Some live by the saying, “You don’t know true love until you have a child.” But for some people, like actor Ray Romano, “Having children is like living in a frat house – nobody sleeps, everything’s broken, and there’s a lot of throwing up.”
Parenting has satisfying and difficult moments, and this new list from Bored Panda’s series of articles is still about the latter. You’re about to see images of vandalized walls and scratched cars – just children being children but giving their moms and dads a tough time in the process.
We also spoke with Marion, a mom of two and owner of the blog site Not So Perfect Parenting, to get some firsthand insight.
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Don't Bring Your Kids When Shopping For A Phone
Looked Out The Window To See A Squirrel Taking One Of The Easter Eggs I Had Hidden For My Kids
She Drank A Worm
I ate a worm for $20. to anyone who's interested, they taste like unseasoned rice
Parents face a laundry list of struggles daily. For Marion, the biggest hurdle is finding a way to include her children in her plans.
"My time is now a more precious resource, and for me to do anything without my children in tow is a major organisational feat," she told Bored Panda. "And that every conversation with me, as a parent, is through a lens of how something affects Me AND my children. They are the centre of my universe. Not me."
My Kid Bit My Washing Machine, And Now It Leaks
I Lost My Aldi’s Quarter. Luckily My 4-Year-Old Found It And Is Keeping It In A Safe Place
Spent A Pretty Penny Going To The Aquarium. This Was The Fish My Son Was Most Interested In
Who Needs A GoPro
The camera has to be water-resistant if the parent let the kid take it into the pool, right? Right???
People have their reasons for choosing to become parents. For Marion, it's more about the journey to personal growth.
"Parenting for me has been an internal journey as much as external. It's a chance to forgive myself, learn about self-compassion, and continuously improve."
Grabby Grabby
My Friend’s Kid Did This To Their Pantry
"OK, Kid, your supper will now be one randomly chosen can from the pantry, until the bare cans run out."
Pulled Up To My Local Bar
He Wants Something To Make His Hair Grow Back Before School Tomorrow. Triplets And Beard Shavers Don't Mix
The triplet boys found their older brother's beard razor and decided to see what would happen. Chaos and calamity ensue.
How do parents of triplets survive.. how do they bring up their children alive and relatively healthy into atleast pre teen age .
Anna, a mother of two, had an "easy" time with her firstborn, Brynn. However, she had the opposite experience with her second daughter, Sophie, whom she described as "a good baby until she wasn't."
When dealing with Sophie, Anna admits to being more lax to avoid meltdowns. But ultimately, she chooses to rely on common sense.
"Everything I've read says I should be patient and consistent," she told Parents.com. "But patience and consistency are two things you have the least of when your child constantly pushes your buttons."
The Result Of The Kids Brushing Their Teeth. Apparently There Was Some Roughhousing And My Youngest Escaped Into The Safety Of The Shower Behind The Glass Door. They Found A Way In
Oh, goodness. When we were kids, we were playing in the house. We had a porch that got glassed in and turned into a big room, but we still had huge windows between the former porch and the rest of the house. One of the kids vising didn't realize there was a window and ran RIGHT through it. Very expensive window. My parents weren't mad at all because they were just glad the kid survived without a scratch!
A Large Coffee With A Shot Of Crayola, Please
PS5 In For HDMI Replacement. Kid Said “I Pushed The Cable In A Little Too Hard”
It is a simple fixing but i says a lot about the kid, must have force his a*s out doing that
Surprised My Daughter With A Fishing Trip. It Lasted 15 Minutes
I Just Found My Son In The Bathroom Like This. "Like Sonic!" No Words. Yes, It's Hair Dye
Other parents find workarounds through compromise. Rachel is a mother of two whose ten-year-old son had been diagnosed with ADHD and autism. She ran into trouble once when her child reluctantly signed up for a recorder concert.
Rachel did get her son to push through with the performance but agreed to have him wear a soft polo instead of a button-down dress shirt.
"I had to balance how much to push him with how much he was struggling and whether it was because of his diagnosis or just defiance," she said.
