To ask for your terrible parenting stories

[Spanglebangle]

DS just fell down the stairs. I just took the dinner plates into the kitchen. One minute he was watching TV the next I come back from the kitchen and there's a thud and a scream. He's fine a bump on the head but cheered up after a few minutes and was his usual self, I spent longer crying than he did! He wasn't more than one or two steps up I just feel like complete shit this evening.

So please show me I'm not tho only 'bad mummy' with your stories.

I took him to visit a friend after about three weeks, when it was time to leave I forgot about him, I didn’t twig until I was walking down the road and my friend called me.

When bringing DS2 to meet my parents For the first time I managed to pack for the three of us, get new born and 20 month old DS1 fed and in the car and the dogs. I realised half way down the M60 that l had forgotten an essential part of the double buggy. Said "for fuck sake" which DS1 repeated loudly all weekend. Only stopped when I convinced him it was "piece of cake" 😁

Oh there's more.
I tried to pull the kitchen door to but something was stuck. So I pulled with all my might to shut it , only to realise that child 1's finger was in the door on the hinge side.
Bizarrely, she uttered not a sound ; suspect the pain was too shocking, and, yes, it resulted in two hospital visits .

However, she will never let me forget, what she laughingly calls the cruellest thing I've ever done.
She was about to get out of the car and I noticed that she had a hole in her black tights.
As someone who has Sharpies everywhere, I pulled one out and coloured in the hole on her tights.
I thought I was brilliant... she has never let me forget this.

Sadly I see too many examples of really horrifying abusive parenting through my work, it becomes a bit normalised but I'm not immune to it if that makes sense. It can be really upsetting.

All you 'normal' parents keep doing your best, learn from mistakes and don't deliberately burn your kids with irons and you're better than some.
And a plea from me that if you witness or suspect that a child is being abused please report, don't turn a blind eye.

I know that's not what you really asked for OP but 'terrible parenting' jumped out at me. Hope DS and you are both fine.

DS was being annoying one day one holiday. Usual whiny 4 year old type stuff but he was winding me up & DH wasn't helping.

We were in a cafe having lunch. I picked up my full glass of Coke. Now, I have weak wrist joints that sometimes give way. It chose this time to do it. And I dropped / poured the entire contents of my glass right into DS's face.

@Spanglebangle

Yes! Fingers in drawers is a big one here too!

And thanks, it's quite literally the only children's TV show I can stomach, I'm stealing the washy washy wash wash!!!
Dh sings the toothbrush song every night when he brushes ds's teeth.

@SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius

I have told this story many times before.

Many, many years ago, I let toddler ds1 eat tortilla chips from the bin. He was deep in the terrible twos, and had been tantrumming for best part of an hour (after a 90 minute scream-fest the night before), and I was on my last nerve - and on the phone to dh in tears because I couldn’t cope - and then it went quiet.

As quiet is always a bad sign with toddlers, I rang off and went to investigate, to find ds1 at the bin, eating some left-over tortilla chips dh and I had thrown away the previous night. But that isn’t the worst part - I knew that, if I took him away from his delicious bin-snack, he’d have another tantrum, and I couldn’t face it, so I let him carry on until he got bored and wandered off - and then I emptied the bin and found a better place to keep it.

He had no ill effects from this neglectful parenting, and now I use toe story as a way to reassure other parents - you may think you are not a good parent, but are you a bin-snack-BAD parent?

😂

Really worried about very uneven (but grade I listed house) terrace, I bought a big rubber backed mat to put in front of the steps to avoid trips.
Yep, he tripped on the mat, smashed his forehead on the slate steps and needed 6 stitches.

When DS was about 4, I used to do an exercise video - think it was Cindy Crawford - in the sitting room while he toddled about the made safe landing, kitchen, played in his room etc. Often he'd chat and play around me, it was quite fun tbh.

One memorable day I was doing the on all fours and kick your leg back thing - DS had decided to ride his little indoor trike into the room and caught my foot in full back swing - I pretty much punted him straight back out the door. He was fine, but obviously pretty shocked, and I hid the trike when I was doing it in future - I swear my heart actually stopped for a few seconds though!

I needed this today... My 18 month older tripped on his own feet in the garden today and has a nice head bump and graze down his nose. This is just after healing a black eye! Bruises & bumps are so frequent at the moment, it’s awful!

My worst one from my DD was the day she was around 3 and a half and decided she was going to get herself some water. Fine we had her cups low down and a low sink she could reach easily. 3 seconds later an almighty crash.

