Some Of The Biggest Mistakes That Prove Parenting Isn’t For Everyone

Parental Mistakes

Throughout the formative years, children tend to view their parents as infallible, almost perfect beings. This perception, however, usually fades away as they enter into their teenage years.

It is during this period that the veil of perfection surrounding their parents is lifted, revealing their humanity and vulnerability. Even parents, who are supposed to be the peak of responsibility and wisdom, are capable of making mistakes.

These mistakes can be colossal and leave people either exasperated or laughing uncontrollably. Here are some of the most peculiar and amusing parental blunders that will leave you scratching your head in disbelief.

Losing Their Child

Our first parenting fail is about how a parent lost their 1.5-year-old daughter in their own house. They had placed the little one down for a nap in their bedroom and locked her in the living room before stepping out.

However, upon their return, the baby was nowhere to be seen. They scoured every nook and cranny of the house, frantically searching for their little one.

It was only after a while that they realized that the baby had quietly followed them into the bedroom and slipped behind them while they were putting her down for a nap.

Catching Some Air

One incident that still gives me chills was when I attempted to convert our newly bought castle slide into a waterslide. I attached a hose to the top to let water flow down, and before we knew it, my 3-year-old son, Charlie, had climbed to the top.

He flew down the slide, soaring an incredible 18 inches off the slide! It was a heart-stopping moment as he came within inches of colliding with a boulder and knocking out his teeth or worse. I had been with two other parents who thought it would be a unique and fun idea, but we all immediately regretted it.

The following day, we hired a professional boulder mover, realizing the danger we had foolishly put our children in. It was a close call, and I take full responsibility for my poor judgment.

A Mud Party

As a parent, I find myself in situations where I wish I had a hotline to call for guidance. It’s those moments when my kids come up with a crazy idea that sounds like a lot of fun, but I’m not quite sure if it’s safe or appropriate.

For instance, the other day, they suggested we use blue tape to set up a matrix-style trap system throughout the second floor of our house, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. But let’s be real. The aftermath of these fun activities can be quite messy and leave me feeling like an idiot.

Remember the time we had a mud party in the backyard, or when we filled a mini pool with those highly toxic and never-biodegradable jelly balls or the silly string fight outside that took us weeks to clean up? And let’s not forget the “apartment complex” we made out of 9 boxes on a rainy day, which ended up being a soggy and disgusting mess that couldn’t even be recycled. As much as I enjoy having fun with my kids, the consequences of our adventures can sometimes make me feel guilty for not thinking things through more carefully.

Throwing His Toys – Literally

I vividly recall a time when I was incredibly exasperated with my children for not helping me clean up their play attic. It was extremely messy, and it certainly wasn’t the first time I had to deal with this issue. I had decided to lend them a helping hand since they were too young to clean it up themselves.

To make the task more enjoyable, I put on some music, turned it into a game, allotted specific duties to them, and provided constant encouragement. I thought I had provided them with all the necessary tools to get the job done. To my surprise, they still refused to cooperate, and I eventually lost my temper.

As I looked around the area, I couldn’t help but notice how spoiled my kids were. They had an excessive amount of toys and crafts, and it was appalling that they couldn’t even tidy up after themselves and take care of their belongings. I was mostly angry with myself for allowing them to become so dependent on me. I felt helpless and didn’t know how to make them listen to me.

Without thinking, I impulsively picked up one of their favorite stuffed animals and threw it with all my might at its designated bin. I may have even yelled in frustration. The kids immediately burst into tears and ran towards me, apologizing. It was at this moment that I realized what I had done was wrong, and I, too, began to cry and apologize. I even apologized to the stuffed animal, as it didn’t deserve to be the victim of my outburst. It was quite an emotional moment for the entire family.

A Military Threat

On a particular occasion, I was extremely frustrated with my kids for not listening to me. In an attempt to get their attention, I showed them some footage of military schools. I didn’t explicitly mention that I was planning to send them to one.

However, I implied that most parents would consider it as an option if their kids didn’t listen to them. However, their reaction was not what I had expected.

