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“Yes, We Are In Therapy”: 30 Parents Share The Most Disturbing Thing They’ve Seen Their Child Do
Here at Bored Panda, we feature a good handful of stories about young children and the adorable things they say. But occasionally, we cover some oddities in a child’s innocent mind, some of which border on the realm of creepiness.
Today, you’re about to read firsthand accounts from parents who provided answers to the Reddit question: “What is the most disturbing thing your child has done?” Their responses were nothing less than shocking, with narratives about children talking to themselves, playing with a chef’s knife, and physically hurting another child over a toy.
Enjoy scrolling as you gain more insights about what goes on in a child’s mind.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Not my child, but a client's child. Before the incident I’m about to relay, she had been diagnosed with manic depression with psycho pathic tendencies. Anyway one day her mom is driving and she Realizes her daughter is super quiet in the backseat. She turns back to see what’s going on and her daughter is sitting there quietly with a pencil sticking out of her cheek. She literally stuck a pencil in her cheek without making a sound and then just sat there like it was normal. She was nine.
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#2
My 3 year old stuck her thumb out on the main road as if to hitchhike I was shocked and I asked where she learnt that from, she said she used to do that to get around when she was a big girl. That was creepy well for me anyway.
#3
My daughter told me about her imaginary friend... details... dress color... hair color... on and on and on. I stood there saying "oh that's neat" at 3am trying to coax her back to sleep. Then she said "oh she says she knows you. Her name is Mischa!" Growing up i'd also had an imaginary friend named Mischa. Instantly awake. She fell back to sleep a little later and I figured it was a fluke.
Couple of months later mom gave me a box of drawings she'd found cleaning out the closet from when I was young- 3 or 4- and while going through them my daughter grabs my arm and says "see- Mischa!" and pointed to a drawing I'd done from school titled "my friends". Same color dress (yellow) same hair color (reddish black). Nearly s**t myself. I don't believe in the supernatural, and nothing remotely like this has happened since in the 4 years since this happened and her imaginary friend has come and gone, but her sister is turning 3 and I'm waiting for the name again.
I don't remember the "girl" I used to play with in the woods by my childhood house, but my daughter had backstory that sounded very familiar. Id try to press her for details when all this was going on and my daughter would just giggle and say "you know, dada, you just forgot. That's ok." and pat my arm and walk away.
#4
About 2 months before I got pregnant with her, I had a miscarriage. So here she is, about 3 years old and she starts to apologize, "mommy I'm sorry I had to leave you" I asked her what she meant, she said "I was in your belly but I had to go away, then I came back and stay and I'm here now." she didn't know about the miscarriage.
Red PANda (she/they/he/ze) 2 months ago
I’ve heard several stories similar to this. I hope they make people feel better about their miscarriages
#5
I came here in hopes of feeling better about myself and my son (4yrs)..... But here we go.
My son, for over a year has been afraid of something green in the same spot on the ceiling. He continues to tell me, "shh, don't wake the Grinch."
At day care, he has face stomped a kid at nap time, because he took a toy horse from my son on day one at the day care.
Used a toy stethoscope to choke a kid ( because he wanted the toy) when I tried to explain how it hurt the kid, my son told me, well he didn't say anything.
No child, he didn't say anything because he couldn't breathe.
Yes, we are in therapy.
#6
Woke up to my Mom's house mate's kid (5 years old?) sneaking through the house with a 10" chef knife at like 2am. He gave me the knife and I asked him what he was doing. He said he was afraid of "the man who walks around in the yard at night" and said he was out there now.
I hyped up both my dogs and we searched EVERYWHERE. Yard, shed, barn, under the house, ect. Didn't find anyone. Super worrisome.
The next morning I told his mom and she was like "oh yeah, he just does that sometimes. It's like his monster under the bed or whatever." She just put the knives on a shelf he couldn't reach.
