“Have kids, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.” You’ve likely seen this written everywhere, from Pinterest boards to bumper stickers. There’s even a podcast named after it.
It’s a statement each parent has also likely uttered at least once in their life. Children can be a handful, which, at times, can be hilariously frustrating for many moms and dads. And these photos perfectly encapsulate those moments, which can range from broken TVs to the accidental ingestion of coins.
We’ve collected these images from various corners of Reddit, and feel free to upvote the ones you connect with the most.
#1 We Found My Wife’s Phone In The Toilet Yesterday. We Weren’t Sure Which Of Our Three Kids Put It There... Until My Wife Scrolled Through Her Pictures Today
Image credits: footeperu
#2 My Daughter Just Said “Here Papa” And Put These In My Pocket. I Have No Idea Which Piece Of Cheap Furniture Is Now Dangerously Unstable
Image credits: Myomyw
#3 I Asked My College Age Son To Pick Up A Cake For My Brother's Birthday, His Uncle
We are having a lot of people over including kids and grandparents. He is not getting married and he isn't gay.
Image credits: watchthisorthat
A bad parent will likely flip out and dole out crazy punishment upon seeing such damage committed by their children. A good parent, however, would approach the situation without casting judgment. They understand that these are children being children.
“A good parent really activates curiosity over judgment in a situation with their kids,” child psychologist Dr. Becky Kennedy stated.
#4 The Face Of A Parent Who Had To Deal With The Fact That His Child Really Locked Her Mother In Her Bedroom Because She Got Her Mouth Stuck On The Doorknob From The Other Side Of The Door
I love and miss my dad so much, but this photo makes me laugh so hard. Bro was TIRED He also tried to teach me how to play backgammon multiple times, but I kept trying to eat the pieces. Shoutout to my dad. Best dad. Very patient man. He also used to bring me out on the deck at night to say goodnight to the moon. He'd be like "Say goodnight to Luna!" and I'd be like "Goodnight Moona!" because kids are stupid. But also, this man worked at NASA. He gave up the opportunity to go to outer space because he would miss me too much. Imagine giving up that opportunity just for your child to say "Moona" smh.
Image credits: maddie_johnson
#5 My 8-Year-Old Decided The Keyboard Should Be In Alphabetical Order
Image credits: a-patrick
#6 Looks Like The Younger Daughter Is Already Planning Her Inheritance
Image credits: meena
According to Dr. Kennedy, a more inquisitive approach may help parents understand why their child broke the 60-inch flat screen in the living room. She says that the mere use of the phrase “I wonder” makes you less judgmental towards the situation.
“Being the sturdiest leader for your kid involves equal parts very firm boundaries and parental authority as it does warm, validating connection,” Dr. Kennedy explained.
#7 My Kid Swallowed A Penny While Showing His Little Brother How He Accidentally Swallowed A Sim Key The Day Before
Image credits: StumpedatUserName
#8 I’ve Seen It Happen In Movies But Never Dreamed I Would See It In Real Life
Shocked children at bottom for extra OMG. “No kids it’s not Santa just Uncle Jeff trying to get the damn tree.” Merry Christmas, y’all!
Image credits: dowdspooka
#9 Neighbor’s Snot Nosed Kids Got Ahold Of Their Guns And Shot Through My Room
Image credits: BulkDarthDan
There is also positive parenting, which focuses on showing warmth and kindness. It’s more about guiding through encouragement rather than tough love. According to the UCDavis Health Children’s Hospital, it sends a powerful message that “You are loved, you are good, you matter."
#10 My 2 Year Old Started Cursing And I Thought My Teenagers Were To Blame So I Made A Swear Jar… It’s Been 5 Hours And It Turns Out I Am The Problem. I Will Be Broke By Monday
Image credits: MidKin1011
#11 Kids Can Come Up With The Most Creative Explanations
Image credits: bekindofwitty
#12 I Bought My Kid A Drone For Christmas, The Wife Doesn't Love It
Image credits: Cichlidsaremyjam
To employ positive parenting, UCDavis Health recommends a strategy of promoting good behaviors with PRIDE skills: Praise, Reflection, Imitation, Description, Enjoyment.
