Every parent makes mistakes. However, if someone is genuinely interested in being the best mom or dad they can be and shows up for the job day in and day out, they will be alright.
The ones who are merely faking it, on the other hand, can't fool us forever.
To remind you that the truth will come out sooner or later, we have compiled a list of sad and infuriating stories people shared online about the worst parents they have ever seen.
#1 When Giving Up Isn’t an Option
Keith's mom. Keith was a 10th grader and I was new to teaching. He was such a pain in the neck. Didn't do any work. Mouthed off. Got other students distracted. I ended up calling his mom about half a dozen times, asking her to come in and meet with me to talk about the situation. She never returned my calls.
And then one day, out of the blue, she showed up to talk to me. She didn't look happy to be there but hey, at least she came, right? I thanked her for being there and began to talk about how Keith was doing. She looked around the room while I spoke, and her body language made it very clear she didn't want to be there. After a few minutes, she interrupted me, looking straight at me for the first time. "Look," she said. "I gave up on that kid a long time ago. You want to try to do something with him, you go ahead. I wish you luck." And then she got up and left.
I felt sick. This was her son. He was maybe 15, still a KID, for crying out loud.
In the days that followed, I thought about Keith a lot. In class, I did my best to see him through fresh eyes. I made a point of talking to him more. And at some point, I realized that for all the headaches he caused, I actually liked having him in class. Turns out he was a funny guy. He had a big heart. After a while he even started doing some work. Not a lot, but some.
One day, another kid in class was being really smug and obnoxious. Without warning, Keith punched the kid in the face. He sighed and looked at me. "I'm really sorry. Had to be done. I'll escort myself down to the office." I guess that was the last straw for the school, because Keith was sent to an alternative school in the district. A good one, thankfully.
I saw Keith one more time, about a year later. He came to my class, grinning, a report card in hand. All A's. "I decided it was time to get my $#*! together," he said, simply.
I never saw him again, but I heard he continued to do well. And I'm glad that though others gave up on him, he decided not to give up on himself.
And then one day, out of the blue, she showed up to talk to me. She didn't look happy to be there but hey, at least she came, right? I thanked her for being there and began to talk about how Keith was doing. She looked around the room while I spoke, and her body language made it very clear she didn't want to be there. After a few minutes, she interrupted me, looking straight at me for the first time. "Look," she said. "I gave up on that kid a long time ago. You want to try to do something with him, you go ahead. I wish you luck." And then she got up and left.
I felt sick. This was her son. He was maybe 15, still a KID, for crying out loud.
In the days that followed, I thought about Keith a lot. In class, I did my best to see him through fresh eyes. I made a point of talking to him more. And at some point, I realized that for all the headaches he caused, I actually liked having him in class. Turns out he was a funny guy. He had a big heart. After a while he even started doing some work. Not a lot, but some.
One day, another kid in class was being really smug and obnoxious. Without warning, Keith punched the kid in the face. He sighed and looked at me. "I'm really sorry. Had to be done. I'll escort myself down to the office." I guess that was the last straw for the school, because Keith was sent to an alternative school in the district. A good one, thankfully.
I saw Keith one more time, about a year later. He came to my class, grinning, a report card in hand. All A's. "I decided it was time to get my $#*! together," he said, simply.
I never saw him again, but I heard he continued to do well. And I'm glad that though others gave up on him, he decided not to give up on himself.
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79points
#2 When “Respect” Means “Excuses” Don’t Apply
I had the parents of a Muslim student demand to me that their son be excused while my student teacher taught lessons to the class because she's a woman and no son of theirs would be taught by a woman. I told them that's fine, but he's still responsible for the materials he missed (this would be every class over a 3 week period). They freaked out, called me a racist and went to the principal over my head who promptly told them that their son would be responsible for any material he missed.
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66points
In 2023, Dr. Konrad Piotrowski, a psychology professor at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Poland, published a study on parental regret. Piotrowski chose the topic because, despite parenthood being "one of the most important roles adults play," he found very little pre-existing research on the issue of regret, which he explains by its taboo nature.
"I quite often hear from my colleagues that they don't want to believe that parents can admit in a study that they regret having children," said Piotrowski.
But when he put out a call to recruit mothers and fathers who regretted parenthood, he was reportedly "contacted by dozens of people within a few days."
#3 Plot Twist: Babysitter or Bystander?
Some years ago I used to live above a trashy single mother in a 3 apartment house.
One saturday night around 2am there was a knock on my door and the 4 year old daughter from downstairs stood in front of me crying asking if i knew where her mother was. Wet pj and dirty bare feet from searching her mom outside in the garden...