#7
At four years old, she came two floors downstairs in the middle of the night and asked which of us was rattling her doorknob trying to get in her room.
Spoiler alert; it was neither of us.
#8
Put a very hot pepper in his mouth.
Cry. Wheeze. Cry again. Exclaim that he hates it.
Then proceed to do it again.
Didn't cry the second time.
The f**k.
#9
I'm thirteen years older than my sister, so I basically functioned as a third parent, and I've always thought she was a touch off. When she was about four or five, she had a phase where she kept tying her toys together. I'd come in a room she had been playing in, and she'd have a string wrapped around a toy horse's neck, then wrapped around a lamp, then wrapped around a doll's neck, then wrapped around a chair leg--and there'd be several strings and ropes tied in this way.
Literally the entire room would be a web of toys and strings. It looked like a child's version of a SAW movie, and it was a pain in the butt to help her clean up. One day when I was watching her I told her not to do it, she agreed, and then I came back in not too long after and she had somehow done it anyway.
She was sitting in a chair looking at me indirectly, like she was nervous. I was irritated and asked her why she did it after she said she wouldn't, and she said the most future-serial-k*ller sentence I have ever heard: Sometimes I just do things and I don't really understand why I'm doing them.
#10
Not a parent, but me freaking my parents out--
My mom used to get migraines a lot when I was little. I had a small stuffed animal named Peaches, and I guess I was scared or nervous about my mom's health and trying to deal with it because apparently I decided that Peaches got a lot of migraines too. This went on for a while-- I had to take care of Peaches because he always had headaches. I must've been four or five at the time.
Then someone left the TV on by accident and I saw a news segment about acupuncture. I was overjoyed and went into my mom's sewing kit and stuck a whole bunch of push-pins deep into Peaches' head. Nobody noticed right away and I think it was a few days later when my mom or dad saw me carrying Peaches around and noticed a shitton of needles crammed in there. My uncle asked me why I did that and I was calm and content when I looked at him, shrugged, and said *"Peaches doesn't have headaches anymore."*
Since he didn't know the backstory, according to him it was the creepiest thing I've ever said, like a little pigtailed psychopath. It took my parents a bit of digging to figure out my rationale and where it came from, and that I'd been trying to fix, not kill, my favorite stuffed animal. It was pretty straightforward for them to explain "uhhh.... no, never do that" but hopefully they moved the sewing kit to a higher shelf anyway.
Red PANda (she/they/he/ze) 2 months ago
Glad that she tried it on Peaches and not her mom first!
#11
My daughter ran into my room at like 1:30 in the morning and told me there was a man watching her through her window. I ran outside ready to beat the s**t out of someone and to my surprise, there was no one there. In confusion i looked through the window only to see her covering her eyes. I waited untill she opened her eyes to tell her that its alright but next thing i know she yelled "LOOK OUT DAD". I turn around and threw a punch, and hit absolutely nothing. She then ran outside with a knife and stabbed the floor and said "we did it , we k*lled it". I asked her to draw a picture of "it" and she drew something that resembled a red enderman. I was confused as heck but i played along and celebrated. She never did anything like that again but that was weird as heck.
#12
She dipped her chocolate muffin in ketchup. And then she ATE it.
#13
Not parent, but brother who is 14 years younger than me.
Our parents were out and my sister was looking after our brother. He had gone to bed, and she went to close his door. As she did, he bolted up and had a huge grin and he just told her, "The man is coming for us. He likes the darkness."
My sister kinda just froze, nodded, said okay, walked over to him and pushed him (gently) back down onto the bed, walked out of the room and turned on every single light in the house.
I'm.Just.A.Girl 2 months ago
Call me a wuss all you want, I'd do the same. I never believed in supernatural things until I saw some things that I couldn't explain. There is more out there than the material world.
