Gizmodo Australia » parents

Balloon Boy Mum Admits To Hoax

Rosa Golijan — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:10:22 +0000

According to court records made public today, Mayumi Heene, Balloon Boy’s mum, has admitted that the whole incident was orchestrated to make the Heene family more “marketable for future media interest”. Nice parenting.

We heard that they “did it for the show”, but now we have more than Falcon Heene’s word to go on as his mother has confessed to authorities that she and her husband were lying the entire time as Falcon hid inside their home. [Reuters]

Update: Alfie Patten, You are NOT The Father

Andi Wang — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:30:13 +0000

Turns out 13-year-old Alfie Patten isn’t screwed for life after all. [geekologie]

Walking, Talking Teddy Bear Built For Second Grade Science Project

Sean Fallon — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:40:00 +0000

When you have walking, talking Teddy bears with homemade computer chips showing up to a 2nd grade science fair, you know parental involvement has gone too far. Welcome to the seedy world of parent-sanctioned cheating.

Speaking with the Chicago Tribune, one parent sheds light on the situation:

Her son wanted to build a hockey game, so Rosenstock helped him affix magnets to the bottoms of figurines and rig a light that illuminated when the puck hit the goal.

They proudly took it to school only to find an even more impressive “parent project” displayed alongside theirs.

“They literally had a walking, talking teddy bear. They had made a circuit chip. A circuit chip! You’re talking about 2nd graders,” Rosenstock recalled with a laugh.

A science teacher named Bill Gillespie recalled giving high marks to a student that built a device that distilled crude oil into gasoline. It probably used $US30,000 worth of parts, but it was only after the science fair that they discovered her father was a prominent engineer. Who would have thought?

Some teachers feel that parental involvement in student projects and homework can be a positive bonding and learning experience—but on the other hand it can lower a child’s self-esteem, create an environment of unhealthy competition, and spark a steroids-esque witch hunt among teachers and judges in schools. Obviously, parents need to know where to draw the line—but I only say that because I’m bitter about not having engineers in my family with a moral flexibility about cheating. Think of all the science fairs I could have won! [Chicago Tribune via Fark]

The Military Wants Virtual Parents For Children of Deployed Soldiers

Sean Fallon — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:40:00 +0000

You would think that a webcam would be sufficient, but basic teleconferencing solutions to the problem of deployed mums and dads is not enough for the military. They want to go virtual.

Specifically, the Pentagon is soliciting proposals to “develop a highly interactive PC or Web-based application to allow family members to verbally interact with ‘virtual’ renditions of deployed Service Members.”

Parameters include:

“The child should be able to have a simulated conversation with a parent about generic, everyday topics,” the solicitation says. “For instance, a child may get a response from saying, ‘I love you,’ or ‘I miss you,’ or ‘Good night mommy/daddy.’ This is a technologically challenging application because it relies on the ability to have convincing voice-recognition, artificial intelligence, and the ability to easily and inexpensively develop a customised application tailored to a specific parent.”

Like other DARPA-esque endeavours, this task is much easier said than done. And, to be honest, I don’t know what to make of it. I understand that deployed parents might not have internet access at all times, but this solution seems preposterous and costly when compared to, say Skype. On the other hand, its kind of touching—like the military’s awkward cloak-wearing, bony-fingered way of expressing compassion. [Information Week via Medgadget]

Dad, Where’s the Digital Photo Frame?

Jesus Diaz — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:30:00 +0000

I love my parents. My dad is tech savvy, my mum isn’t, but both are equally bedazzled by technology and their reaction to certain gadgets is funny. Some parents, however, are not so impressed.

Like Giz reader Brian, who had this sweet post-xmas story to tell us about his dad:

I went back to MI to my parent’s place this year for Christmas. My dad’s gift this year was a new 10 mega pixel digital camera with all the bells and whistles.

While helping him figure out his new gadget I thought it would be fun to put pictures on the nice Kodak digital photo frame that I gave them for Christmas last year. So I ask my dad, “where is your digital frame”? Imagine my confusion when he points the frame out to me. See attached files.