Left My Teenage Son With The Pizza
Grandparents Bought This Terrifying Doll For My Daughter. Now My Wife Has To Suffer The Consequences
We bought our daughter, then 2, a very beautiful porcelain doll with angel wings and a halo. She stood at 3 ft. Our dog didn't like her and ripped the wings off. When I say that doll was possessed and moved on her own...dark closets didn't work. The doors always opened on their own. We sold her to an old woman at a garage sale. We told her the stories. She didn't believe us. I hope she's still alive!
I Asked My Son To Put The Drinks In The Fridge
This Is Pure Torture And They’re Just Feeling It
Jen is in a bind with her youngest daughter, Emma, whose fidgety behavior has caused problems within the family. But the mother of five girls also found the upsides to help her deal with the situation better.
"For instance, we have her sit at the end of the table at a restaurant because we know she's going to want to pop up to go to the bathroom. Plus, we all find value in it: She's also happy to jump up to get more crayons or napkins or an extra menu."
You Hated That Planter Anyway
10-Year-Old Son Broke A Double-Pane Window With A Ping-Pong Shot
Kids Took Off With My Hair Brush. Later On, I Found It Like This
Sometimes The Simplest Answer Is The Correct One
Daughter Stole My Keyboard To Play Minecraft And Left A Replacement
My Son Vandalized Our Bathroom And Blamed It On A Monster
A monster called Liam, apparently. Monster was trying to frame your kid. They're like that.
In some cases, children act up with only one parent. Writer Pamela Brill experienced this with her daughter, who is much more relaxed when with her father.
Brill initially thought she was the problem. However, according to UCLA child development specialist Karen Dudley, the child is more fussy with her mother because she feels most secure around her.
"The primary caregiver is generally the person with whom a child feels most comfortable expressing his strong feelings," Dudley told Brill in an interview.
Chaotic And Messy
It Was Too Quiet. Thankfully, It Was Cornstarch This Time. Last Time, It Was A Pound Of Butter
All Day My 45-Year-Old Husband And 12-Year-Old Son Have Been Playing "Last Hit" (Hit Each Other And Run). I've Begged Them To Stop, Or At Least Go Outside
The kid tripped on the stairs and ran into the wall. We have company coming tomorrow.
My 6-Year-Old Swung On The Gate Once
Got Bit By A 3-Year-Old
No kidding - my son did that once and I bit him (no mark but a zing) on the cheek - never again.
My sister did this to her daughter when her daughter bit her. It never happened again. Kids are little monsters!
Load More Replies...Been there, oldest nephew (who is now 21) when he was a baby headbutted my arm and bit down hard. Left the most green and purple bruise fir weeks after
My nephew bit by brother and made it bleed once, reminds me of that. Brother's 4, nephew is 2
My brother bit our cousins leg once while roughhousing. Brother had just gotten his smallpox vaccine. (Remember that blister it caused, & the scar it left?) Guess who has a smallpox vaccine scar on their leg some 60 years later?
Oh no, just like with every other animal, you have to chop it off and send it to the testing center to make sure it didn't have rabies
Tore The House Apart For Over An Hour, Had Enough, And Went To Make My Son Breakfast
Finally Found My Missing AirPods! It Turns Out My 4-Year-Old Daughter Got Ahold Of Them And Put Them In The Toaster
Daughter Left The Garden Hose Running Outside All Night And It Managed To Flood My Basement
Dudley explained that a child's misbehavior could also result from their brain's rapid development.
"A toddler's memory is improving, so he will remember what he wants more often," she said, adding that young children at this stage are still learning about developing relationships with other people and how far they can test certain limits.
Thanks Kids, I Really Appreciate It
Digging Through The Car For Change To Buy Gas
Work Of Art
My Daughter Found The Sharpie In My Car. RIP Resale Value
At Least No Carpet Damage
My 3-Year-Old Son Decided To Microwave Our 3DS
4-Year-Old Put Cupcakes In My Dress Shoes
He's Smiling In The Photo, But 10 Seconds Later, When I Had To Sponge Him Up Really Hard Before It Got Dry, People Thought I Was Torturing Him In The Bathroom
Lesson learned. I'm buying the cheapest kinds of eyeliners that are not so waterproof.