#14
I was a newly single parent, working on a divorce, first (very small) apartment I achieved on my own, post separation. I decided to get my kids a cat. My then 5 year old, who has a few behavioral disorders (adhd, odd, spd, ptsd). She’s struggling to cope and manage her disorders so she has to be watched closely at all times. One day she’s playing with the cat and I hear the microwave shut. She was not allowed to use any kitchen appliances on her own. So yup, if you guessed she put the cat in the microwave, you’re correct. Luckily as soon as I heard it I jumped up and ran. She didn’t turn it on, but she did find herself grounded, including from the cat.
Another time, almost 2 years ago. Still struggling with all of her behavioral disorders. I had moved into a bigger house, safety plan still in place for said child. We are about to watch a movie or something, and get everything ready (snacks, blankets etc) and child goes missing. She liked to hide in places and not come out until she was found. After searching all of her hiding spots, she’s still not found. After about 30 minutes of looking (felt like an eternity) and about 5 minutes before I called 911. She turns up at the front door. Absolutely filthy. Pupils dilated to the size of saucers. Her excuse was “the cat wanted to show how he gets in and out from the basement” I have no idea what kind of narnia a*s wardrobe this cat took her to.
Roughly same time, said child liked to draw, paint, and color. One day she brings me some of her art work. But this time, it is a story, or some sort of lyrics. At this time she was behind academically and didn’t know how to read, or write or words very well.. but here this letter talks about demons and how lost she would be without me. Some scary, eye catching stuff coming from your young child. I kept this letter, to remind all of us how far she’s come, hard times do get better
Needless to say, safety measures became more strict, psychologist was fired, meds put in place. She is no longer impulsive or defiant to this extent. She’s now struggling with sleep paralysis but we have made phenomenal grounds over the last year.
#15
My son was learning about the body and how organs function. When my husband woke up from sleeping in that weekend, he ran up to him and shouted "I love your organs!", then skipped away merrily. My husband had no context and was super weirded out until I explained, lol.
#16
He gets in trouble for making fingerguns at a kid during recess. Gets in punished. A week later, he takes a Nerf Triad to school because he didn't think finger guns should have gotten him in trouble. After I pick him up from school, as I'm discussing his actions with him, I turn out his backpack to find MODIFIED NERF DARTS with THUMBTACKS inserted into the ends.
This little punk doesn't realize how close his idiocy was to making the local news.
Dumb teenager 2 months ago
Jesus f**k keep a watch on this kid, especially if this is in America!
#17
My wife’s sister stabbed her with a sharp pencil in the eye when she was 2 years old because “her eyes were too big”. Needless to say, my wife was bleeding from her eye and still has a small mark on her eye ball from the pencil 23 years later.
#18
We live across the street from a graveyard and we get up super early to catch the school bus. So here we are at 6am standing at the dark bus stop all alone. My son points across the street and says: "Why is that man sitting by himself?" 😱
There was no one there. Nearly s**t myself. Thanks, kid.
#19
Perhaps not disturbing, but terrifying as a parent. We were on a vacation in Chicago staying at a random Fairfiled Inn or something downtown. Our bed was separated by a divider in the room and two of our kids were sleeping in a pull out couch on the other side. Around 3am awoke to sounds of velcro and it sounded like my kid was putting his shoes on (he was). Next thing I know I hear the hotel room door opening. I leaped further than I thought possible across the entire suite and was able to grab him just as the door was about to close and pulled him back into the room.
He was sleepwalking, but I shudder to think what might've happened if I wasn't roused by the sound of him putting on shoes.....
Me 2 months ago
Frightening indeed. Will close doors and may consider these portable alarms for the next time we stay away from home, as my son did the exact same thing, but at home. He was half asleep and said he wanted to visit his grandparents (who live downstairs) but fell in a deep sleep immediately when we put him in bed.
#20
3.5 year old threw literal rocks at his helpless newborn sister in her car seat because he was mad that we were leaving the park. Kids do some messed up stuff.
