Worst parents in the world punk kid into thinking he got an Xbox 360
By Ryan Block 
posted Feb 29th 2008 5:54PM
posted Feb 29th 2008 5:54PM
Jonathan, you out there? Screw those people, they clearly don't understand what it is to be a kid and to want an awesome gadget so badly you can taste it. We've been there our whole lives. Since, as a publication, we can't just adopt you and raise you as our own, I will personally send you an Xbox 360 and some games -- but only on the condition that you swear to you'll never let your douchebag family play with it. Hit me up at engadget at gmail dotcom, make sure you can identify yourself so I know I've got the right person.
Update: We've been flooded with email from well-meaning geeks and even Microsoft; just about everyone wants to help us hook up Jonathan. We totally appreciate the sentiment, but we've got this covered. We think we've gotten in touch with his family (who let us know he never got an Xbox, and the whole thing really was a prank on the poor kid); once we know for sure we have the right people we'll post again.
Exactly. This is pretty awesome, actually, so long as he really did get the console. Has everyone here lost their sense of humour because they're remembering their own embarrassing moments? Because a group of geeks bitter about their childhoods would be a terrible cliché...
@ H8terade
Dude, I don't know what kind of background you come from but that was completely uncalled, idk if u were abused as a child or what, but u have some serious issues. That kid was not just publicly humiliated in front of his family, they posted it on YouTube for the whole world to see. You don't see something wrong with that? Just because you had a shitty childhood doesn't mean that everyone else has to.
GOOOO GOOOO ENGADGET! Right this wrong! Peace, Justice and Toys for Kids!
this is what's wrong with the world today. seriously, this is news? i'm supposed to feel sorry for this kid? at least he got something. growing up, my parents would often wrap things in used boxes. granted, the choice of the xbox box in this case was of poor taste, it's not unusual to get clothes boxed up in a totally unrelated box. in fact, it was often a fun game to wrap things in multiple boxes to trick the recipient not once, but twice, while opening the gift. it was all in good fun. the point was the thought. seriously.
i volunteer for the big brothers big sisters program to a little 11 yr old boy whose single mom is a minimum wage house keeper. it always makes me sad when i try to get the kid to go to the park with me to shoot some hoops or kick the soccer ball around and all he wants to do is go to best buy and check out some $300+ gadgets, video games, ps3, or whatever. i swear, his mom must spend half her income on keeping the kid "happy" with all the shit he has. i think most middle class families back in 80s' probably spent $100-200 per year max on ALL gifts for a kid, including bday and xmas. now, $200-300 is the minimum spend per item. even adjusted for inflation, this is still quite excessive. kids are so spoiled these days.
And Engadget giving this kid a free xbox really teaches the kid a bad lesson. Why don't you guys put some $ in a trust, so the kid will have some money to go to college in 10 years?
good day all.
-r
Christmas is over. Move along. For all we know the kid is happy with his family right now and forgotten all about this.
Can people read the video description on youtube?
Rob it's just a news item. But for some reason you had to turn it around and make it about you.
That is so incredibly screwed up. I'll buy this kid a 360.
I partialy agree with rob, little kids these days are way too spoiled, but giving the kid an empty box is downright mean.
@rob
when i was a kid my family and i lived in a shoebox in the middle of the street. top that.
If, they couldn't afford the xbox, then how did they afford the video camera??
@rob
So it's wrong for engadget to give him a $300 console. Fine. But you think the answer is for engadget to instead put $300 into a college trust fund for him? To pay for what, one book? Give the poor kid a break, man!
@rob:
Actually, yeah you should feel sorry for him. He wasn't unhappy because he didn't get an XBox. He was unhappy because his family tricked him and then laughed about it.
Of course, it could have all been faked for YouTube.
@ Chihuaha
My friend, you claim not to be racist, but you paint a picture (aka sterotype) of poverty associated with black people. You use words like 'alot blacks are like this' and 'a few whites'. You may not intentionally show dislike towards other ethnic backgrounds, but your language would easily be found offensive to others.
Its clear from this video taht the family was being mean.
If they have enough money for a camera, a comptuer to upload the video on to youtube, and a fire wire, why cant they have the money for a 360?