They started crying uncontrollably, saying that they wouldn’t be able to live with us anymore and that we were going to drop them off at the military school. It was a difficult moment for us, and we felt terrible about it (my partner, Brian, was also involved in this situation, although it wasn’t a planned move).

Bribing Their Child

As a parent, there are countless moments when you feel like you’re at the end of your rope. One such moment for me was when I was so utterly exhausted that I offered my son Charlie $20 to put his younger sister to bed.

At the time, they were both very young – I think around 3 and 5 years old. Looking back, I realize how desperate and serious I must have seemed. To my surprise, Charlie agreed at first, but as you might imagine, my 5-year-old was not capable of putting himself and his toddler sister to bed.

I could go on and on about the various parenting fails I’ve experienced, but to be honest, it’s hard to talk about them without feeling a sense of shame. However, I truly believe that the world needs to hear more stories like these – not the ones where someone gets seriously hurt, but the ones where we learn something about ourselves as parents and have a funny or crazy story to tell.

Best Buy

During my time working at Best Buy, there was a day when I had accompanied my mother to the store to purchase the Star Wars DVD box set as a birthday gift for me.

I vividly remember that day because I had an intense crush on the girl who was working the customer service counter that day. However, things took an unexpected turn when the DVD set rang up $10 more than its marked price.

To my horror, my mother chose not to bring it to the attention of the cashier until after the transaction was complete. The girl who I had a crush on was unsure of how to process the situation, and the manager was preoccupied with other customers. My mother, who was not pleased with the error, lashed out at her for not being able to do her job correctly. The entire incident was incredibly embarrassing for me, and my crush became incredibly awkward towards me afterward. It was a very uncomfortable experience, and it took me a while to get over it.

“Haggling”

In the past, my mother used to shop at Value Village and had a unique way to get discounts. She would cut off the tags from the items she wanted to purchase.

The cashiers would determine the price based on their own judgment. If the price was higher than what my mother anticipated, she would request the manager to intervene.

This caused some discomfort to me. However, this strategy was only effective before Value Village changed its policies.

Ham

The school where my wife teaches was facing a persistent challenge in engaging parents in their children’s homework. Despite various attempts, none of the parents showed up for the after-school program that was started to involve them in their kids’ academic progress. It was a frustrating situation for the school management and my wife, who was trying her best to bridge the gap between parents and the school.

However, the school came up with an interesting idea that changed everything. They decided to offer a raffle prize of a ham at each after-school homework session. To everyone’s surprise, the parents started showing up in droves.

It was such a hit that my wife and I had to drive to Walmart every once in a while to buy a ham because the parents were now coming in for a one-in-five-hundred chance to win one. It was both funny and sad to see how something as simple as a ham was enough to compel the parents to participate in their children’s academic life.

Controlling Father

There is a man who strongly believes that his son has what it takes to become a great NFL quarterback. Despite his son being only ten and having a decent skill set, the father is determined to see his dream come true. He has enlisted the help of various trainers and coaches and has his son practice for hours every day to perfect his skills.

The father has also put his son on a strict diet and supplement regimen and has prohibited him from participating in other sports to avoid any potential injuries. The child’s social life is also restricted as he is not allowed to have sleepovers or engage in any typical childhood activities.

Despite the father’s unwavering efforts, his son has expressed his disinterest in playing football anymore. However, his father is not swayed by his son’s wishes and believes that he knows what is best for him as a parent.

Dumbo

During my 5th grade, I had a close friend, a girl, with whom I used to joke and make fun of each other. One day, as we were walking out of school together, my mom came to pick me up.

The girl, as a part of our usual banter, said, “See you tomorrow, dumbo!” I didn’t mind it much as I had learned to take it in good humor. However, my mom was furious and rushed towards us, yelling at her without any warning.

She said things like, “Don’t ever talk to my kid like that again! How would you like it if kids made fun of the freckles on your face?” The girl was taken aback and started bawling. I was embarrassed and didn’t know how to react, so we left without saying anything. On our way back home, I didn’t talk to my mom and was upset with her for getting so angry over something so trivial.

