets to car maintenance, he's always taught me how to do it myself (except for the first dozen years of my life, in which I thought he was just trying to torment me—now that I'm really having to do this stuff for myself I am grateful).
posted by willhopkins at 8:09 PM on March 5, 2011

If all else fails, you can just get rid of them.


Excuse me, git rid of them.
posted by louche mustachio at 8:15 PM on March 5, 2011

My goodness, that tiny robocop is adorable.

I'm usually the first to poo-poo cutesy kids doing cutesy things, but goddamn that is cute and I have a stupid grin on my face looking at those photos.
posted by Fleebnork at 8:41 PM on March 5, 2011

The pirate ship bedroom reminds me of one that was done on Trading Spaces Boys Vs. Girls.
posted by SisterHavana at 9:37 PM on March 5, 2011