And even if they dont have the money, dont be a bitch and wrap it up in a XBOX 360 box, get the kid all excited, and crush his happyness with a pair of PJs.
I agree people are spoiled, but i think the family was being more bitchy then the poor kid himself.
"end rand... and I'm not a racist!"
Um, yeah, sure you not.
I'll clue you in on something. I know lots of people spanning dozens of different races that do no manage their money good. And while I will sit back and say to myself: self, they should cut back on expenses, and pool their money together to make a better life for themselves. In the long run it's none of my business unless they ask me for advice.
As for the things they buy. Well, fact of life. Most people like nice stuff. And while they may or may not have the means to pay for it, they get it anyway. Why? Because they need something in their life that says they've accomplished something. Yep, material things that they can show to the neighbors, family, and friends that says "we have something". Most would look at this and say "you could have put that money in the bank and saved for a better future for yourself and your kids". But the fact of the matter is that they don't see a brighter future so they live for the moment. Sometimes that moment is video camera. Sometimes it's a Xbox. Sometimes it's 22's (I think those are wheels but not sure).
Anyway, the thing that holds true for any of the people that have this issue is that it isn't something that is common to one race.
As for this family. You don't know them. Just because they said they don't have the money for a Xbox doesn't mean that they're not sitting comfortably in the middle class. I have a good paying job, own a multi-unit building that is filled with tenants. And when the GF's kids start asking for stuff that I know they will have 24 hours worth of interest in once it's bought. I come out with the "we don't have money for that" also. I know other parents that do it also.
Anyway, I came here to ask what the hell was going on with that kids hair. But I felt compelled to reply to the very assuming post.
Where do you think they got the 360 packaging from? Do you think they found it on the street? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that his mom DID get him a xbox 360, but they were playing a joke on him at first, and then wanted to REALLY surprise him with the real thing. All you people saying that he needs a better family need a better brain.
Hey Rob -
I grew up in a upper middle class environment with all my college tuition paid, new car at age 18, and a lot of luxuries. That doesn't mean I'm a spoiled little brat. Most of the crap I own I bought with my own money.
Just because you lived your life a certain way doesn't mean this world revolves around you. Grow a heart and STFU.
Anyways, I feel really bad for this kid and his family. It's unfortunate.
sure he got the 360... clearly... there's the box... BUT that family is fucked... make your kid cry for something on christmas != a good christmas... maybe he'll end up hating video games and all other computers/gadgets because he was traumatized by his idiot family... jesus... those clowns need parenting lessons.
Rob, I think you completely missed the moral of the story. It isn't the price of the gift, but the gift itself that he had longed for. These parents purposely set their child up for disappointment & publicly humiliated him in front of the family. Again, it makes no difference in hell if it was an Xbox or just $10 basketball he had been wishing for.
i have a 360 with 7 games is not new but if engadget can get it to him is his. This is not new, i don't know what Jonathans case is but i see people adopt kids just to get a paycheck every month all the time
@thechihuahua
if you make a racist statement, but also insist that you're not actually a racist, it doesn't really mean much.
I also disagree with your entire argument: I think that some rich white people (such as paris hilton) waste more money on pointless crap in a day than a poor person of any race can waste in a decade.
Your argument doesn't really explain why some people are rich and others are poor, it just ridicules people and blames them for their situation.
And finally I have no idea why you should even care that other people are going to buy this kid an Xbox. Its not costing you anything, its not hurting anybody, why do you have to complain about people doing something nice?
@ Chihuaha
Anyone who prefaces something they say with "I'm not a racist," usually is. Especially if they go on to say "Black people are stupid when it comes to money, seriously they live in a shitty apartment and can BARLEY pay their rent, but there can has 22's"
Yeah, "there can" not make much sense either. FYI - Use the possessive form of their and barley is a grain. Next time, try not to generalize and assume you know black people just because you flip past BET every once in a while.
#1 This looks like it was staged.
#2 That kid's hair looks like COMBED COTTON CANDY.
#3 At least the sweater won't get the RED RINGS of DEATH.
#4 My name is "Jonathan" too and that's cause to cry moreso than a stupid gaming system...
