Polk nightmare

[20hz]

My 6 year old son discovered POLK reminds him of poke so he decided to poke all my polk tweeter domes in (poke them) started on my silver coils (now they have a steel grill) I have other polk centers and trilams that got protection and lastely he pushed on the dome on my vifa d35 alum dome !

[zingo]

[george daniel]

My dad had a tool that prevented just that sort of thing,,a belt. I suppose nowadays you'd get DEFACS or some agency on your a$$.

[txcoastal1]

My dad had a tool that prevented just that sort of thing,,a belt. I suppose nowadays you'd get DEFACS or some agency on your a$$.

"Board of Education"

[Schurkey]

My dad had a tool that prevented just that sort of thing,,a belt.

Damn right. Screwing up your speakers is not the kid's fault...it's YOUR fault for not being clear about appropriate behavior.

Why would you let him do that? A six-year-old should have known better three years ago.

[george daniel]

Damn right. Screwing up your speakers is not the kid's fault...it's YOUR fault for not being clear about appropriate behavior.

Why would you let him do that? A six-year-old should have known better three years ago.

you make a good point sir!

[txcoastal1]

youngster's only have knowledge of 3 emotions....love, pain, and the fear of pain

[20hz]

Damn right. Screwing up your speakers is not the kid's fault...it's YOUR fault for not being clear about appropriate behavior.

Why would you let him do that? A six-year-old should have known better three years ago.

like I let him do that "go ahead we will see if that bothers me "
Of coarse its not the kids fault (never said it was) .
He understands now .
Yes I got the belt a few times as a child but times are differant now (no belts) and the folks who dont understand this probebly dont have kids .
So thats why untill the child understands "appropiate behavior" I have built a black mesh grill over the speakers .

[Gatecrasher]

My 6 year old son discovered POLK reminds him of poke so he decided to poke all my polk tweeter domes in (poke them) started on my silver coils (now they have a steel grill) I have other polk centers and trilams that got protection and lastely he pushed on the dome on my vifa d35 alum dome !

Bummer. I feel for you. I'd be tempted to help him discover "the belt" but it might not be the best course of action. I would definitely make sure he knew I was upset one way or another though and let him know that your audio stuff was off-limits to him.

I remember when I was his age I had just gotten a souveneir mini baseball bat from Bat Day at a St. Louis Cardinals game. My sister and I were in the house playing "baseball" with a balloon. I was standing next to my Dad's brand-new RCA color TV (the 1st color TV our family ever had).

Well to make a long story short, I swung at the ballon and smashed the picture tube while he was watching it. I ran to my room in terror!

My Dad never did anything to me though. Years later I asked him why. He told me that he clouldn't because he was afraid he'd kill me.

lol

I knew he was furious though and felt terrible about it. That probably hurt me worse than any belt could have. ;)

[txcoastal1]

We have kids in the house and I can't even remember the last time we raised the hand for a belt paddle etc., the "fear of god"

At the same as I grew up I had a couple of woopin's the rest was instilled by the "fear of god"

[20hz]

Bummer. I feel for you. I'd be tempted to help him discover "the belt" but it might not be the best course of action. I would definitely make sure he knew I was upset one way or another though and let him know that your audio stuff was off-limits to him.
I knew he was furious though and felt terrible about it. That probably hurt me worse than any belt could have. ;)

THANKS , he knows I was beyond furious !
and any physical punishment would have been wrong .
He knows anything audio related (my stuff) he cant touch or be close to .
Its nice to hear somebody who can understand that situation , some folks think "fear of pain" is the awnser but its not some kids suffer psychological damege from that .

[cnh]

An effective parent only has to threaten a child once during his formative years. You don't even have to hit the child. But you have to be a parent, an adult, a big person! I think the only thing I did to our son when he did something he shouldn't have when he was fairly young was just pick him up with one hand on his leg and hold him in an inverted position for a short time to demonstrate the 'difference' between US and who was the adult here. Consistency is important, after that.

I never had one problem with him ever again. No real abuse, no pain, just a 'reality' check. I don't see this as abuse. Authority cannot be instilled by the methods I see among younger parents who try to treat a 5 or 6 year old as an 'equal' an adult, i.e., Talking to him as if he were a little adult. You don't need a Ph.D. in Psychology to know that's NOT going to work! Because he is NOT a little adult, yet.

