whall

Jim,
I told my youngest son (12) not to park his bike in the garage. He was lazy one night and did. It fell over behind my car and I backed over it - no damage to bike but two big scratches on rear of my car. I got out mad as hell screaming and yelling. When I showed him the damage, he felt worse than me because he loves the car so much. Now he is so protective of my car that when someone does get close to it, he watches them carefully and tells them not to touch and he makes sure that his bike and his brother's don't go in the car. He is now like my car's bodyguard - he also likes to work on it with me which is the very best - very quality time together.

Carchickz06

Remember , he's only ten. When he's a teenager, you have at least a good 8 to 9 years of pure parental torture- For example, hugging him front of his friends, asking him if he's got clean underwear on at the dinner table with his girlfriend (one of mom's best. I thought my brother was going to die), buying a Yugo for his first car, etc.

Sierra Shark

In the words of the late, great W.C. Fields " I never met a kid I didn't like... especially boiled with a little salt". All this parental advise on the 928 forum. Having lived (keyword: "lived") through two kids , now 24 and 27 all I can do is hang my head and chukkle. You've overlooked an obvious benefit here. Since you have twins, punish the other one, he in turn will beat up his brother. The both of them will be so rattled by this neither one of them will ever come near your car again. Two for one deal. In the mean time there's duct tape. God's second greatest creation after kids !!!

Carchickz06

Be careful with duct tape. Your kid could end up with nightmares-

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news...48/detail.html

MBMB

You'll get even with him eventually. Yesterday my dad was driving my E55, which I had just had the paint touched up on, when he got rear-ended by a Mercury Marquis going FAST.

Fogey1

JIM,

STEP AWAY FROM THE RAZOR STROP!

Punishing his brother is a good idea, neither one will ever forget. Do it openly, on a "failure to supervise" basis.

Good punishment for a 10 year-old boy? No more rides in the car. It woulda worked for me.

BTW, you must have some serious plants around your house if you're gonna tie him to a stalk. ;-) Tho' it is a proper botanical name for a tree trunk.

Fogey1

Two more words I meant to include above:

Homeowners Insurance.

Might work. Worth a call, maybe. How much do you like your current premium?

Nicole

A few years ago there was an article about how researchers tested duct tape and its durability on ducts. It did not last very long, because of the large temperature differences in these ducts. In the end they concluded that duct tape is good for everything BUT ducts. I don't think they had in mind what Carchick's article describes.

heinrich

Jim, I recommend adoption

heinrich

Nicole I read those studies and I concur.

kshipp

Great story! Best motive - get the kids to love/appreciate the car as much as you.

perrys4

Once when my daughter was 2 or 3 I was woodworking in the garage and she was pounding on a board "helping dad". Guess I lost track of her for a minute and I heard an unusual thumping. Looked over to see her hammering the front hood edge of my wifes New Acura Legend. Didnt chip the paint, just left little divots. She didnt even see them for a month or so and then I told her they were likely from rocks on the freeway. She bought it.