#21
Not really done, but said. My daughter at 3 years old once woke me in the middle of the night crying and shaking. She said she saw a ghost. I asked what the ghosts name was, she said she didn't know, followed by "I ask the ghost its name". The next morning, she calmly tells me that the ghost's name is Charlie. It was particularly odd, because she's not the kind of kid that's creative with names (every dog stuffed animal is named "Doggie", dolls are "Dolly", etc. So the ghost having a very clear, real name was unusual for her. For months she'd tell me about Charlie and how he hangs out in the tree by her window.
#22
My 8 month old son woke up at two in the morning laughing. Laughing hard. Staring right into the baby camera.
#23
I remember when my daughter was about...four, and my son was about 2, she gave him this dark look. He chewed off the head of her favorite cat doll.
"It would take more than fire to destroy you."
It was clear as a damn bell! She had a slight shudder, couldn't pronounce certain word well, but she said that sentence clear as day in a real angry tone.
Menacing Duck 2 months ago
yeah, I can relate. Priests have tried using normal fire on me, and boy oh boy is it embarrassing for them when I'm unharmed. Just use blessed water people!
#24
My son used to sleepwalk occasionally when he was little (6-8). One night he came over while his dad and I were sitting on the couch and told us “I don't like the people in the basement. They’re too loud.”
Good thing the couch was brown because someone may have pooped in my pants right then.
#25
I’m not a parent but I’ll be speaking on my parents behalf, as I did something pretty disturbing when I was a wee boy, much too young to remember. We were celebrating Christmas at my grandparents house in Louisiana and idk how it happened but at some point I gashed my hand wide open.
Usually a small child would scream and cry, but apparently I just waddled through the kitchen, completely expressionless, and into the next room over. In said room was a very old Bible, I think it was my great grandmas. My family noticed my lack of presence in the kitchen and went searching for me.
They eventually found me smearing my bloody hand all over the old Bible and tearing it’s pages to shreds. I’m not religious but this story has always creeped me out, idk what got into me, but I guess I was pretty metal back then lmao.
#26
My daughter has what I can only assume are nightmares. She doesn't recall them at all, and is still sound asleep when it's happening, but when it started I would hear her little voice getting louder and louder "no... No! Help [mom or dad]"
Daddy rolled in hot the first time it happened, I was ready to ventilate someone. She was sound asleep.
Me 2 months ago
I know how this sounds frightening for those who hear the kids scream in their sleep, but it could have been a dream like my son, who talks in his sleep often, has once in a while: He screams and calls my name and than he says something like: more butter, please!! Nooo cheese! We forgot Waui (toy)!!! Me first!!!
#27
Not a parent. Older cousin who lives with younger cousin.
Hes a sweetheart and lovely. He was 4 at the time, hes now 5.
He said at breakfast, out of the blue, "Today is a good day to go on a m*rder streak." No one here is allowed to watch that stuff.
He showed me a drawing of him looking in a mirror and in the reflection a demon was there. He pointed to the demon and said "That's me." He ended up getting a mental evaluation. He's fine, just creepy. I don't have a picture. I can redraw it and post it if you wanna see it.
kansasmagic 2 months ago
If every kid who did something weird ended up a serial killer in adulthood, there would be a *lot* more serial killers.
#28
My 2.5 year old daughter told my wife "grandma is in the curtains". My MIL died several years ago 😳.
#29
My 12-year-old will occasionally scream while sleeping. It makes your hair stand up when you get woke from a deep sleep. I have also woken up in the middle of the night to see him standing right next to my bed. Sometimes just facing the wall or staring at me. He is always "sleep walking" and I can escort him back to bed. Trouble is, I never know how long he has been up. He never remembers any of it.
#30
My 10 year old hot wired the car and started backing out of the driveway.
Luckily I caught up to him and was able to hop in and stop it before it crashed into my neighbor's mailbox.
What do you think ?
Neb 2 months ago
I would say "66 more Reasons". These definitely aren't first.
Load More Replies...