That b***h went out partying as soon as the child was asleep and left her totally alone.
She can consider herself lucky that the cops I called arrived before she did...
One saturday night around 2am there was a knock on my door and the 4 year old daughter from downstairs stood in front of me crying asking if i knew where her mother was. Wet pj and dirty bare feet from searching her mom outside in the garden...
That b***h went out partying as soon as the child was asleep and left her totally alone.
She can consider herself lucky that the cops I called arrived before she did...
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55points
#4 Proof that toxic moms ruin glow-ups
I have a friend who is a great guy but super indecisive and procrastinates everything. He rarely does anything for himself because he gets all mentally paralyzed assuming he's going to do it wrong. Very passive guy, always asking me for help with everything and "how do I do this, how do I do that" for anything he has to do.
Met his mom. Incredibly overbearing woman who constantly berates him. She does everything for him because, in her words, "he would just do it wrong anyway". She belittles everything he does and every conversation involves heaps of criticism and fault-finding.
After meeting her, I had much more empathy for my friend. Of course he assumes he's going to screw everything up. Of course he doesn't do anything for himself. I started making sure to point out the things he does well and heap on the positive affirmation, even for little things that feel almost patronizing (ever try telling an adult that he did a great job buying his own clothes? Feels almost belittling. But he's never heard that from anyone before because his mom would never say it to him and nobody else in his life realized he needed to hear it). Helped him gain some confidence.
He's doing a bit better now. He moved out of his mom's place and is learning he's actually a pretty decent guy, not an incompetent pile of garbage. Sometimes he can even see how toxic his mom is. It's a process.
Met his mom. Incredibly overbearing woman who constantly berates him. She does everything for him because, in her words, "he would just do it wrong anyway". She belittles everything he does and every conversation involves heaps of criticism and fault-finding.
After meeting her, I had much more empathy for my friend. Of course he assumes he's going to screw everything up. Of course he doesn't do anything for himself. I started making sure to point out the things he does well and heap on the positive affirmation, even for little things that feel almost patronizing (ever try telling an adult that he did a great job buying his own clothes? Feels almost belittling. But he's never heard that from anyone before because his mom would never say it to him and nobody else in his life realized he needed to hear it). Helped him gain some confidence.
He's doing a bit better now. He moved out of his mom's place and is learning he's actually a pretty decent guy, not an incompetent pile of garbage. Sometimes he can even see how toxic his mom is. It's a process.
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55points
Piotrowski developed a scale for measuring their regret and applied it across two broadly representative sample groups, estimating that in developed countries, 5% to 14% of parents regret their decision to have children and would choose childlessness if they could turn back time.
His paper referenced a 2013 Gallup poll that asked US parents over 45 how many children they would have wanted if they could re-do their lives. Of those surveyed, 7% replied that they would choose to have no children.
#5 When fandoms feel more like family than blood
Met a kid at a convention. He was super cute and cosplaying as a character from the same fandom as me. Months later, his dad finds me online and tells me the kid had committed s*****e. Was super devastated cause he seemed really sweet and like a great addition to the con community. Attended the funeral and met the rest of the boy's family. His mom's first words when meeting me were "I'm sorry, I don't speak Geek-enese," and then proceeded to s**t on her late son's interests.
Yeah... and that whole family all probably wondered why he would do such a thing. And they're probably still scratching their heads to this day. It infuriates me.
Yeah... and that whole family all probably wondered why he would do such a thing. And they're probably still scratching their heads to this day. It infuriates me.
52points
#6 Money Can’t Buy Normal
One of my best friends. Met her in middle school. She always wore the same hoodie, two pairs of jeans, one pair of shoes that were busted out and duct taped together. Never judged her for it, I just felt bad figuring her family was super poor.
When I finally went to her house I was shocked. It was huge and in a super nice neighborhood. She had her own computer in her room (back then this was a big deal). I was blown away by all of this, my family was poorish but my shoes weren’t duct taped together.
Turns out her mom was addicted to painkillers, and did nothing but sit in a chair reading, drinking wine, and chain smoking all day every day. Her dad was also an alcoholic who was the head of a huge company in our state, so he was almost always working. I found out her parents simply never noticed she only had like one outfits worth of clothes and barely one pair of shoes. She didn’t want to bother them asking for a new pair as her dad was almost always at work, and her mom was never in a good enough state to drive.
Later on in our friendship I straight up told her when I first met her I thought she was super poor and her response was “I am poor. My family has money, that doesn’t mean I have money”. To this day she’s a hard worker and doesn’t live off her parents money.
