Spectacular Parent Fail- AIBU to ask you about yours?

[toothfairy73]

Just had a relaxing afternoon as my DD (6) has an after school activity today. Parked up outside the school early, have a leisurely moment, stroll up to pick her up; only to discover I'm half an hour late. They've tried calling my mobile (I left it at home), they've called work and my husband (who is going out of his mind with worry), I'm mortified.

DD happy; she got to go to after school club and eat pizza.

AIBU to ask you about your parent failures to make me feel better....?

What I have found out is that children have no loyalty and they will hang you out to dry.

A number of people on this thread realised they'd forgotten an inset day when they reached school and nobody was there. But what if, like my late FIL, you didn't know that?

It was the 1960s, so parents weren't expected to deliver their children all the way into the building. He normally dropped them (aged 7 and 5) at the kerbside and they went into school on their own. Trouble was, he was chronically late taking the kids to school. This meant that he and the children were quite accustomed to the playground being empty when they were dropped off. So they thought nothing of it on that fateful day.

No doubt you can see where this is going. FIL dropped his kids and drove off. They walked across the playground and found the building locked and deserted. Being obedient children, having been told never to go near the main road, they sat and waited for several hours. Then they set off walking the seven miles home.

DH claims it was quite dark by the time they reached home, but that doesn't seem possible. They'd have been missed at school pickup time, which is before dark in the south of England.

I had really bad period pains and was lying on the sofa with a hottie. Dd aged 9 came into the room announcing that she had an awful tummy ache too.
Me: For goodness sake can I not even feel ill in peace?
Her: I’m going to be sick
Me: Drama Queen (she was)
Her: Bluuurrgh...com all over the floor.
I leapt up to look after her and later that day took her to hospital. She had appendicitis! Neither she nor I has ever forgotten it. I still go cold when I remember my selfish reaction. She teases me about it if her own kids are under the weather and I fuss.
Her: I’m sure it’s not appendicitis mum, just too much chocolate.

I once forgot to unpack and repack dds lunch box, so she had yesterday's crusts and an apple core for lunch Luckily one of her friends shared their lunch, but I felt absolutely terrible! I could have cried.

OK all of you.

I'm going to give you my mother's best epic parent fail and it will beat all of you.

I was 17 so it's not as bad as it would have been when I was 6 but.

My mother forgot to buy me Christmas presents.

No way sashh I would have gone NC for that😂

@sashh you win the internet!!

Ollivander, I think we might be twins separated at birth!

I was regularly sent to school with a sore throat, only to be sent home again a few hours later with a high fever and awful tonsillitis, a rash that was dismissed as a heat rash turned out to be German measles and a "bruised" hand was 2 broken fingers. My DB was sent to school with mumps (another "just a sore throat") and 2 fractures just below his elbow.

She used to be a nurse, so she should have known better!

@sashh My mum once forgot to cook Christmas dinner for my (vegetarian) sister. She was a young teenager living at home, so I'm not really sure how she forgot!

Not quite a parenting fail but whilst pregnant i continually left my car keys in the door of my car at the park and ride. It happened that often that the security guards would make sure they walked past my car to double check I hadn’t left my keys

When DD1 was a toddler I locked us out of our house 3 times in a week and several more times after that

@sashh

Oh, I don't know.... my mother managed to book a holiday and miss my sister's 40th birthday party (which was on her birthday)
........ I really can't imagine forgetting my DCs' significant birthdays to that extent.

I once dropped my 5 year-old at the edge of the car park of the dojo for her weekly judo class because I'd left her 2 year old sister asleep at home.... how was I to know that there was a notice on the door of the dojo which said the class was cancelled? Fortunately DD was rescued and brought home by a family friend who happened to be passing.

Happy kid - pizza! Sometimes our little mistakes make wonderful treats for the kids. Our two year old wandered off in a big shopping centre once. Huge panic, and he was eventually found the centre of attention in a cookie shop eating a giant cookie. Same kid got left at Beavers once when I got muddled about the times with the other one's Cubs, and the Beavers leader brought him home. Oops!

I don't go out and I don't drink. One night when DC were 3,4 and 7 I went out and I drank. DH wasn't with me and went off to work next morning. I woke up with an evil hangover at midday to find DD age 7 making jam sandwiches with cucumber and poppadoms for her brothers. It was a school day. They'd probably been awake since 7. I'm still trying to make it up to them.

I once forgot to unpack and repack dds lunch box, so she had yesterday's crusts and an apple core for lunch Luckily one of her friends shared their lunch, but I felt absolutely terrible! I could have cried I did that! My son had chosen school lunch but I'd forgotten to take out the packed lunch box from the day before so the school thought he was on packed lunch. I never did manage to find out from him what he ate!

I forgot the school disco and faced a very sad dd who said all the other children from after school club had been changed and taken up while she stayed with the other children in older years (whose disco was later).

My df asked if ds wanted to attend a sporting event - dh says no ds might be busy t hat weekend and looks significantly at me. Df has a total blank look and says 'oh well check the calendar and let me know'
Sporting event was the day of my 30th birthday

When I was pregnant with baby 2 I had bad morning sickness , so told daughter who was 5 to put her school trousers on while I puked , drove to school she said I need a wee I said alright I'll go with you so I could puke also . Realised she had no knickers on I had to tell the teacher both of us laughing , she was also pregnant so was very understanding I laugh Everytime I think of it she's 17 now