Crying Over Spilt Milk

As a part-time student working in customer service at Loblaws, I have had my share of challenging experiences dealing with customers. One incident stands out in my memory.

It was an encounter I had with a woman who was completely flustered when she discovered that her milk had gone bad despite the clear expiry date printed on the carton. She was extremely upset and began to complain loudly.

She insisted on speaking with the store manager, front-end manager, and even the dairy manager. The situation was quite tense, and it took a lot of patience and tact to handle the situation and help the customer feel heard and understood.

Hygiene Products

I work at a school where the majority of our students come from low-income households, with more than 80% of the population living under the poverty line. To support these students, I keep a cabinet stocked with essential hygiene products such as deodorant, lotion, chapstick, hair gel, feminine hygiene products, shampoo, conditioner, and other similar items, all of which are available in travel sizes.

One day, I was surprised to find that the entire cabinet was empty. I refilled it, but two days later, it was empty again. I decided to investigate and caught a student red-handed as he was trying to sweep everything into his bag. When I asked him about it, he told me that his mother had instructed him to collect as many items as possible so she could return them to Walmart for store credit.

I explained to him how important these items were for our students and how they couldn’t afford to buy them on their own. I also informed him that the cabinet would now be locked to prevent any further incidents. It’s disheartening to see that some families resort to such measures, but I’m glad that I could provide some support for these students in need.

Religious Views

There’s a family I know who could be described as having extreme religious views. They chose to home-school all five of their children, including the youngest, who was born 12 years after the second youngest.

The parents were in their mid-forties at the time, and despite the higher risk of having a special-needs child at that age, they decided that they wanted another child and were willing to accept whatever ‘God had in store for them.’

Unfortunately, their youngest child does have special needs, and now the parents often act as if they are martyrs, complaining about every challenge they face as a family.

Unhappy Halloween

As a child, I had the experience of attending school at an outpatient mental facility. It happened to be Halloween, and our instructors allowed us to spend the day painting our faces and indulging in arts and crafts.

However, since I knew that my mother didn’t approve of Halloween due to her religious beliefs, I made sure to paint only a cat nose with whiskers on my face and refrained from writing “Happy Halloween” on any of my creations.

When my mother came to pick me up, she was furious with me. She yelled at me for not respecting her beliefs, forced me to go to the bathroom and wash my face, and made me throw away all the crafts I had made in front of everyone. The memory of that day has stayed with me ever since and made me realize the importance of respecting other people’s beliefs and values.

A Disruptive Student

In my role as a teacher’s aid, I have encountered many challenging students and difficult parents, but none as extreme as the pair I am about to describe. The student in question was notorious for his disruptive behavior, but his mother was a whole different story altogether.

The mother had several restraining orders against her from various teachers and staff members at the school due to her tendency to verbally and physically abuse them. Her son would often fabricate stories about being mistreated by other students and teachers, which would set her off. She would then show up unannounced at the school, often during class time, and demand to speak with the teacher. If her request was denied, she would unleash a barrage of verbal abuse in front of the students and, in some cases, even resort to physical violence.

Despite being legally prohibited from entering school premises, she continued to disregard this and show up whenever she pleased. The school administration had no choice but to involve the authorities, and the police were called every time she appeared. However, due to the rural location of the school, it took an average of 25 minutes for the police to arrive, leaving the staff and students vulnerable to her erratic behavior.

Bad Behavior

During my work as an educator, I had to contact a parent regarding a behavior issue with their child. As I was conversing over the phone, I suddenly heard the sound of the kid entering the house, and it appeared that the parent had put our call on speakerphone.

To my utter shock, the parent started screaming and physically assaulting the kid. I could hear them using abusive language and calling the child various offensive names.

I was taken aback by the whole situation and wasn’t sure if the parent even realized that I was still on the phone. I immediately ended the call and rushed to report the incident to the principal. As educators, we have a legal obligation to report such cases of child abuse or neglect. Therefore, it was imperative that I acted on it immediately.