And they got him the CORE...not even the PREMIUM.
@rob: STOP WHINING.
I don't feel sorry for the kid because he didn't get a 360. I feel sorry his parents are douchebags who treat their child on the same level a pet owner teases their pet. All I can say is grow the fuck up. Your kid is a responsibility not a means of amusement and if you think this teaches him some sort of lesson you are not only a douchebag but a dumbfuck.
Read the YouTube description. The kid got an Xbox.
Big deal. Yea, it was mean of the parents (or whoever they were) to trick the kid, but if he had laughed it off then no one would really care right now. Instead, the little kid cries and gets some YouTube fame and now everyone wants to play Santa.
And "LOL" at all the companies that want to send him something. Anything for some good PR. Give me a freakin' break.
@ Rob
You bitch about the kid you take care of only wanting expensive electronic devices and yet you made that post on a site dedicated to the newest expensive electronic devices. But, you're right, that kid doesn't have that much money so he shouldn't think about stuff like that, whereas you're Rob! You're allowed to come down on others for doing the exact same things as you, being a Big Brother absolves you of any coincidental hypocrisy!
Haha, isn't seeing a crying kid the most hilarious thing in the world? :D :D
Oh, oh.. I know what they should do next. Lock him in the basement and starve him, them tease him with plastic food!
"Come on, Junior, you know we can't afford another kid! We'll leave you here until you die and bury you next to our dog, Bob."
Hiiiilarious :)
I'd rather have PJ's than an Xbox 360 Arcade >.>
I love Pj's :3
Rob was only doing what fanboys do all day long. Makes a racist comment while claiming to not be racist. How is that any different from: "I hate Playstation 3's, but I own one!"
He is merely following the example of 65% of Engadget readers.
Agreed...
You can't do this to a child. They take things more seriously than you can imagine... fooling children will make them have a distorted idea of the reality and probably that is in the base of gown up people being so unhappy.
These early years are the best years in a persons life... no one has the right to steel them. All children can be happy no matter the financial status of their parents. Just treat them as you would like to be treated when you were a children, they'll give it back...
C'mon, there's gotta be some member in that family that could steal him one, just like they stole the camera! :)
@rob
Whats wrong with drooling over nice electronics you can't afford? I do it all the time.
$200-$300? Yeah right, maybe the rich families. The price limit my parents spend on me for Christmas is $50-$100 total. And how much was an Atari in the 80's anyway, like $400?
My parents wrap stuff in other boxes all the time. But not like this. This is just evil. He's probably scarred for life now.
That kid looks really healthy, has clean clothes on and has time to dye his hair different colors. He really has nothing to cry about. It appears that this kid is well taken care of and yes, he was pranked really really bad.
At some point growing up most of us were made fun of or possibly pranked as well. Should we think this kid deserves a $300 luxury item just because he cried? What about the other kids that dont even know what an xbox 360 is?
It seems you all are taking this prank a little too personal. They got him, and yeah maybe they didnt give him what was in the box or maybe (probably) they did. The cameraman apparently was trying to elicit a specific response from the kid for effect, and then surprise him with the contents later. If they didnt, who cares? He should be outside playing or using his imagination or chasing his tail or something.
If you look at the end of the video, his family left him abruptly, which seems to be a cold callous response.
Back in the 80's we had these things called "bicycles" and "frisbees" and "balls". Maybe one of you could find one of these rare vintage items and send it to him so he doesn't turn into a zombie-minded couch potato game junkie. =p
I have a family that has done me this way, can I have an XBOX 360 too?
Trolls love delicious, nutritious spam: pmeeks@gmail.com
From the video description:
"My mom decides to buy my brother an Xbox 360 for christmas. We leave that night and return the next morning to find he has sneaked a look....just as my mom thought he would, this is the result...and yes he did get the game i will try to post the second video"
So, I think he did end up getting one...just in case you guys are sending him one.
We actually did the opposite for my friend. For Christmas eight of us decided to pool our money and buy our friend an Xbox360 due to recent circumstance.
We wrapped it in a box for a All-In-One Aquariam and then a huge box for an office chair. Needless to say, the look when he saw we got him the chair was priceless.
He didn't get one. Read the post.