My 12-Year-Old Defeated The Car Today
My 4-Year-Old Made My AirPods For Mother’s Day By Cutting The Cord Off My Headphones
One Of My Kids Broke My Glasses
Got My PS5 Less Than 24 Hours Ago. I Love Having Kids
When a child begins to push those boundaries, Dudley advises against constantly giving in. However, she also stressed the importance of giving notice of the sudden shift in dynamics.
"Every moment of play is your child's work, so you need to give her forewarning of change."
My Son Loves White Chocolate
While Moving My Daughter Out Of Her Apartment, A Couch Was Dropped On My Head
I like the use of the passive voice... not "she dropped" but "it was dropped".
I Asked My 10-Year-Old To Clean The Baking Tray
If you struggle with your parenting journey, Marion has some important advice: "Don't underestimate the power of resting." It also helps to ask for assistance when needed.
"The mess will always be there. If people judge you for the pile of dirty dishes and unwashed laundry, then they aren't your people," she said.
"Also, if visitors come by to see the baby, ask them to do some errand or small house task that you won't have the energy for as well. This used to be the way a village worked and is the way humans evolved.
"Our modern societal expectations of everything looking perfect and a mother doing all the things is evolutionarily unsustainable."
It's My Daughter's Birthday And I've Made Her A Cake. It's Been Cooling Down In The Fridge. Let Me Just Check On It Real Quick
When I was young, some of these would have worried me, made me wonder if I was failing as a parent, whatever. I'm an old man now. I have two things to say about this. 1. They're just things. Someday you'll wish you had fewer things cluttering up your house and your life. Things break. Things can be replaced, or you can live without them. Things get messed up, scratched, whatever. 2. Someday kids grow up, move out. When my youngest son left home, the house was too clean and too quiet. Made me feel really old and sad.
OMG what's with all these helicopter parents nowadays that demand to ALWAYS have an eye on your kid? They're kids, they do s**t and learn. We learned these lessons too when we bruised a knee or worse when we didn't have our eyes open when we ran around the house or outside. Jesus.. Let them kids be kids.
Exactly, some are like "my kid left the room for a second and knocked over a plant" and the replies will ask why the parent wasn't constantly watching them
Load More Replies...Every single one of these is yet more reasons for why I never want kids
This is why I never understood why a lot of landlords don't allow pets, but kids are ok.Some pets can be destructive, but did you meet a toddler?
It's a miracle anybody has children ever. I just don't understand it. Anybody considering whether they do or don't just look at these first.
Send all of these parents some books on how to parent! While genuine kids being kids can be funny, most of these are kids being kids in a way that shows parents are not being parents due to negligence or leaving dangerous things or permanent markers within reach. If you have antiques, put them in a room that stays closed. Markers, pens, scissors, etc. go out of reach. DOH
When I was young, some of these would have worried me, made me wonder if I was failing as a parent, whatever. I'm an old man now. I have two things to say about this. 1. They're just things. Someday you'll wish you had fewer things cluttering up your house and your life. Things break. Things can be replaced, or you can live without them. Things get messed up, scratched, whatever. 2. Someday kids grow up, move out. When my youngest son left home, the house was too clean and too quiet. Made me feel really old and sad.
OMG what's with all these helicopter parents nowadays that demand to ALWAYS have an eye on your kid? They're kids, they do s**t and learn. We learned these lessons too when we bruised a knee or worse when we didn't have our eyes open when we ran around the house or outside. Jesus.. Let them kids be kids.
Exactly, some are like "my kid left the room for a second and knocked over a plant" and the replies will ask why the parent wasn't constantly watching them
Load More Replies...Every single one of these is yet more reasons for why I never want kids
This is why I never understood why a lot of landlords don't allow pets, but kids are ok.Some pets can be destructive, but did you meet a toddler?
It's a miracle anybody has children ever. I just don't understand it. Anybody considering whether they do or don't just look at these first.
Send all of these parents some books on how to parent! While genuine kids being kids can be funny, most of these are kids being kids in a way that shows parents are not being parents due to negligence or leaving dangerous things or permanent markers within reach. If you have antiques, put them in a room that stays closed. Markers, pens, scissors, etc. go out of reach. DOH