God bless them. Reminds me of my beloved mother-in-law, who refers to her MacBook as “the television”.

Do you have any funny stories with your parents or grandparents you would like to share? Send them our way. [Thanks Brian]

Skinned Robo Teddy will Instill a Healthy Fear of Robots in Your Kid

Adam Frucci — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:30:00 +0000

One of the great joys of parenting, as I understand it, is being handed a malleable lump of proto-humanity that sees you as some kind of god, absorbing everything you do and say as a lifelong lesson. It’s a big responsibility, sure, but also an opportunity to create a really… unique individual. Which is why I just have to recommend getting one of these absolutely terrifying robo teddy bears for your toddler.

Controlled via a Wii Nunchuk, the evil teddy is a modified BJ Bearytales that can move its mouth, blink, move its arms and instill a lifelong fear of both bears and robots in any impressionable child. You simply tilt the Nunchuk or use the joystick to control it, preferably while hiding in your kid’s closet in the middle of the night, waking them up to this skinned, robotic teddy bear waving its arms all by itself.

Parenting! [Bendering Time via Make]

Tiwi Blackbox for the Car Tattles When Your Kids Speed

Jason Chen — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:40:04 +0000

I love driving fast, but when I have kids, I’m going to put them in the slowest, safest car imaginable, wrap pillows and old tires around the outside and install this Tiwi blackbox to let me know when they’re speeding. It has GPS and some cellular connectivity. When a driver goes too fast, it issues a verbal warning: “You’re exceeding the speed limit; please slow down.” Then it emails, text messages, or calls the proper authorities (mum or dad) if the speeding continues. Only US$549 and US$35 a month to totally mortify and alienate your kids for life. [Tiwi]

Mummy Megaphone Will Out You As an Ineffective Parent

Gizmodo US Edition — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:00:00 +0000

The Mummy Megaphone is a gag gift for parents that bills itself as a “sure-fire way to get everyone to listen.” It has a speak mode and a siren mode, can project over 150 metres and is allegedly weather and baby-resistant. With an adjustable volume range of 5 to 10 Watts however, it’s almost completely useless. Kids are yelly; when I was young, I’m pretty sure I’d hit 10 Watts in a normal conversation. You know what would be more effective? Holding up a paddle. That always got me to listen right quick. [Nerd Approved]

Let BOB Do Your Parenting For You

Nick Broughall — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:14:49 +0000

Having kids is hard work. I mean, you have to go to work to feed them, and by the time you get home of a night, you don’t really want to have actually engage them or monitor their activities, do you? Especially when TV or video games can do just as good a job without your help, leaving you to sit back and relax with a good book and a glass of chardonnay.

Of course, some people say that too much TV is a bad thing, and you really should limit the amount of time your little devils spend glued to the set. But how to do it without actually having to give up your glass or chardy and your book?

With BOB, of course! A device that plugs into any monitor, and switches the screen off after a period of time determined by you. You can set it up for up to six kids, so once your kids have reached their hourly, daily, or weekly quota, the screen snaps off, leaving the kid to occupy themselves otherwise.

Which will probably involve going to a friend’s place whose parents aren’t jerks, joining a gang, or cutting on BOB with a pair of scissors. Whichever way, your kid isn’t going to be happy with you.

[UseBOB via Kotaku AU]

Xbox-Selling Mum Gets Rewarded with Free Vacuum for Solid Parenting

Adam Frucci — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:30:00 +0000

Remember the badass mum who put her son’s Xbox 360 up on eBay after he broke the vacuum to get out of playing chores and was busted surfing for porn on the web? Well, it looks like being a tough parent pays: Dyson is sending her a US$500 DC25 vacuum cleaner free of charge. So remember this lesson, kids: if you’re going to be a little brat, make sure your mum is creative and you get punished in a way that garners publicity. That way, she’ll profit and you can claim that was your plan from the beginning. The system works!