Jaya 2 months ago
So many of these things are solved by realizing that little kids can't really tell the difference yet between reality, fantasy and dreams. And by realizing that kids are little copy cats who say random things they've heard others say, including on TV.
Rachel Pelz 2 months ago
Many parents underestimate the things kids see or overhears, like TV or internet. Some of these can be explained this way. Not all of them, I guess.
Lara Verne 2 months ago
Kids says dumb s**t all the time. My cousin, who was 4 years old back then, always said that neighbours have huge scary dog and it's trying to jump over fence into their garden .Neighbours didn't have any dog, but cousin was adamant that scary dog was right there, behind the fence. When we talked about years later, he admitted he never seen any dog.
kansasmagic 2 months ago
Based on these examples, I should have been "terrified" about a thousand times over by now. Do most people think that kids are just small adults? Kids do weird s**t!
2 months ago
I did weird things as a kid, I used to draw monsters and then fantasize about how I was murdering them in a whole other world. I genuinely thought that the world existed and had multiple dreams about it. Me mum also told me I used to hold my hand over my head and talk, but not directly to it?
Mari 2 months ago
A lot of kids hear and see things they cannot understand. They will think about it, fantasize or dream about it. If it happens once or twice the best thing you can do is ignoring it. Only if your kid is really terified or the behaviour is alarming, you have to find out more about it. What can cause it? What can you do to help your child? Does your child need therapy?
Jessica SpeLangm 2 months ago
Hardly any of these are creepy. They are mostly stupid s**t kids do or say, because they don't fully understand what they're saying means. These parents either need to read books on stupid stuff kids say and do, or ask their own parents about this before making themselves look like idiots on social media.
Sue 2 months ago
I used to watch old reruns of Art Linkletter on "Kids Say the Darndest Things." One of the questions he always asked was, "What did your parents say not to do or say when you get up here?" Some of the answers were priceless.
Load More Replies...
Koalafied to komment 2 months ago
So you neither have met any children nor have you been a child yourself? 😉 Stuff like this happens everyday, the stories sound realistic.
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whyamihere? 1 month ago
Once, when I was younger (around 7) I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like someone was watching me. I looked over to my doorway and there was a woman standing there. I just laid there staring at her till she went away, being a fearless/stupid kid, I followed her. Sadly she disappeared and I never saw her again. In the morning I asked my mom if she had checked on me in the night, she said "no." looking back I'm not surprised this happened, our door was never locked and we had multiple windows broken.
Karl der Große 2 months ago
I once had a reputation as a pedantic skeptic among people I knew, but seeing how my own children had very specific preferences, affinities, and talents from the time they were very small, it is hard not to believe that they may have been here before.
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 2 months ago
Or that, you know, they're just perfectly normal human beings?
Load More Replies...
Pandamonium Pandas Pandie 1 month ago
when my lil sis was about 3yo, she would scream in at random times and when we asked her what was wrong she said:there's a red man there, there's a hole with yellow spots, (after she learned the word somehow) there's a demon with wings! It freaked me out, she doesn't do that anymore, but still...
KatSaidWhat 2 months ago
Mom: who are you talking to? Me: the girl in my room what girl? The one who used to live here. Yeah, she died in that room. Brother used to speak to someone as well at night. There was a guy in our pantry. Weird light flash and a loud booming sound one night (no storm). That house had history.
Heather Atwood 2 months ago
So we lived with my parents in 1996 for a bit while building a house. My son was 2.5 and had never seen Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck etc (it was not on TV then and we had no videos etc). One morning he told me that Daffy Duck was in his bedroom the night before. He referred to Daffy several times but no idea why. Fast Forward 3 years and we were at an amusement park where there were costumed actors in Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck suits. He saw the Daffy Duck and just took off running and screaming. My folks' house is notoriously haunted and I think something manifested like Daffy Duck. Creepy.
Neb 2 months ago
I would say "66 more Reasons". These definitely aren't first.