When I finally went to her house I was shocked. It was huge and in a super nice neighborhood. She had her own computer in her room (back then this was a big deal). I was blown away by all of this, my family was poorish but my shoes weren’t duct taped together.
Turns out her mom was addicted to painkillers, and did nothing but sit in a chair reading, drinking wine, and chain smoking all day every day. Her dad was also an alcoholic who was the head of a huge company in our state, so he was almost always working. I found out her parents simply never noticed she only had like one outfits worth of clothes and barely one pair of shoes. She didn’t want to bother them asking for a new pair as her dad was almost always at work, and her mom was never in a good enough state to drive.
Later on in our friendship I straight up told her when I first met her I thought she was super poor and her response was “I am poor. My family has money, that doesn’t mean I have money”. To this day she’s a hard worker and doesn’t live off her parents money.
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50points
#7 Babies at Bars: Who’s Really the Problem?
Parents who try to continue their pre-kid party life with their babies in tow.
I went to college in the archetypal college town, which means a street dedicated mostly to college bars. My friends and I would do bar crawls, and would always end the night at this one pub. Anyway, on this particular occasion, it gets to be that time of night and we take our table and start talking. I'm telling a story where I happen to say the word "f**k." The couple next to me turns to me and angrily says "hey! Watch your mouth lady, there's a child here." And for about two seconds, I felt horrible, until I realized they were the ones with a 3-year-old in a college bar at 11:45 at night.
I went to college in the archetypal college town, which means a street dedicated mostly to college bars. My friends and I would do bar crawls, and would always end the night at this one pub. Anyway, on this particular occasion, it gets to be that time of night and we take our table and start talking. I'm telling a story where I happen to say the word "f**k." The couple next to me turns to me and angrily says "hey! Watch your mouth lady, there's a child here." And for about two seconds, I felt horrible, until I realized they were the ones with a 3-year-old in a college bar at 11:45 at night.
47points
Of course, many of the behaviors we see on this list are inexcusable, but according to data from the Pew Research Center, many mothers (66%) and fathers (58%) do feel that parenting is a lot or at least somewhat harder than they thought it would be.
Additionally, sizable portions of mothers (47%) and fathers (34%) say being a parent is tiring and stressful (33% vs. 24%) all or most of the time.
Still, large majorities of moms – and dads – say they find parenting to be enjoyable and rewarding (shares ranging from 79% to 83% say this is the case all or most of the time).
#8 When “Mom’s Mad” Goes Too Far
An after school care parent of a 12 year old figured out it was me that called CPS. After threatening me in my office she proceeded to beat her daughter upside the head on their way down the stairs, declaring that no one would stop her from hitting her child.
Of course I called CPS again, as well as one of the fitness instructors downstairs to intervene.
Of course I called CPS again, as well as one of the fitness instructors downstairs to intervene.
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42points
#9 Leash the kid, not the chaos
I saw a lady leave her kids on a leash outside an ice cream shop. I mean, my parents had me on a leash when I was little because i was a little s**t who wouldn't hold hands, that's the right way to use a child leash. Your child is not a dog, you do not leave them tied to a bench. The point of child leashes is to keep kids safe while they can get some independence, not to be a neglectful idiot with a pet toddler.
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39points
#10 Parenting Fails You Can’t Unsee
As a grocery store employee, I see prime examples of stellar parenting often. Sadly, I see ten times more examples of s**t parenting all.the.time.
During the winter, this woman came in with four kids. SHE was bundled against the cold, but none of her kids had coats or jackets or anything of that sort. One of the little girls had on sandals over her socks. And it was the worst winter we've had in 20+ years. All of them were unkempt and just looked miserable. She bitched at them the entire time.
Once I saw a man drive his shopping cart into his daughter because she was "acting up." He knocked her into the shelves pretty hard, and stuff went everywhere. He then berated her while she cleaned it up. A woman who witnessed it actually called the police on him.
This one lady was completely ignoring her toddler who was standing up in the baby seat of the cart. Her other kid was like "Mom! Mom! He's going to fall!" and dumb a*s woman just told him to shut his mouth. Well, sure enough, kid toppled over and it would have been SO bad, but this ninja dressed in street clothes leaped over and caught the kid just before he landed on his face. The mom was like "uh-oh!" and the guy berated her for being a dumb a*s.
I have more like that, but those are the ones that stick out.