Well, I'm Jonathan! So, where's my xBox? [My family's mean too... XD?]
Man, fuck that kid, and fuck you people too for low ranking me. That shit was funny as hell. That lil bastards face should be on mastercards next "priceless" spoof campaign ad.
Children size clothing from Kmart: $40
Gift wrap: $4
Empty Xbox 360 box: Free (Taken from Walmarts dumpster with inside components used for store display model)
Hi8 cassette for camcorder: $3
Family not getting your Don King looking hairdo clipped before the prank: $0
Look on that little shit getting juked on christmas morning: PRICELESS
There are some things money can't buy, and for everything else there's... "You going out and getting a damn job you little scumbag."
What assholes. That boy deserves a 360 AND a wii. What horrible parents
And what, exactly, is wrong with the PS3? >.>
Give me a fucking break. Its not like the kid isn't getting anything for Christmat. Seems to me he's getting lots of unwrap toys for Christmas there. Why don't you people go cry to the real kids who aren't getting anything for Christmas. Freaking spoiled people.
James Cameron:
You're right, but unless you practise what you preach (which I doubt), don't preach
It's not like it's cruel and unusual punishment, more like a bad, bad joke. Since all of us here love electronics, though, it makes it that much worse.
I absolutely do not understand how people are calling this situation "spoiled".
Let me describe my situation:
My headphones cost more than my iPod. I'm typing on a 3K computer. My laptop bag was $150. My favorite jacket is $500. My parents cover my college tuition. I have a brand new car.
YET I UNDERSTAND HOW HARD LIFE IS. I still have a fucking heart. Christmas is about making people happy. Being generous. Helping others.
All you idiots complaining about how crappy your childhood was can shut it. This kid is going through exactly what millions of Americans go through. Maybe he's always wanted an Xbox 360. Who the hell are you to say "OMIGOSH SPOILED BRAT HE DOESN'T DESERVE ONE!". There's even some idiot in the comments above who blames this on him being black.
Call me spoiled all you want. I know who I am and I know I'm not spoiled. I know I'm better off than a lot of others and I'm grateful for it. Who the hell are you to judge anyone else? Give this poor kid a Xbox 360. If Microsoft comes through with this - I'll have a higher opinion of them. And that'll mean a lot. I'm an Apple fanboy :D
@blaktornado
...was that a joke?
Yes, I am sure Blaktornado was joking. His comment mentions PS3, because he is replying to the orginal comment which says the kid deserves "an Xbox 360 and a Wii"
One Apple fan boy to another...daguibear, I just ask that when you graduate from college try and get job on your own (i.e. don't work at your parent's insurance or real estate company) without using your name to get a foot in the door. The extravagance speaks for itself.
I have heard of parents doing that, but I never believed someone could be so cruel.
pwnZ!
forget the 360 kid, what you deserve is a better family.
WTF!
This kind of sick joke shouldn't be played on anyone, especially a kid because it'll have a significant and negative impact on his life!
Whoever did this should be locked up and starved for 2 days and then be given a box of "food" with nothing but dirt inside. At the same time, let people video taped it and laugh in their face when they open it. See if they think it's funny now.
This is really pissing me off!
HAHA!! I agree. The kid looks so fricking pissed!!!!!!!! Ahh, this is a classic that will go down in YouTube and geeky web history.
All thanks to Engadget!!!!! (who rocks!)
I wanted to get my niece an Xbox 360, but as there is a slight possibility that it might overheat and burn her apartment down, I thought better of the idea.
evil people...so evil
its just a joke that went a bit wrong. evil is a bit harsh.
poor kid... there are so many kids that find it "normal" to get an xbox 360 or any other expensive stuff... and this one is zo happy with the gift and its a joke!....
i honestly would sell my xbox360 to that kid vor the symbolic 10$ !
poor poor kid...
Thinking about the world... The most kids in world are happy to get food...
Nevertheless that is so mean prank...
