Cops: Dad's Stranger- Danger Test Scares Kids Into Jumping Out Window

A suburban Cleveland man (who apparently gets all his parenting tips from George Bluth) had a friend pose as a threatening ex-convict during a test to see whether his teenagers would let a stranger into their home, prompting them to jump out a window and call 911, police say. The AP reports the father allegedly "refused to acknowledge the emotional upset he had caused" and described his 14 and 16-year-old sons' actions as an "epic fail." But officers commended them for barricading themselves in a bedroom, jumping out a second-floor window onto a garage roof, and then running to a neighbor's home to call for help.

The stranger showed up at their door Thursday afternoon and was let in by the younger teen, breaking the family rule on admitting only known relatives, police say. Once inside, the man told the boys that their father owed him money, and he threatened them. The boys believed he was prepared to kill them and chop up their bodies. The fake convict was in contact by phone with the father during the charade, and when the friend thought things had gone too far and wanted to stop, the father insisted it play out, police say. A prosecutor will consider potential child-endangering charges against the both adults. (More parenting stories.)