Load More Replies... Jaya 2 months ago
So many of these things are solved by realizing that little kids can't really tell the difference yet between reality, fantasy and dreams. And by realizing that kids are little copy cats who say random things they've heard others say, including on TV.
Rachel Pelz 2 months ago
Many parents underestimate the things kids see or overhears, like TV or internet. Some of these can be explained this way. Not all of them, I guess.
Lara Verne 2 months ago
Kids says dumb s**t all the time. My cousin, who was 4 years old back then, always said that neighbours have huge scary dog and it's trying to jump over fence into their garden .Neighbours didn't have any dog, but cousin was adamant that scary dog was right there, behind the fence. When we talked about years later, he admitted he never seen any dog.
kansasmagic 2 months ago
Based on these examples, I should have been "terrified" about a thousand times over by now. Do most people think that kids are just small adults? Kids do weird s**t!
2 months ago
I did weird things as a kid, I used to draw monsters and then fantasize about how I was murdering them in a whole other world. I genuinely thought that the world existed and had multiple dreams about it. Me mum also told me I used to hold my hand over my head and talk, but not directly to it?
Mari 2 months ago
A lot of kids hear and see things they cannot understand. They will think about it, fantasize or dream about it. If it happens once or twice the best thing you can do is ignoring it. Only if your kid is really terified or the behaviour is alarming, you have to find out more about it. What can cause it? What can you do to help your child? Does your child need therapy?
Jessica SpeLangm 2 months ago
Hardly any of these are creepy. They are mostly stupid s**t kids do or say, because they don't fully understand what they're saying means. These parents either need to read books on stupid stuff kids say and do, or ask their own parents about this before making themselves look like idiots on social media.
Sue 2 months ago
I used to watch old reruns of Art Linkletter on "Kids Say the Darndest Things." One of the questions he always asked was, "What did your parents say not to do or say when you get up here?" Some of the answers were priceless.
Load More Replies... Koalafied to komment 2 months ago
So you neither have met any children nor have you been a child yourself? 😉 Stuff like this happens everyday, the stories sound realistic.
Load More Replies... whyamihere? 1 month ago
Once, when I was younger (around 7) I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like someone was watching me. I looked over to my doorway and there was a woman standing there. I just laid there staring at her till she went away, being a fearless/stupid kid, I followed her. Sadly she disappeared and I never saw her again. In the morning I asked my mom if she had checked on me in the night, she said "no." looking back I'm not surprised this happened, our door was never locked and we had multiple windows broken.
Karl der Große 2 months ago
I once had a reputation as a pedantic skeptic among people I knew, but seeing how my own children had very specific preferences, affinities, and talents from the time they were very small, it is hard not to believe that they may have been here before.
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 2 months ago
Or that, you know, they're just perfectly normal human beings?
Load More Replies... Pandamonium Pandas Pandie 1 month ago
when my lil sis was about 3yo, she would scream in at random times and when we asked her what was wrong she said:there's a red man there, there's a hole with yellow spots, (after she learned the word somehow) there's a demon with wings! It freaked me out, she doesn't do that anymore, but still...
KatSaidWhat 2 months ago
Mom: who are you talking to? Me: the girl in my room what girl? The one who used to live here. Yeah, she died in that room. Brother used to speak to someone as well at night. There was a guy in our pantry. Weird light flash and a loud booming sound one night (no storm). That house had history.
Heather Atwood 2 months ago
So we lived with my parents in 1996 for a bit while building a house. My son was 2.5 and had never seen Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck etc (it was not on TV then and we had no videos etc). One morning he told me that Daffy Duck was in his bedroom the night before. He referred to Daffy several times but no idea why. Fast Forward 3 years and we were at an amusement park where there were costumed actors in Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck suits. He saw the Daffy Duck and just took off running and screaming. My folks' house is notoriously haunted and I think something manifested like Daffy Duck. Creepy.
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