"thats messed up momma...." that is so not cool man. I'd paypal you some cash engadget. thats just not cool. follow up and let us know if the kid got his, if not, let us help a brother out
oh man. seriously engadget PLEASE tell me you have and extra lying around somewhere! i hope he actually gets one this time and that the last line of ryan's post is not another hoax!
ryan, i kid, of course i know you dont pull that crap ;)
i dont think that that they cant afford one but that that lady in the video is using it all on food
Awww, poor guy. That's so mean :(
Wow. This is why kids play with matches in the house.
That is so pathetic. Who would do that to a little kid? Adults like that are competely ignorant of the psychology of their children. Kids process things differently than adults. What they did to him is equal to them winning the lottery, but then being told "C'mon! You know we can't afford the taxes that come along with the lottery". Jerks.
Engadget you guys are totally awesome! i hope yall are able to give it to him. idiot parents...i woulda cried too.
That's pretty messed up, the fact that someone was in the background laughing the whole time. I feel bad for the boy.
Thats just wrong! :(
They should have at least gave him a PS3 box, so he wouldn't have been disappointed when he actually opened it to find it empty.
PS3 bashing is sooo 2006!
news at 10 -- kid goes postal on his family after xbox prank goes horribly wrong.
heeee go the xbox they have the video on youtube
on youtube it for dis vid it says "My mom decides to buy my brother an Xbox 360 for christmas. We leave that night and return the next morning to find he has sneaked a look....just as my mom thought he would, this is the result...and yes he did get the game i will try to post the second video"
My mom decides to buy my brother an Xbox 360 for christmas. keywords
...the only survivor is what appears to be a beached whale in an orange jumpsuit
That's really cool of you guys to send him an XBOX. Props to you. I hope you can find him.
Seconded. That's some good mojo, Ryan.
Me too! Fingers crossed.
Hey, nice icon Zak! :¬)
When I read the title I thought the story would be funny, but when I saw the mockery in the video and how hurt the kid was, I couldn't do anything more but condemn the act.
Big props to you guys. But don't be cruel to do something like sending him an Xbox 360 with a HD-DVD add-on and bundling the package with Spiderman 3 on bluray. The kid has been through enough already.
Ryan, you're sooooooo Cool.
can Zak have your babies xD
I hope this kid grows up to defeat all adversity and throws his success into the face of his family.
dude...that is so far from funny that it cant even be described...
oh but it can be described. its just the words i have to describe it would make your eyes rot from the mere glimpse of them.
poor kid .. but still, you know what they say, don't take candy from stranger..
and that applies to Xbox360s too :p
sorry ryan
For some reason it plays like that clip from the simpsons. Where they go 'you see, right here' and bart pauses 'right here, is where you broke his heart'
That ranks up there with the fuckers that give the $10,000 fake lottery tickets that make it to america's home videos as 'funny'
people do that with fake lotto tickets? HA!
Dang, way to call it ryan. First time I've ever heard douchebag used in an article though :P
Let's just hope his parents got him an actual computer (not a box of shirts) so he can read this Engadget blog post...
Class act, Ryan.
My parents did this too me with a big bike box.. and then put subsequently smaller boxes into the bike box till I was left with a ring box with a an M&M.. i took the joke a little better, but my potential gift was only ~150 dollars, and they ended up getting me something else anyways.
dear god, these people have some problems doing that to a little kid :(
I'd do that except put an Xbox 360 in a "Ross, Dress for Less" box.
The kid actually got his 360. They just did this cause they found out he was looking for presents in the house. Goes around comes around huh? :)
Find the video on Youtube and read the full story.
What kid doesn't go looking for presents in the house?
The parents need to find a better hiding place and not laugh at crying kids.
In a follow-up story, kid murders his entire family in their sleep. Police rule it a justifiable homicide.
"you know we cant afford an Xbox" ... buy you can afford the camera that was used to record it, and the computer and internet to upload the video... looser parents....
im willing to bet that it was the brother's idea though
i mean they had the box so am gonna go and believe that they gave it to him at a later time lmaoooo
They ain't related to Ashton Kutcher are they?
This is why kids shoot people in schools. My god what is wrong with those parents? Not to mention the DB brother. Jonathan I wish you the best of luck buddy.
That is the most incredibly messed up thing I've ever seen. The kid looks absolutely crushed. Can you say "emotional trauma"? I bet this kid is going to hate Christmas from now on.