Some days when the kids are just not playing ball, when they just won't stop with the tears, you feel like you could almost give them away ... or sell them.
Which is what appeared to be the case at first glance in an advertisement run in a Hawke's Bay Today
classifieds column recently.
"Three crying children, $20 each, excellent condition."
But no, it was not a desperate parent's drastic solution to seeking peace and quiet, although it had one reader concerned enough to call about it.
A check with the "seller" of the crying children revealed they were dolls of a type which were once very popular. Made of material (not flesh) they are of little boys and girls who have their hands to their eyes - crying.
"Oh no, they're certainly not real children," the woman said, adding however, that one caller indicated there were times she felt like swapping her children for dolls.