Now as a Professor I get these 'Time-out' kids and they're almost ALL spoiled and unbelievably entitled. Flaunt all authority, have no respect for it and we have fun for a few weeks in the classroom because of their upbringing, because everybody was trying to be so 'nice' and empower them that they forgot that humans have to 'earn' respect as well as give it! Did I say how much 'fun' they are to teach?

Hey, they're not all bad!

cnh

[txcoastal1]

FYI- I have raised 5 children 2 of which were mine, and only 1 kid needed a couple reinforcements the rest was when neccessary was me standing up and instilling "the fear of god" and like I said it took me a couple times as a kid and then I was raised when nessesary by "the fear of god"

"Fear of god"---that look, that voice, that dissapointment you don't forget---all each different but you remember

[inspiredsports]

My 6 year old son discovered POLK reminds him of poke so he decided to poke all my polk tweeter domes in (poke them) started on my silver coils (now they have a steel grill) I have other polk centers and trilams that got protection and lastely he pushed on the dome on my vifa d35 alum dome !

Did this nightmare happen all at one time, or was it a series of destructive events over different days?

[Dennis Gardner]

I don't know who is the slow learner........a 6 year old that does toddler things, or the Dad that doesn't teach about "Dad's stuff" until the kid is 6.

Oh yeah, you might teach him about Dad's car keys......

[Gatecrasher]

THANKS , he knows I was beyond furious !
and any physical punishment would have been wrong .
He knows anything audio related (my stuff) he cant touch or be close to .
Its nice to hear somebody who can understand that situation , some folks think "fear of pain" is the awnser but its not some kids suffer psychological damege from that .

You might want to have Mom sit him down and have a little talk with him too. It helps if Mom tells him how bad he was and how much he hurt Dad when he did it.

If he receives an allowance, it would probably be a good idea to "garnish" it for a while to let him know that when you destroy other people's stuff there is a price to pay. It's a lesson that he should carry to his adulthood.

As much as this sucks, you have an opportunity to make good use of it in teaching your child a valuable lesson in life. Speaker drivers can be replaced but you really only have one shot at raising your child.

If he does it again or something similar, then it may be time to think about a little corporal punishment.

[skrol]

I certainly understand where you are coming from. My kids have messed up some of my good stuff in the past (Nikon camera). Once you have a family to support, it gets harder to justify buying new toy or even replacing your broken toys. The to have the kids destroy them... What can you do? Ultimately it is just stuff and they are human beings who we love. We want them to learn to respect their own and other peoples stuff but not at the expense of scaring them. Though seemingly important to us, it is just stuff.
Stan

[20hz]

Did this nightmare happen all at one time, or was it a series of destructive events over different days?

He touched the silvercoils probebly to get attention so than I put a grill over those (he had no interest than) , a few months later he saw the attractve alum dome d35 and pushed it "he said it looked like a button"
I had no grill at all on it I just finished that speaker .
All kids have accidents and break stuff that means the world to them also , whats most important is the child is brought up properly and not in fear of mom and dad .
And above all safely , as gatecrasher says its just stuff and you only have 1 chance to raise a child .
Some forumn readers try to predict who is to blame remember the saying "kids will be kids" .

[skrol]

Amen!

[scottyboy76]

We all are affected by the rapidly increasing number of half raised kids raising half raised kids.

I think the reaction to say whip his a+", is tempting, because there are so many god awful human beings, multiplying, mostly at taxpayer expense, and their kids have more rights and a worse attitude, many times, than most adults.

However, think about the term, "Whipping my child", say it out loud, "IM going to whip this child because of how much i love my audio gear", i got it plenty of times, looking back on it, mostly because my dad was having a bad day.

To hear you relate how the little guy,"thought it looked like a button", just sounds like a little guy being a little guy.

While i understand spanking, especially if repeated unsafe behavior occurs, but there are many better ways to deal with even repeat misbehavior from a SIX YEAR OLD CHILD.

You can teach them, not to repeat behaviors they have been warned about,or you can teach them to whip weaker people because you have had something you like damaged, i mean really.