The idea is to take note of the good behaviors that counteract the bad behaviors the child has committed. If they acted aggressively, commend them the next time they are careful. If you caught them lying, recognize them the next time they tell the truth.
#13 I'd Like To Know How She Interpreted That
Image credits: UnstableIsotopeU-234
#14 Child Opened 3 Gallons Of Interior Paint
Image credits: rcmaehl
#15 At Least They Ate The Dinner You Made!
Image credits: dadmann_walking
To all you parents out there, we’d like to hear from you, especially. How do you handle such situations with your kids? Share your insights and colorful stories in the comments!
#16 Tornado-Driven M**der-Branch Impales My House Directly Above My Kid’s Bed
Image credits: Endarius
#17 I Give Him His Own Pot Of Dirt To Water Now, After He Waterboarded My Poor Succulents To Death
Image credits: 253Bigfoot
#18 Found A Blanket In The Box That Was Supposed To Contain My Kids’ Mini Air Hockey Table Christmas Present
It was a heavy weighted blanket to mask the thievery. My sister ordered this for my kids on Amazon. My kids were so bummed out even though Amazon is letting us return it.
Image credits: quietlikesnow
#19 Not A Single Pair In This Whole Hamper
Image credits: YankeeMagpie
#20 What My Son Did To My Duct Tape
Image credits: BlaccBlades
#21 Something Bit My Kids Ear
Image credits: bkulaga99
#22 Drove My 17 Year Old Son To Visit My Childhood Home
Image credits: gjawhar
#23 I Bought A Second Hand Book For My Kid And Didn’t Look Closely At The Cover
It’s in Latin. We don’t speak Latin.
Image credits: Irksomecake
#24 Just Bought Gallon Of Chocolate Milk For The Kids
Bumped it trying to put it in to the fridge and it noped right out of my hand. A gallon really doesn't seem like much, until you have to clean it off the floor. The splatter zone behind me was pretty impressive too.
Image credits: ArtsySAHM
#25 12-Year-Old Son Fell Off His Bike And Dislocated His Toe
Image credits: Demonika261
#26 Some Poor Kid’s Croc And Sock Jammed In The Escalator
Image credits: ventriclez
#27 My Kid Got This In Her Easter Basket. I Was Confused About Why She Didn’t Want It So I Took A Bite. It’s Soap
Image credits: hellogoawaynow
#28 My Kid Poured Candle Wax Down The Drain
Image credits: Texas12thMan
#29 My Kids Spent All Day Yesterday Making This Gingerbread House
I had my oven on preheat to make dinner and forgot they placed the house in the oven so my cat wouldn't ruin it in 5 seconds.... Well this is the aftermath. They're on the way home from school now and they don't have a clue yet. Happy Wednesday, I guess.
Image credits: 1Orangebraincell
#30 My Kid Is Practicing Her Name... In Nail Polish On The Wall... Of A Rental
Image credits: coffeebecausekids
#31 My Son Ate A Battery
Image credits: SpicyCrunchyVanilla
#32 Guess How Old My Son Is
Image credits: orthros
#33 I Asked The Kids To Check On How Many Eggs We Had Left, Quote "We Have Plenty"
Image credits: Mr_PoodlePants
#34 This One Count?
Image credits: condefle
#35 My Son Teased His Sister And She Threw A Switch Controller At My Parent's 75" TV
Image credits: cravenight
#36 My Daughter Taped This To The Front Door To “Prank” The Neighbors
Image credits: nataweb
#37 Three-Year-Old, My Wife’s Switch And A Glue Stick
Image credits: Venar
#38 UPS Tracking Says Our Pottery Barn Kids Package Was Delivered To Our Front Door
No packages at our house. Driving to work this morning, my wife sees this about 1/8 of a mile from our house. Those are our packages.
