Behind The Awkwardness: Rope Burn
September 20th, 2011
“My twin brother and I tied to our side porch by my father and grandfather to prevent us from walking in the concrete they were pouring out back. In his defense, he did leave us a box of toys and a sweet pair of boots within rope’s length. Mom and grandma were not pleased upon their return.”
(submitted by Chris)
Ha! My parents use to tie my little brother to a tree, with a ski belt around his waist, so he could play in the shallow water and not drift into the deep. This went on for years. It became common for him to ask to be “tied off.” We thought it was normal until we got older! It worked…lol!
My grandpa used to have a pair of boots like that…lol..this picture is hilarious the caption makes it all the better though!
that is TOTALLY a dad thing. i can’t say i wouldn’t do it if i had to watch two little kids while having to do stuff that had to be done.
Eh, parents put their kids on leashes all the time now.
But parents are at the other end of those leashes. Not the back porch.
My husband’s mother and grandmother used to tie him to a tree at their lake house so he wouldn’t go in the water and drown…..it worked! LOL
Just wanted to tell you, I as a mom would have appreciated this, as I would have seen that both grandpa and dad wanted you both safe and entertained. Great pic!
I Like the way It looks like grampa treated you like cattle and lasso’d the two of you unweildy beasts
When my older brother was left in charge of my younger brother, he tied him to a tree — upside down. Which explains a lot about my younger brother, if you know him.
This photo made me laugh because your father is not the only one to think this is a good idea! When I was a baby and my mother needed a break, my father would tie me in my walker to our carport while he worked outside so I wouldn’t roll into the street. Worked out well for both of us. The only downside was that he’d have to stop every 20 minutes to unwind me, since apparently all I could do in my walker was go in circles around the post. And unlike your mother, my mother found this entire contraption hilarious.
well, there are zipline arrangements for dogs…
Is it just me or does it seem like this yard already had enough concrete? Did dad and grandpa decide to pour a new square of concrete every time their wives asked them to do something (i.e. watch the kids, dry the dishes…)? =)
My first thought was ‘oh, no, their leashes are crossed. They’re gonna get tangled’ LOL
on second glance i noticed the blue ball just rolled out of the range of the rope. that would explain the looks on their faces
i know my brothers would be distraught in that position but would’ve given my parents a good laugh
This reminds me of when my husband and I took our 5-year-old to Disney World. We were afraid that with all the distractions he would wander off and we wouldn’t notice, so we got a leash for him. And it wasn’t rigged up – we bought it at Toys R Us. When he wore it, people without children would look horrified. People with children would ask where they could buy one!
There’s this new invention, it’s called a “PLAYPEN.” They don’t look too old to be in one.
Good thing these are children and not animals. They were tied up with no shade, food or water! The Humane Society would have removed them from the home. The “sweet pair of boots” comment and the Eraserhead hairstyle makes this one of the best Awkward Photos to date. I agree with all who noted that grandma and mom have nothing to complain about…….who leaves toddlers with men pouring concrete in a wind storm???
Chris, you make a good point. And who pours concrete in a windstorm…without their boots?
My guess is that grandma and mom left first, and THEN the men just decided to tie up the boys and pour concrete…kids are harder than concrete to handle!
DING! DING! DING! We have a winner!
Pauly D the first!
LMAO!
LMAO, the boots.
I’m surprised these two little guys didn’t figure out how to untie the knots in the time it took to pour a concrete slab! Toddlers can develop amazing problem solving capabilities and manual dexterity when left unattended, especially when mischief is in the offing and a partner in crime is at hand.
Sorry for the double — don’t know what I did there. I’ll blame it on my little nephew!
How is that pair of boots supposed to entertain them???
Why would kids want to play with the cardboard box instead of the new toy contained within? Kids have imaginations. This is great parenting, I say. Great parenting.
Ever heard of the saying “tongue in cheek”???
Not many people know that Don King had a twin brother… And wore plaid…
This photo and the caption are hilarious. I love the “sweet pair of boots” part. And some of the comments here are so funny. Thanks for making my day.
I’m surprised that they didn’t figure out how to untie the knots in the time it took to pour a concrete slab! Toddlers develop amazing problem-solving powers and manual dexterity when left unattended, especially if the problem involves getting up to something they shouldn’t be doing.
As the MOTHER of wild 4-year-old twins (and a twin myself), I think this is hilarious!
Thank God for Moms!
These poor kids need at least a little grass!
Kids that age HATE grass. You should see my 16 month old trying to avoid the lawn!
I think she meant for “roughage”.
Or maybe she meant a doobie to help make it all a bit more tolerable.
A gust of wind must have smacked ‘em just as this photo was taken, but I’m just going to pretend that their hair was like that all the time.
