5 BEST PARENTS EVER

 

The mother who gave her son an iPhone with an 18-rule contract

 If you're a mom or dad who gave an iPhone to your kid, you should make your kid follow the rules of Janell Hofmann. Hofmann bought an iPhone for her 13-year-old son Greg and gave him 18 rules to follow. If you think Hofmann was being an overbearing mom, think again. There's good advice in her 18 rules!

Sure, she requires the password of the iPhone and demands to receive the phone at night, but she also encourages her kid not to get so caught up with her iPhone and to just live life. Rule #5 wants Greg to, "have a conversation with the people you text in person," because it's a life skill. Rule #13 says not to take a "zillion pictures and videos" because you should live your experiences instead of being so focused on documenting everything.

However, the two best rules are probably the last two. Rule #17: Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you. Stare out a window. Listen to the birds. Take a walk. Talk to a stranger. Wonder without googling. Also, rule number 18 admits that Greg is probably going to screw up eventually, but they'll figure it out together because they're a team.

 

The father who hired in-game assassins to kill his lazy son's video game characters

23-year old Xiao Feng doesn't want to get a job. He'd rather spend his time playing video games. To discourage this activity, Feng's father hired players to hunt down and slay his son's characters.

Unhappy with his son not finding a job, Feng decided to hire players in his son's favorite online games to hunt down Xiao Feng. It is unknown where or how Feng found the in-game assassins—every one of the players he hired were stronger and higher leveled than Xiao Feng. Feng's idea was that his son would get bored with playing games if he was killed every time he logged on, and that he would start putting more effort into getting a job.

 

The father who wears a skirt in solidarity with his 5-year-old son

When it comes to supporting his son's unconventional wardrobe, Nils Pickert talks the talk and walks the walk. The German dad explains that he wears women's clothing (including nail polish) to help his 5-year-old son feel good about going out in dresses and skirts. A picture of Pickert and his little boy, sporting matching red clothes -- dad in a long skirt, son in a spaghetti-strap dress -- has been making the Internet rounds, inspiring enough positive feedback to cancel out a thousand sideways looks and gender marketing fails.

Pickert says that in the small town where he lives, his son's dress choices are seen as everybody's business -- and when it comes to standing up for his son, he's determined to show, not just tell.

 

The parents who teach their kids to be grateful even in the harshest ways

 

 

The father who runs triathlons while carrying his daughter, who suffers from cerebral palsy

For the past four years, Rick van Beek has run his local triathlon with his daughter who has cerebral palsy. She can neither walk nor talk, and her dad says he isn't even sure that she can see. However, he knows that she loves the outdoors, and he loves her, so he swims while pulling her in a kayak, bikes with her in a cart behind him, then finally runs while pushing her in a wheelchair so she can feel the breeze on her face.