Image credits: king_scootie
#39 Wife Spent $60 On This Swiss Army Backpack And It Didn’t Even Last One School Year
For reasons I don’t understand all the kids at my child’s school refuse to use their lockers and insist on carrying every book they are given all day every day. Any parents on here have experience with a book bag that can carry the load equivalent of 20 bricks without shredding like wet toilet paper?
Image credits: Ecypslednerg
#40 While The World Is Fighting Over TP, My Toddler Is Giving Ours A Bath
Image credits: dmclb
#41 My 5-Year-Old Made A Cat Food Bath For His Sister
Image credits: reddit.com
#42 Had This Plate On Our Jeep For 3 Years. 3 Months Ago Dmv Contacted Us Saying Someone Complained About It And We Had To Get New Plates. We Got It Because Our Son Plays Baseball
Image credits: Hooliken
#43 Tanned A Bit Too Much While Wearing Shoes. Kids Call Them My Chimp Feet
Image credits: vectorious1
#44 Aftermath Of My Kid's Baseball Game. We Told The Dude He Should Not Park There. He Ignored Our Advice Since He Was "Close To The Field". Safelite Repair, Safelite Replace
Image credits: Hooliken
#45 Just Started Working From Home. My 7yo Is Brutal
Image credits: makeupisthedevil
#46 This Kid's Dad Paid 35$ For Him To Have A Window Seat
Image credits: jayeshrc
#47 Found My Kid's Watch He Lost 3 Months Ago
Image credits: penguinhardowski
#48 My Kids Welcomed Me Home From Work Today With Some Breaking News
Image credits: Taylorenokson
#49 Finally Replaced My Laundry Basket That Had A Broken Handle For 3 Years. Only For My Son To Break The Handle Of The New One Before Its First Use
Image credits: gonzo2842
#50 Guess I’m Not Making The Kids Cinnamon Rolls Today…
Image credits: JCtheWanderingCrow
#51 Bought A PS5 For My Son’s Birthday. Someone At UPS Swapped It Out With A Rock
Image credits: reddit.com
#52 Ordered My Kid A 6 Piece Nugget Meal, This Is What He Got In His Nugget Box
Image credits: SpectralShakti
#53 A Surprise Indeed. Have Kids They Said, It'll Be Fun They Said
The result of my 3 year old throwing a toy car at the screen.
Image credits: PurpleToaster91
#54 Traumatized My Kid Today
Apparently, if your kid wants to paint with gouache at 12am, you can’t refuse them. Seems like she will seek therapy when she’ll grow up to overcome this trauma.
Image credits: MyLifeIsForfeit
#55 Kid Set The Microwave For 20 Minutes Instead Of The Timer
Image credits: badabingerrr
#56 My Sons Accidentally Lost Their Football Over The Neighbor's Fence Yesterday. This Is How It Was Found Back In Our Yard Today
Image credits: buddahsumo
#57 I Was Going To Surprise My Kids With A Bag Of Churros
Image credits: deserving_porcupine
#58 Spent $500 To Take My Kid To See The Broadway Show, Frozen. Only To Discover We Were Sitting Behind A Family Of 6'8" Tall Giants. We Only Could See 20% Of The Stage At Any Given Time
Image credits: MaudeDib
#59 I Told My Stepson 20 Times Do Not Drive My Car
My lease is up, I got a buyer & I will make some good $ off the deal, no accidents, under mileage, no stains on the inside, and not a scratch on the exterior. He crashed it twice on the same day, a mile from the house and 200 yards apart from each crash.
Image credits: LowerBoomBoom
#60 Deer Hit My Car On My Wife’s Due Date For Our Third Child
Image credits: wellwhatishername
#61 On Vacation With My Kid: I Went To Check In At 2:30 And My Hotel Asked I Come Back In An Hour To Pick Up My Key Cards Because My Room Wasn’t Quite Ready
I came back to a line that literally spanned a city block, 100 more people behind me. They had only one single working bathroom and no water.