During the winter, this woman came in with four kids. SHE was bundled against the cold, but none of her kids had coats or jackets or anything of that sort. One of the little girls had on sandals over her socks. And it was the worst winter we've had in 20+ years. All of them were unkempt and just looked miserable. She bitched at them the entire time.
Once I saw a man drive his shopping cart into his daughter because she was "acting up." He knocked her into the shelves pretty hard, and stuff went everywhere. He then berated her while she cleaned it up. A woman who witnessed it actually called the police on him.
This one lady was completely ignoring her toddler who was standing up in the baby seat of the cart. Her other kid was like "Mom! Mom! He's going to fall!" and dumb a*s woman just told him to shut his mouth. Well, sure enough, kid toppled over and it would have been SO bad, but this ninja dressed in street clothes leaped over and caught the kid just before he landed on his face. The mom was like "uh-oh!" and the guy berated her for being a dumb a*s.
I have more like that, but those are the ones that stick out.
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36points
#11 When “Dad Jokes” Go Dark
A little girl walking with her Dad stopped to rummage through some dandelions. The dad kept walking while she yelled at him to wait. She picked a dandelion and ran over to him to give it to him. He tossed it to the side and told her to "stop f*****g around."
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35points
#12 “And Parenting? Just a Suggestion, Apparently”
My niece's birthday party. She has a little brother and sister. Little sister gets a balloon ribbon wrapped around her neck, and her father casually glanced over, took note of the situation, then went back to looking at his phone.
I had to pull out my pocket knife to get the ribbon off the kid while she cried.
Same kids, different story. It's Thanksgiving and something is burning. Smoke starts filling the house and the little ones start coughing. Nobody moved, so I snatched them up and took them outside.
FFS, I don't have kids because I'm not responsible enough, but people who have kids to just be irresponsible with the lives of their children P**S ME RIGHT THE F**K OFF.
I had to pull out my pocket knife to get the ribbon off the kid while she cried.
Same kids, different story. It's Thanksgiving and something is burning. Smoke starts filling the house and the little ones start coughing. Nobody moved, so I snatched them up and took them outside.
FFS, I don't have kids because I'm not responsible enough, but people who have kids to just be irresponsible with the lives of their children P**S ME RIGHT THE F**K OFF.
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35points
#13 That poor kid had no chance
18 yrs old. Standing in line during the summer, big attraction, lots of people lined up in the bright sun.
Big fountain right by the line, the outer ring of which is some kind of black stone, just sucking up light and heat.
We were like 30' back, and I happen to look over at the fountain as this woman hoists her infant (unable to stand/walk under their own strength) up onto the black ring. Barefoot. Poor kid is immediately doing this hopping kind of motion trying to pull her legs up, which makes mom shake her by the arm she's being held up by. Mom doesn't look at her, because mom is trying to do something on her phone. No one is reacting. Lady seems to reach someone on the phone and becomes deeply engrossed in conversation while her kid cries in pain.
I quickly walked over and put my hand on the stone and loudly (didn't mean to, was just surprised by *how* hot) said "holy c**p, it's so hot!"
Everyone nearby turned to look, and the woman had immediately pulled her infant away from me when I yelped. I just walked back to my parents in line. Lady kind of looked back at me for a moment with this "wtf is your problem?" face, before looking back at the fountain. She touched the stone and yanked her hand back fast, and she turned bright red before facing forward for the rest of the time we were in line.
Big fountain right by the line, the outer ring of which is some kind of black stone, just sucking up light and heat.
We were like 30' back, and I happen to look over at the fountain as this woman hoists her infant (unable to stand/walk under their own strength) up onto the black ring. Barefoot. Poor kid is immediately doing this hopping kind of motion trying to pull her legs up, which makes mom shake her by the arm she's being held up by. Mom doesn't look at her, because mom is trying to do something on her phone. No one is reacting. Lady seems to reach someone on the phone and becomes deeply engrossed in conversation while her kid cries in pain.
I quickly walked over and put my hand on the stone and loudly (didn't mean to, was just surprised by *how* hot) said "holy c**p, it's so hot!"
Everyone nearby turned to look, and the woman had immediately pulled her infant away from me when I yelped. I just walked back to my parents in line. Lady kind of looked back at me for a moment with this "wtf is your problem?" face, before looking back at the fountain. She touched the stone and yanked her hand back fast, and she turned bright red before facing forward for the rest of the time we were in line.