Again, sometimes spankings are understandable, better than your child living the rest of their lives with horrible burns or shooting someone, but i think i know how that little guy would feel, standing, locked out of daddys stereo room, while dad enjoys his music, knowing its because he would not obey, and hurt daddys feelings, of course, if daddy was a loving "buddy" type of dad, it would mean a lot more, and be a lasting lesson.

[Fongolio]

I have never put a hand on my son who's now 15. Only when he was first learning to walk did I put stuff up out of his reach that was dangerous if he grabbed it or broke it or something. I taught him what was stuff he could touch and what was not at a very early age and had no troubles at all with audio equipment. I have always been a stern but fair parent and my boundries have been totally consistant and that, I think, is the key. They need to know the boundries and the consequences of pushing them. Consistancy above all else is essential. Now, at 15, he's respectful and courteous and absolutely no trouble for me yet. He's NOT one those kids that feels entitled and he has excellent respect for authority. I thank God for such a great kid (nothing like me at that age) but I give myself some credit too.

As for your 6 year old touching the gear. You are the parent and entitled to handle it any way you see fit. He's your child and I, nor anyone else here, can tell you how to parent him. If he's figured it out, you've done well. Sorry to hear that it happened though but it's only gear. Children are far far more precious than gear. Now go throw on some tunes and enjoy the music!!

[audiocr381ve]

Great story, I feel your pain!

In light of the many responses, I have a few thoughts. I'm a new dad but I know if this situation happened to me, it would be perfect moment to establish a few things. 1. He is more important than any thing I have 2. Their are things that are off limits and require no explanation as to why.

Both of these things teach the kid some very important lessons: They are not in charge but at the same time they are more precious than anything I own. Being passive is an absolute killer, use this to let your kid know how loved he is and how he has a father who forgives him.

[BuckeyeTim]

And people wonder why I don't have kids....

[Schurkey]

We all are affected by the rapidly increasing number of half raised kids raising half raised kids.

So true.

While i understand spanking, especially if repeated unsafe behavior occurs, but there are many better ways to deal with even repeat misbehavior from a SIX YEAR OLD CHILD.

A six-year-old is in first grade, and LONG PAST time for him to learn how to behave. You're right...a six-year-old shouldn't need spanking, but only because the spankings happened from two to four; and NOW HE KNOWS BETTER.

In the end, you cannot reason with an unreasonable person. So if the kid can't be reasoned with...spankings commence. If the kid CAN be reasoned with, then by all means avoid the violence, but do not avoid making use of the "Teachable Moment".

[Dennis Gardner]

Spare the rod.....spoil the speaker.

I knew those Sunday school lessons would come in handy.

[audiocr381ve]

siddons22 reported.

[cincycat13]

Congrats to the op for trying to find a win / win outcome of a difficult and trying situation. Cheers to remembering a speaker is a replaceble part and the love of a 6 year old is priceless.

I am sure the dental bill I got from my 4 year old getting 19 of 20 teeth worked on during sedation detistry including lots of caps and 2 removed would have gone a LONG way in an audio journey. I will have to live with used sand amps and be thankful its not a transistor radio for a while longer...

I have a 1 year old and a 4 year old. I regularly sit down with them in calm times to sit boundries around speakers. I would rather have them out and try to enjoy them than not have them so its my risk. Yet my 1 year old still bounced his soccer ball of the front of the RTA15 just last week. It was a gentle bounce.

Anyway...I'll end my rant and congrats again to the op for big picture thinking.

[mrbigbluelight]

INow as a Professor I get these 'Time-out' kids and they're almost ALL spoiled and unbelievably entitled.

The success rate of the "Time Out School", IMO, is matched almost exactly with the "I'm Going to Count to 5 School":

ZERO

Everyone has a right, of course, to raise their own kids as they see fit. If you've had success with the "I'm Counting" stuff, congratulations. Seriously.

However, for the other 99.9999% of the parents on the planet who use "I'm Counting" and wonder why you're child doesn't listen to you, well ..... deep six the Count. Please. Pretty please.

Because one of these days, I won't be able to hold my tongue any longer.

Thank you.

[danger boy]

sounds like time for a time out or a hug LOL

my parents used the belt on us sparingly, but the fear of dad's thick heavy leather belt was enough to know between right and wrong.

[wallstreet]

My speakers made it through 3 kids. I don't know how. The tri-lams on the 90's just beg to be pushed!