Image credits: Canonconstructor
#62 The Scratch My Kids Put On The TV
For some sense of scale it’s a 66’ TV. Happened the other day, it’s all I can see while watching it now. I’m 99% sure which of my kids it was but my wife says I can’t prove it so can’t do anything about it. No idea what he actually used to do this as the TV is pretty high (to try and avoid this sort of thing happening).
Image credits: RummazKnowsBest
#63 My 7 Y/O Brother Told Us That He Wasn't Eating Toast On His Bed
Image credits: Stoomley
#64 Left My Twins With A Drink And Inside Out On The TV. Called Them Up To Their Bath And They Arrived With Jet Black Hands. Wet Black Paint. It's Been 4 Days. I've Almost Got All The Paint Out
Image credits: Kelloggscocopoppers
#65 7-Year-Old Flooded The Upstairs Bathroom By Plugging A Sink And Leaving It Running
Image credits: WittyArgiope69420
#66 The Hairbrush My Daughter Leaves Hanging In The Shower
Image credits: maddogcas2383
#67 One Rain And All The Coal Dust In The Chimney Is Now In Our New Home
Carpet and some electronics (previously on the small table right under where it comes from) were affected. Fortunately electronics only have it on the surface.
Image credits: Golden_Wolf_TR
#68 I Forgot I Was Cooking Rice And It Burned. I've Been Scrubbing For An Hour And It Won't Clean! My Parents Are Gonna K**l Me
Image credits: SkepticDrinker
#69 My 11-Month-Old Had Enough Of My Spare Change Bottle. Would’ve Been Full In Another Month Or Two After 10 Years Of Saving
Image credits: Grundle__Puncher
#70 My Kid's School Charged Us $30 A Person For A Texas Roadhouse Dinner
Image credits: Born-Agency-3922
#71 McDonald's Forgot To Put A Patty In My Kids Burger
Image credits: BobSpookcastle
#72 My Roof Was Struck By Lightning Tonight And Now Water Is Leaking Into My Attic
Sheetrock beginning to sag in my kids' room. Been up since 0330 getting everything moved out of that room before the ceiling gives way. Rain is forecasted all morning.
Image credits: Like_Yoda_I_Am
#73 Mom Broke Her Tooth After Biting A Starbucks Sandwich. Turns Out There Was A Bone In The Sandwich
Image credits: reddit.com
#74 My Kids Bought These Pretzels For Me For My Birthday Yesterday. I Haven't Had A Single One Yet
Image credits: BreakfastBeerz
#75 Bought All These Treats To Do Activities With Kids... Only To Get Quarantined For Covid
Like the title says. This sucks. But on the bright side - I will save the treats for another event the school is hosting later on.
Image credits: legenddairybard
#76 Not Quite How I Wanted My Morning To Start
*I guess maybe I need to clean the taps more often, apparently this upsets people *Wedding ring is made of tungsten with a wooden insert - didn't realize it was a sink-k****r *I wasn't aware we overindexed so hard on dental hygiene - most family members have their own (smallest can't have full strength fluoride, eldest likes a particular brand, I'm in the middle of invisalign treatment, hence needing two different toothpastes and a flosser that I use to spread one of the toothpastes inside the retainers overnight) tube *We have kids, kids have friends over, apparently we overindex on dental hygiene, so we have spares on hand for when friends of kids come over
Image credits: olobley
#77 I Present To You - My Child
Image credits: DrManBearPig
#78 My Kid Doesn't Like To Have Cold Spoons When She Regears Leftovers
Image credits: simcowking
#79 I Got My Son Among Us And Then He Taped The Vent Lid To The Ground
Image credits: boitatnoice
#80 Kid Cleaned The TV With A Sanding Spong
Image credits: Bitter-Gur-4613