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34points
#14 Not your typical Christmas miracle
My boyfriend is very independent and self reliant and won't accept any help from anyone, including me. It took him 3 months to finally let me buy our dinner, because he never wanted me to pay for his food. During Christmas, I met his family. They are (for lack of better words) trailer park trash, live off the government in any way they can, front teeth rotting and some missing, haven't showered in who knows how long, money grubbers, etc. My boyfriend explained he learned how to be an adult when he was very young to get away from them and he never wants to live his life like they do.
34points
#15 This kid’s future doctor bills, probably
At a fast food place for lunch. There is a huge 300+ pound woman with her daughter who is about 6 years old.
The daughter is not fat (maybe plump) and eating straight butter. One pad of butter after another.
The mother stops her and says "Do you feel sick?"
Daughter says no. the mother says "Ok then, but once you feel sick you should stop".
Pretty sure the kid will not grow up healthy.
The daughter is not fat (maybe plump) and eating straight butter. One pad of butter after another.
The mother stops her and says "Do you feel sick?"
Daughter says no. the mother says "Ok then, but once you feel sick you should stop".
Pretty sure the kid will not grow up healthy.
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32points
#16 Plot twist, but the awkward kind
A woman smacked her child multiple times for going to pick up a McDonald's order from the counter, because it wasn't their order. It got really awkward when it became clear that it *was* in fact their order.
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31points
#17 Parenting Fail: Kids Aren\'t Listening, They\'re Learning
My least favorite thing is watching parents insult and talk badly about people in front of their kids. It ingrains in them that being nasty is okay, and that fosters terrible behavior in the future.
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31points
#18 Guess who skipped the seatbelt lesson?
But I had a friend who is a preschool teacher. She had a kid that told her she hated seat belts and won't wear it on the bus. Friend spoke to mother about it. The mother said she screams and refuses to wear it in the car, so she just gave up. The mother was speeding to get to the hospital on a rainy day, kid in the back seat jumping around. She hit water and skidded into a tree and the child was ejected. Died on impact.
Edit: Found the article after the crash. Did not hit a tree but flipped the car. Child still ejected and died of severe impact to the head. The article does not say she wasn't wearing a seat belt, but it is known that she was not. Mother was not charged.
Edit: Found the article after the crash. Did not hit a tree but flipped the car. Child still ejected and died of severe impact to the head. The article does not say she wasn't wearing a seat belt, but it is known that she was not. Mother was not charged.
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31points
#19 “I Didn’t Sign Up for This Drama”
Was taking care of a patient that had attempted s*****e; the patient was anxious and depressed but mostly cooperative. Then I met patient’s mother. Holeeeee f**k. Had I been raised by that person, I might have tried to k**l myself, too. Seriously, patient is in the ICU after a s*****e attempt and this woman was trying to make everything out about how bad this was for *HER*. I eventually got the patient alone and asked if patient wanted mom to leave—and then I lied my a*s off about our visiting policy and kicked that woman out for the night. We had a much better night after that.
31points
#20 If You Say It, Mean It
It's not as bad as some of the stuff here, but my sister-in-law always threatens to leave a place unless her kid behaves. But she has never followed through on her threat once, so her kid knows nothing will happen.
For example, they'll be at our house, and he won't sit down to eat his supper. She tells him to sit and eat or they'll leave. She will literally say this 20 times. She'll even say "Okay son's name, I'm getting up and we're going." Still no reaction. Then "Son's name, I'm putting on my boots." Still nothing.
Eventually she gives up. He doesn't eat his supper and they don't leave. This happens every time I see them. So he never behaves and she has him going to a psychiatrist to figure out why.
I'm the opposite with my kids. There are times they don't even get warnings. We were at a park to watch fireworks a few weeks ago when my six-year-old hit me twice in the groin because she got angry at something. I packed her up in the car and went home and put her straight to bed. She missed out on the fireworks while her sister and cousins got to stay up later.
Don't make threats if you are not going to follow through on them.
For example, they'll be at our house, and he won't sit down to eat his supper. She tells him to sit and eat or they'll leave. She will literally say this 20 times. She'll even say "Okay son's name, I'm getting up and we're going." Still no reaction. Then "Son's name, I'm putting on my boots." Still nothing.
Eventually she gives up. He doesn't eat his supper and they don't leave. This happens every time I see them. So he never behaves and she has him going to a psychiatrist to figure out why.
I'm the opposite with my kids. There are times they don't even get warnings. We were at a park to watch fireworks a few weeks ago when my six-year-old hit me twice in the groin because she got angry at something. I packed her up in the car and went home and put her straight to bed. She missed out on the fireworks while her sister and cousins got to stay up later.
Don't make threats if you are not going to follow through on them.
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30points