‘Boogeyman-for-hire:’ Stranger offers to scare kids into behaving in Vancouver ad

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – How far would you go to get your child to behave better in public? Would you make their biggest fear come to life, to set them straight?

A Craigslist ad apparently spotted in Vancouver this week, offered to scare your kid to get them on their best behaviour by pretending to be a boogeyman.

“I will scare your kids into behaving in public,” reads the title of the now taken down ad.

“Have a difficult child? I know, I’ve seen it. The worst is when you’re in line to buy food or a treat for your child and they start whining or fake-crying. I heard your pain when you beg your little one to quiet down, telling them that they’re bothering other people,” the ad continues.

“Essentially, I’m a boogeyman-for-hire.”

The idea is you tell your kid the boogeyman will scold them if they don’t listen to you, and you’ll get to deliver on that promise. You set the time and place and once your kids misbehave, the “boogeyman” you’ve hired will confront them.

Call it a controversial idea. While some parents say they could maybe get behind it, others are vehemently opposed.

“My initial thought is that sounds quite drastic, to have to hire somebody calling themselves the boogeyman. That sounds really scary actually and frightening,” mom of three Emily Clarke tells NEWS 1130.

“But, you know, there’s been sometimes, especially with a 7-year-old, you know, nothing’s working and in my mind, I’m sending him to military school, so I could sorta see why you would do that out of absolute desperation.”

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Some parents think hiring a boogeyman to scare their child would scar them instead.

“Might give the kid some phobia later in life,” says one dad, who’d rather leave the parenting to himself.

“It would scare the child, it’s just not right,” says a mom who thinks parents should be disciplining their kids, not a stranger.

And what does a nanny think about the idea?

“I don’t know if I personally would do it, but I wish that other people would,” said one to NEWS 1130.

The ad, by the way, had no hourly rate, with the poster just looking for an honorarium for their time and efforts.