What's your WORST parenting mistake?

[Convergent]

Just that, really! I have an 11 month old, and I constantly feel like I'm f*cking up one way or the other, so please 'fess up to your sins for the greater good and enlightenment of us poor beginners...

Loads, but the ones that stand out:

When ds was a tiny baby, maybe a week old I had him lying in the middle of my king size bed whilst I got ready. I heard muffled crying and somehow he'd rolled over onto his face. I quickly picked him up to realise he'd rolled right on to my hair brush and his tiny face was covered in little marks like a hedgehog has sat on him! He was fine!

When dd was 2 I sent her down a humongous slide on her own. I thought she'd be fine. She was fine til she shot off the bottom and split her lip - cue dirty looks from other parents.

When ds was 2 I did exactly as above! Exactly. You'd have thought I would have learnt my lesson the first bloody time!!

I was being a nice mummy, trusting my 2.5 year old DD to help at the dining table. She'd gone to the kitchen to fetch a tin of syrup (don't ask why because I cannot remember). She returned with the tin upside down. The lid hadn't been put on properly the last time it had been used. Yes, the lid came off and a cascade of syrup began to fall onto the carpet, finding its way down her frock, socks and shoes.

No one hurt ......

18mo DD climbed on a chair to reach my jumbo mug of coffee while I was emptying the dishwasher. She poured it all over herself. I will never forget her scream.
I grabbed her and took her to the bathroom to run some water on her burns. Luckily her skin was only red (as if she had been a little sunburnt) and by the evening everything was back to normal.

sadsadder, that reminds me of the other day. 2.5yo was helping me to cook. I remember boiling the kettle for something. Because all the hobs were turned off and the counter was safe and DD was basically just bashing the counter with a wooden spoon, I turned my back for a few seconds to get something. When I turned back around the kettle wasn't on its stand, it was near DD...

I have a horrible, horrible feeling that DD actually picked the kettle up and moved it [shocked]

Luckily if she had moved it she hadn't spilt any. And we had a quick chat about how the kettle is hot just like the saucepans are so not to touch.

But my heart absolutely stopped. That could have been horrific - and horifically stupid too.

Numerous times I knocked my baby's DD's head on the door frame as I carried her about the house.

Cut DD's nails with scissors from a baby grooming kit, managed to cut her finger. Scissors went in the bin (I blame them) and only ever filed them since then.

I laid DS aged about 2 weeks old on the lounge floor, and my DD (aged 3) jumped heavily off the settee, missing his head by literally about an inch. I burst into tears at what very nearly happened, and re-lived the moment for months. It was awful.

Many more. I'm too traumatised to type them out.

My DC are both fine though, thankfully, despite me.

My worst only happen last Friday so I am still having flashbacks to the horror!

DD1, who is 5, had no school so decided to take her and DD2 to the park for the afternoon, I put DD2 in the stroller then handed DD1 her scooter, presuming she had started to head in the direction of the park I causally SLAMMED the car boot shut, cue screaming from DD1 whose middle two fingers were now trapped in the door . Somehow I managed to locate my keys and get the boot open - I swear time stood still, amazingly after 5 mins of crying (from both of us) her hand seemed fine! So we carried on to the park and had a good afternoon (apart from DD2 falling and banging her head and causing me to freak out all over again).

Amazingly DD1 who is known to be a major drama queen over the smallest scratch has not mentioned her hand again!

Overall I just feel very lucky that no damage was done - I really don't know how I would live with it if her fingers had been damaged

Not my worst parenting mistake, but just thought I'd share this little anecdote from this morning...

For about the past 4 weeks or perhaps longer, we've been saving 'junk modelling' materials for my DS (5, reception) to take into school. I've been meaning to take it into school for ages but every morning for at least the past 2 weeks I've forgotten it. It's become a bit of an issue with my DH asking every day why is this bag of rubbish still here, if you're not taking it to school can it go in recycling etc.