She has decided she wanted a 'big girl mug' so tried to use the microwave to pull herself up on the counter. Microwave fell off. It was one of those new fancy glass fronted ones.

I rounded the corner to see her sat on the floor surrounded by broken glass with not a scratch on her looking utterly perplexed. I picked her up cutting my feet to shreds and took her into the lounge.

Called DH and totally lost the plot, i was beside myself he had to come home from work.

DD was fine, I ended up in a & e having glass shards removed from my feet. Bloody kids!

I hit my son's head on the door of the fridge. I was always able to open it over the top of him when he was smaller until one day when he must have grown spontaneously overnight 🤦🏻‍♀️

DD was playing in a playground tree and fell out. She knocked her tooth out (it was a wobbly loose baby tooth) and we rushed home to clean her up and check her over. Went back in the afternoon to find the tooth for the tooth fairy but never found it!

Sent my then 7 year old DS to school after he'd come off his scooter the night before. Came home from work and his shoulder had dropped and bruised. Turns out it was a fractured clavicle.

Dd 2 fell off the side of the sofa when I went I to the kitchen. She was copying g her 4 year old sister. Both are climbers. How she didn't have a bruise! I have 4 kids and they have all had accidents. One time my necessary and nephews were round and one of the. Was about to shut their hand in the door where the hinges are and I just leapt forward and stuck my hand in there. They were shocked from me shouting to them that they moved their hand. God knows why I out mine in though and didn't push the door or grab the handle. my hand was very bad for months after that. Crushed my fingers.

I have two.. one per child.
At the age of 22 months, DD1 was discovered trying to enter the Officers Mess. About half a mile from our house, across the golf course. Luckily by her father, who was playing golf on the golf course. We hadn't realised she had escaped. (I did also have a newborn baby!)

I forgot to get DD2 from school. I did pick up DD1 from the same school at the same time...plus 3 friends for her birthday party. The deputy teacher called after me and luckily found it funny.

Left dc1 outside a shop in her pram and came home without her

Cut baby fingers while trying to cut baby nails

Banged baby head on doorway as didnt leave enough room while carrying sleeping child

Knocked dd1's tooth out

....they have all survived to adulthood

My eldest fell off our hi divan bed aged 3 months. It was the first time he rolled and he rolled the entire length in the 10 secs I nipped out for a vest. Was in such a state I took him to walk in to get checked and bamged his head getting him in the car. My youngest drank hand sanitiser and was drunk in a and e. He sat there rocking singing twinkle twinkle then promptly face planted the floor

Dropped my phone on newborn DD1s face when breastfeeding.

Both of them have fallen off the bed at varying ages.

Picking up DD1 to let her see inside the fire station whilst DD2 started rolling into the road in her buggy 🥴 bad one.

DD1 chased after the trolley & ran into the road whilst I was putting DD2 in the car.

Those are the ones that stand out. But hey, it’s been 4 years... could of been worse 🥴

One friends DC pulled a lamp off the coffee table and cut her head open requiring stitches.

Another friends DC fell downstairs & knocked herself requiring an ambulance.

Anything you can do, someone else has done better! Kids are sneaky, crazy ninjas.

My kid crawled out of the cat flap and into a side "gully" next to the house. It took me ages to find the key to the back door to go and rescue her. She was just sitting in the gravel, chilling out. It was freezing cold.

I was messing about waving DS1s rubber Thor hammer yesterday and accidentally hit 1 year old DS2 in the face with it
He was fine, I felt guilty for the rest of the day.

Trapped dd1’s fingers in the hinge side of the bathroom door. Did again a couple of weeks later to her cries of “Oh no, not again!” You’d think she’d have learnt not to put her hand there though!

@SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius thank you for the bin snack story today! You’ve made me feel better about DS1 sometimes eating DS2s dropped leftovers from the floor

@nattynoonoo821

My eldest fell off our hi divan bed aged 3 months. It was the first time he rolled and he rolled the entire length in the 10 secs I nipped out for a vest. Was in such a state I took him to walk in to get checked and bamged his head getting him in the car. My youngest drank hand sanitiser and was drunk in a and e. He sat there rocking singing twinkle twinkle then promptly face planted the floor

I know I shouldn't laugh but the pissed singing 😆

Mine are 8 & 10. So far I have:

Shut the boot door on one of my children

Accidentally locked one out and didn't hear them knocking for ages

One fell down the stairs

One fell back into a concrete floor and had mild concussion

One fell off the garden step and cut their chin open so had to go to hospital for it to be taped up

Both have, at separate times, fallen or been pulled up wrong and ended up with a dislocated elbow