I was just thinking that the hair of the seated child is my favorite thing about the photo.
This has got to be the next greeting card I see at Target! Please!
I LOVE this!! I know my husband would tie up my 6 & 8 year old now if he could!!
Yes, the poor little tots were probably displeased with the arrangement (which bears no relevance to whether or not it was an inspired approach to an age-old dilemma: “How does ANYTHING get accomplished with a set of toddlers around?”). But a few moments of restraint didn’t destroy their little psyches. It only gave a Mom a reason to freak out. No injuries or traumas.
I’ve never tied up my kids, but have been tempted to, once, during a home construction project. We just made sure that there was an extra person to baby-wrangle. This is a classic ‘Dad/Grandpa’ move. Awesome.
My DAD and UNCLE tied a rope to my brother and attached it to the chimney and then nail-gunned my brother to the roof when they were roofing – he wanted to be there and had fallen of another time, so they made sure he was staying this time. Of course this was decades ago, CPS would be called now, but no permanent damage was done, it always gives us a great laugh when someone asks if we can help shingle!!!
Hey if Mom and Grandma didn’t want to kids tied up, they should have taken then along wherever they went!
That is exactly what I was thinking. Had no one in this family ever seen a sitcom?
Ha ha! I was thinking the same thing!
All of these comments are hilarious!
This is very much a “dad” and “grandpa” thing to do.
I agree!! That’s the first thing I said when after I read it – “that is SO like a dad!!” lol
The picture is hilarious on it’s own, but the story and these comments are just cracking me up!!
Is nobody else concerned about what looks like blood dripping down the concrete step?
People who know what blood looks like are not concerned. People who’ve never encountered blood are correct in being concerned that blood is dripping down the concrete step. So I guess that would be you and…you?
You need to get your eyes checked.
This is hilarious!
I don’t know about where you come from, but I bleed red.
I noticed it, but my guess is that it is pee, not blood.
Mom and grandma would have probably been more upset if they were covered in concrete, I’m guessing.
See, I thought this was part of the awkwardness, that the dumb dad left the kids so long that they both peed on that curb but no one else has mentioned it
Awesome!
I love that that is what two men came up with to keep you out of harms way. No playpen available? Haha.
P.S. LOVE the hairdos!
Oh the good ole days when you could just tie your kids up outside, lol.
roflmbo, oh so true..so true. Those good ole days when you could leave the kids tied up outside and in the middle of the sun with no shade.
Your Comment WINS!!!!
How can you be sure there ‘s no shade? What about the porch?
More intrigued by the way their hair is sticking STRAIGHT up in the air a la Bart Simpson.
This just oozes AWESOME! The little dude in the front is sporting a sweet haircut too!
Yeah, from the looks of it what this yard needed was a bit more concrete.
LOL! Exactly!
Ha! Good point. How did I not make that connection before? Perhaps it’s because there is SO MUCH to take in here. This should be in the Hall of Fame.
This is so wrong and at the same time, it’s hilarious
HAHAHAHA!!! I love this pic! Poor babies…
This is equal parts sad and hilarious at the same time.
That is totally something my dad would have done.
My brother did this to my twin girls when they were little and in those round walker things. He tired them to the trailer hitch of the family boat! He said they kept rolling down the drive and into the street so he tied them up for safety! I didn’t think it was funny then, but maybe now. lol No one got hurt or run over by a car for sure and the boat and trailer were in the garage.
“He said they kept rolling down the drive…” I have no idea why that made me laugh. But thank you for that anyway.
I laughed too!
LOL, just picture this…. two little 18 month old babies in BRIGHT Orange walkers rolling down the driveway…. hair just a flyin’ my teenaged brother running behind them trying to catch up to them to keep them from getting into the street! We still laugh about this! He is a great uncle even to this day!
Ha ha ha, that’s great, too bad there wasn’t a picture taken.
That is hilarious! There must not have been a clothesline available. hahaha
Exactly what I was thinking! My husband’s mom routinely tied him to the clothesline! He is pretty much okay…
Wow, somebody else’s mom did that? My husband was number 5 of 9 and very active and he got tied to the clothesline. One time a neighbor freed him and he got lost in the woods. He’s pretty normal now though . . .
LOL I briefly pictured a child raised by wolves, but I suppose he likely wasn’t in the woods THAT long…ha ha ha
haha “pretty much” okay.
My only question is, seeing their hair blowing like that, why would you pour concrete during a hurricane?
Haha! My exact first thoughts too!: “They tied the kids up outside during a cyclone?”
Ha!!! Best awkward family photo ever!
That’s so funny that they decided to capture their moment of insanity on film.
They were just ahead of their time. Years later the kid leash made millions.
They were just ahead of their time. Years later the kid leash was all the rage.