Anyway, this morning I finally remembered it. So we all (me, DH and DD) walked DS to school this morning (DH was en route to train station) with this frankly enormous bag of junk modelling junk. We waved DS off into school with said bag and as he disappeared into the classroom DH high-fived me and we both did a victorious fists-to-the-sky "yes, we got rid of it!"

A bit silly and OTT obviously, but as we turned around we were faced with quite a fair few disgusted/disapproving faces from other parents who clearly thought we were celebrating getting rid of DS for the day! Because we do often refer to our DS as 'it'

So we muttered a vague explanation of junk modelling and slunk away...

Last year DD2 had just started Reception and was doing funny half days (times changing every week). On the days where she only did mornings she tended to stay home with DH which I went back to school to collect DD1. One day I was coming home with DD1 when DH appears rushing towards me saying "Where's DD2?" I replied "she's at home with you isn't she?"

Turns out I had taken her back with me to school to pick up DD1, then forgotten her and left her in the playground. Neighbour had called DH asking where I had gone as she was looking for me in the school grounds. I had no recollection at all of having taken her with me, rushed back to get her and had to try and convince her I hadn't forgotten her as she'd only just started school and I didn't want her to panic about being abandoned.

My cousin had a nasty shock one day when she left 6yo DD and 8yo DS at home briefly while she went to fill th car up. When she came back DD had used knives and the gas hob to prepare an omelette for DS! Perhaps as a result of that her DD is now an excellent cook and she's not quite 12!

On holiday this year ds1 had a bad ear infection, he's 12 so at the point where he can take 1 paracetamol instead of calpol.

I had taken paracetamol with me but they weren't the capsule type (which he will take) but the uncoated generic white round ones, so I gave him calpol.

Blame the all day cocktails or the sun but I realised to my horror about 3 hours after that I had completely overdosed him

Cue panicked phone call to nhs direct (cost £125 - in Middle East at the time!!)

They said he would have to take 4 bottles of calpol to overdose at his weight and height, so no damage done.

Felt dreadful

When dd was 10 she was having problems with a couple of girls from school- nothing major, usual girly stuff! She woke up and complained of tummy ache and said she wanted to stay home, I thought it was cos of the problem with the girls so sent her to school as she had no temp and actually seemed ok.

Fast forward 36 hours and we are in ambulance with critical care team being rushed to Children's Mercy Hosp in Kansas City (we were living in KS) as dd has ruptured appendix and peritonitis. 2 week stay in hospital including 3 days in ICU on ventilator. Very scary and felt very guilty for ages.
In my defence when they first checked her at the ER of our local Hosp they said it was a stomach virus and sent her home.

Not one of my greatest parenting moments.

Nursery.

I should have thought more about DS's needs and stayed at home more.

I didn't have to work, it was a choice.

I've now spent years fighting with DS with his behaviour and a lot of it could have been helped if nursery had not ignored his challenging behaviour.

Second mistake was his first school - teacher was horrendous.

Trying to make up for these mistakes one day at a time - but it's a long process when you have 6 years to make up for...

Taking dd 200 miles to see family when she was 4 months old. She was a tricky baby, didn't nap and cried a lot from tiredness. Predictably she cried all the time at the in-laws (even more than at home) and slept hardly at all, crying till she threw up several times. I sat up all night with her in my arms.
On day 3 dp admitted we shouldn't have done it and we left. Dd stopped crying and slept the minute we drove away.

I shouldn't have looked at other mums who were swanning off on holidays abroad and felt pressured to do it. I should have done what was right for dd. I still feel awful about it. Luckily she loves going to her in laws now so doesn't seem scarred by it. I am though!

oobedoebe - was coming on to say that mine was shutting DD's finger in a door hinge a week before she turned one… the tip was almost detached and she had to have plastic surgery to sew it back on. I'm way worse than you!!!

Saw a mouse and dropped ds2 on the floor and ran away. I think he was about 18m at the time. Awful. I'm so ashamed!!!