A Leash

During a recent visit to the mall, I witnessed a rather peculiar incident that left me wondering whether it was a win or a failure. As I was strolling around, I spotted a child, who looked to be around four years old, being walked on a leash by his mother. The little boy seemed to be quite restless and was pulling on the leash while his mother was busy admiring something in a store window.

Suddenly, the child caught sight of something that caught his fancy, and he took off running with the leash in tow. Unfortunately for him, the leash eventually went taut, causing him to come to a sudden and complete stop.

I watched as his little arms and legs kept moving forward while the rest of his body came to an abrupt halt, and he landed straight on his behind. The sight was so comical that I couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh, and I still chuckle to myself whenever I recall the incident.

Taking The Class Pet Home

There is a story I remember hearing from a woman I used to babysit for. She was employed as an assistant or some kind of support staff in a school in the city of Toronto. The story was about the class rabbit that they had in the school. Apparently, the rabbit would go home with a different student each weekend.

However, the teachers and staff noticed that they were hesitant to give the rabbit to one particular child whose home life seemed to be troubled. Despite their concerns, they eventually decided to let him take the rabbit home for the weekend.

The parents ate it. They fried it up for dinner. They weren’t even ashamed when they told the teacher what happened on Monday. Said they were out of groceries or something.

Long Distance Flying

During a long-distance flight when I was a young child, my mother let my brother and I sleep on the floor due to the lack of space in our seats. However, the flight attendants intervened and informed my mother that it was against safety regulations to sleep on the floor during a flight.

My mother became argumentative and refused to comply with the flight attendants’ instructions. The situation escalated quickly when the flight attendants informed the pilots of the issue. The pilots threatened to turn the plane around unless my mother ensured that her children were seated properly. Despite the pilots’ warnings, my mother continued to argue with the flight attendants.

The commotion caused by my mother’s behavior drew the attention of other passengers, who became increasingly frustrated with the situation. Eventually, the pilots announced that they would have to turn the plane around due to my mother’s refusal to follow safety regulations. Faced with the backlash from fellow passengers and the flight crew, my mother finally gave in and ensured that her children were seated properly.

SAT Score

The incident I want to share is about my mom doubting my intelligence. One day, she came to my school unannounced because she thought I was lying about my SAT score. She was convinced that I couldn’t have scored that high and wanted to verify the truth. However, the school officials were not allowed to disclose that information due to privacy policies.

Frustrated and determined to get to the bottom of the matter, my mother demanded to speak to the principal’s manager in front of me. The principal, however, refused to comply with her request, and they had a heated argument. Eventually, the principal vouched for me, assuring my mother that I was an honest and decent student who had indeed scored well on the SAT.

Despite the principal’s assurance, the incident was still quite embarrassing for me. I couldn’t help feeling a bit humiliated that my mother didn’t trust me and that she had to resort to such extreme measures to verify my academic performance.

Freebies

At the grocery store, my mom noticed a sign that said if an item rang up higher than the advertised price, it was free. While she was buying a box of Little Debbie cakes, she noticed that they rang up for $2.85 instead of the advertised $2.50. She pointed out the discrepancy to the cashier, who didn’t know what to do and summoned a manager.

The manager arrived and told her to ring up the sale anyway and that he would be right back. When he returned, he handed my mother 35 cents and said, “There you go!” My mother pointed out the sign behind him, but he dismissed it, saying that the previous manager had put it up and that it didn’t make any sense.

He explained that he was the new manager and that he hadn’t had the sign removed yet. My mother insisted that they honor their sign, but the manager refused. In the end, my mother decided against taking the Little Debbies on principle and left the store without them.

Home Schooled

As a former university teacher, I encountered a challenging situation with one of my students who was home-schooled. His mother insisted on attending the university with him and enrolled in the same course as her son. However, she had a rather peculiar way of monitoring her son’s social interactions.

To address this situation, I decided to put the student and his mother in different lecture streams. This way, they could attend separate lectures and labs without interfering with each other’s learning. However, the mother was not pleased with my decision and took the matter to the Dean. Fortunately, the Dean supported my actions and upheld my decision.

A few weeks later, the student came to me and thanked me for what I had done. He expressed his gratitude for helping him learn in a safe and comfortable environment. This incident reminded me of the importance of creating a positive and inclusive learning environment for all students.

A Heart Attack From What?

Growing up, there were many rules in my house that I had to follow, but two of them stood out in particular. My grandmother, who lived with us, strictly forbade me from walking up and down the stairs and from letting shower water hit my chest. According to her, if I were to fall on the stairs or climb them too quickly, I would surely meet my demise.

Similarly, she believed that shower water pounding on my chest would be detrimental to my heart and that if I were to have a heart attack and die, it would be my own fault for disobeying her instructions. These were just two of the countless rules enforced in my household, but they were particularly perplexing to me.

I later learned that my grandmother had tragically lost a child to heart problems, which may have contributed to her fears and anxieties. However, I also discovered that the rule about shower water was only necessary right after open heart surgery and not applicable to someone who was otherwise healthy.

No Spitting

During my recent trip to the San Juan Islands in Washington State, I found myself on the car deck of a ferry. As we approached the island and the workers were about to raise the gate to let the passengers off, a little girl around the age of 4 or 5 was walking back and forth in excitement to disembark.

Beside me was her father who, as if sensing her impatience, said, “Come hold daddy’s hand, Mary.” However, just as the gate was about to open, the girl unexpectedly turned to her father and spat at him.

Despite the unpleasant surprise, her father responded in a calm and gentle manner, saying, “No, sweetheart, don’t spit at Daddy.” His sing-song voice, though firm, conveyed a sense of love and patience towards his daughter as if he understood that the little girl was simply expressing her excitement in her own way.

Not So Thankful

At Thanksgiving dinner hosted by her boyfriend, my mom divulged to everyone present about my struggle with anorexia during my tween years. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life.

I was already reluctant to attend the gathering. My mom continued to recount the past, she kept emphasizing how I had consumed only carrots for dinner for a year.

Her unrelenting narration eventually compelled me to raise my voice and plead with her to stop. She never told an embarrassing story again, thankfully.

Getting Ahead In Line

When I was younger, my family and I used to travel frequently. As kids, we were able to skip the long lines at the airport, but now that we were in our early teens, we had to wait like everyone else.

However, on one particular occasion, my mom decided to fake having a heart condition to get us ahead of the line. Unfortunately, the flight attendant saw through her act and instructed us to go back to the end of the queue.

I can still recall the looks and smirks on the faces of the other passengers who were waiting in line as we walked back in shame. I was beyond embarrassed and still remind her about it sometimes.

Making Fun Of Others

I have a memory of being at a movie theater with a small group of people. We had just arrived and taken our seats when an employee, who seemed to be in his mid-thirties, entered the theater and politely asked us to leave for a few minutes while he cleaned. Despite having a stutter and some sort of impairment, the employee was extremely friendly and kind in his request.

However, there was also a father present who was with his three pre-teen and teenage children. This man’s physical appearance was quite noticeable, with his lobster-red skin, protruding belly, and shirt with cut-off sleeves.

Unfortunately, this father began to mock and ridicule the employee for his speech impediment, even going so far as to imitate him and encouraging his children to join in with the teasing. It was an extremely disheartening situation to witness.

Yes or No

I remember when my nephew was taught by his mother, my sister-in-law, to say “No daddy’s house” despite the fact that he loves his dad. It was terrible to watch.

The child previously had a clear understanding of the words “yes” and “no,” but this new behavior of saying “no” even when he actually wants something has caused significant confusion and distress for the child.

As a result, those around the child have had to re-teach him the meaning of “no” by removing things he doesn’t want when he says “no.” This situation is deeply concerning and suggests that the child’s well-being may not be the mother’s top priority.