Took ds (3) on Space Mountain. Thought he would be ok cos he made the height requirement and I assumed that as a 3 yr old could get on it that it would be massively tame compared to the Florida one. It wasn't. He was petrified, poor little boy.

Sorry, Trebuchet, but that's brilliant

Letting the baby eat her own poo. Twice.

The first time, I was changing her messy, pooey nappy and she managed to stamp her foot in it as I turned to get a wipe and stuck her toes in her mouth. Cue much horrified screaming / gagging on my part and calls to my mother and 111.

The second time was literally minutes ago when she was sat on the floor having some nappy free time and I was browsing the news. I look up and there she is, feeding it into her mouth on the back of her fingers like she does with mashed potato. I literally had to stop het chewing on it and scoop it out of her mouth.

The worrying part of this (other than the fact that I've been negligent enough to let this happen twice) is that I no longer feel disgusted by it. My reaction was just sort of a resigned 'oh dear! Have you been eating your poo again?'.

In all serious though I'm feeling really guilty and crap about my apparently lax parenting skills, not to mention a bit worried about my lo contracting ecoli. :(

It doesn't harm rabbits :o

Building wardrobe. Thought kids were in garden. Ring at the door - it's my neighbour with my two naked children, who had broken out the garden and were frolicking around in the road.

They're three and four. Deffs not road safe.

When I was 14 I fell off my horse, broke both bones in my arm, discolated my elbow and one of the bones was sticking out my arm. It was August, hot, and I was wearing a t-shirt so saw it in great detail.

The stables phoned my mum who refused to come and get me until Casualty had finished so I waited an hour...then she took me home rather than the hospital so we could wait until my dad got home...(he's a doctor).....another hour went by.....then when dad got home he confirmed I had broken my arm (no shit Sherlock) and another 30 mins or so went by while they debated whether to take me to the children's or adult hospital at that age....then it was a 30 min drive to hospital. I was immediately operated on (emergency op) and in hospital for a week as they were concerned that dirt had got into the huge hole in my arm that had been exposed for 3 hours. #parentsoftheyear.

Pushing dd's buggy out of the m&s lift to watch the doors close on ds (2.5 yrs)

Not putting the child lock on the hire car to have ds open it on a Portugese motorway

dancergirl i don't think that's all that terrible. Depends how big the field was I suppose, and how busy/big the farm, etc...

vladthedisorganised, that is one heck of a talented 18 mo you've got there, taking off stairgates and cupboard doors...

I myself think I've had too much practice on the safety front; i am second eldest of 9 kids and being surrogate mother to them, I was always on safety duty. (Or rather, always noticing things that needed to be put right! My mum is very safety conscious by the way, but it's easy to miss things when you have that many kids...) I now have 3 rascal boys of my own and recoil in horror and the tales of all you daft people not fastening straps of whatever kind...! Oh, and whoever invented an elevated baby changing station was an imbecile. Change them on the floor. End of.

That said, there have been occasions here where things could've been much worse than they were... A few that come to mind are:

• giving kids food that is still too hot to get them to stop screaming for their food (cue more screaming)
• shouting at kids because I am tired/grumpy - they're being their usual irritating selves
• slipping and almost falling down the stairs while carrying a baby in each arm (something i did more than once. they were expert screamers and the thought of taking one child down while the other cried, then leaving that one to cry while fetching the other...nope.)
• One or two occasions where we almost lost a child.. thankfully not, though, just reinforcing my ideal of fastening them to me at all times in busy places!
• trying controlled crying once or twice with said twins. Monumentally dreadful.
• prob the most foolish one from me, putting DS in the pushchair, realising the blanket behind him had slipped down (one of those wrap around ones) and pulling it up without holding him properly. Sure enough, out he went head first; thankfully I just managed to grab him (he was a hefty 3 yo) with his head about 1cm from the concrete.

Oh and automatically locking car doors should be make illegal. Not had a problem with this yet myself but very nearly. What a ridiculous idea. (And yes i know WHY they exist, but I maintain my point of view!)