20 Hilarious Ways Kids Embarrassed Their Parents in Public
There’s just no way to prevent some of our kid’s embarrassing moments in public, so we might as well laugh about them together.
Enjoy these 20 remarkably funny gems from parents, teachers and other observers across the internet.
Fine Dining
Whether at the local diner or Ritz-Carlton, our kids have a knack for saving their best acrobatics, language and high-pitched squeals for the entire restaurant to behold.
It’s unclear whether this child had dropped a crayon or a chicken tender, but we’re pretty sure she came out a winner with that kind of dedication.
Unzipped Lips
Speaking of restaurants, here’s an anecdote from a mom describing her recent family drama outside an Italian eatery:
My mom to my 1-year-old son outside the restaurant: “Henry, you need to put your shoes back on.”
My four-year-old daughter, screaming: “HENRY! Put on your f**king shoes!”
My mom: “Hannah! Where did you hear that word?”
Hannah, proudly: “My daddy says it!”
— Mary Beth Foster, mother of a 4-year-old and 1-year-old, Charlotte, North Carolina
Only 2.5 Checks
Do you have a child who gives themselves a job and takes it very, very seriously?
Here is a professional secret shopper in training whose clipboard and confident walk can intimidate any business owner whose livelihood depends on good customer reviews.
Shocking Autobiographies
“Tell us about your family” school projects are intended to help students share with the class more about who they are and where they come from.
Sometimes, they reveal more than anyone dreamed … or feared.
Spelling Matters
And, sometimes, you need to rethink your kid’s spelling skills.
Citizen’s Arrest at the Laundromat
It’s never too early to start training for your law enforcement career, as this mom discovered on a should’ve-been normal trip to the laundromat:
“We’re at the laundromat when my daughter is not quite three and her baby brother is not quite one. It’s crowded. Thankfully, I only had four loads. The baby slept through most of it, and she sat and played quietly with her toy — partly because I had bribed her with the promise of a quarter for the prize machine if she was good.
“I carry the laundry out to the car, pick up my son’s carrier and hand her the quarter. She pops open the little ball the machine drops when she turns the crank, and the ‘prize’ turns out to be a tiny black plastic pistol. She spins on her heels, flowered dress twirling and dark curls bouncing, and settles into a straddle-legged stance, both hands gripped around the tiny inch-long gun in a perfect FBI-approved teacup hold.
“‘Put your hands on the car!’ she bellows at the other laundromat patrons. ‘I said, PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE CAR!! DO IT!!! NOWWWW!!!’
“She watched way too much ‘Cops’ with her daddy…”
— Mom of a 3-year-old and 1-year-old
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Younger ones look up to their big brother or sister for important life lessons, including how to take care of our bodily needs and when.
Right when you hear the camera click is the best time!
You Look … Beautiful!
We try so hard to encourage their artistic expression … while setting aside a separate budget for using up the $20 eyeliner in under 60 seconds.
What a Creative Costume!
Our kids are imagination powerhouses 365 days a year, but especially on Halloween. So, of course, we support them in creating their elaborate, living fart costume.
But this also can cause a walk of shame down the boulevard, especially if there’s a built-in horn they honk with each step.
Extreme Honesty
Teachers get a lot of pushback and excuses when it comes to homework. Long-time teacher, Angela Watson, relays that one student’s dog did not, in fact, eat the homework…
“I teach kindergarten and when I was urging a student to get down to work, he looked up and me and said, ‘You do know that I didn’t sign up for this. My dad did it.’”
I think the Dad might have gotten an F after the incident, but the student got an A+ in honesty!
More Creative Play
Who says you can’t brush a Barbie’s hair with your … teeth?
As much as we want to tell our children there’s no “right way” to play with their toys, sometimes, we find ourselves making emergency rules like, “That’s a choking hazard! No doll heads in your mouth!” to ward off some raised eyebrows.
What’s Under There?
Under where? Underwear, get it?! That’s one of kids’ all-time favorite jokes, right?
Well, it gets a little less funny (or more funny, depending on your perspective) when they live that joke out on the biggest day of someone’s life.
Grocery Stores: AKA Tantrum Headquarters
Is it the fluorescent lighting or the bountiful displays of kale that cue our children for a round of mortal combat?
Or a Tool in Learning
A mom of three, recalls taking her 3-year-old grocery shopping when the blood-curdling screams began. “Since all the workers in the store knew me, they thought nothing of it when I completed my shopping, checked out, rolled my shopping cart home, put away my groceries and left him screaming on the floor. I came back, collected him, and he never did it again.”
It takes a village…
— Stephanie, mom of three, Los Angeles
Loud Whispering
For some reason, loud whispering gets more attention than screaming. Maybe we’re conditioned by children’s librarians to associate whispering with something bad.
Of course, if it’s bad and gossipy, we want to hear it all the more! This is a great loud whisper in action, about everyone’s favorite internal procedure.
Embarrassment Beach
Who’s not already a bit embarrassed at the beach in a culture steeped in “Baywatch?”
But at Embarrassment Beach we can witness these spectacular scenes on the sandy horizon.
Traffic Control, We Have an Emergency!
Airplanes. Airports. From curbside drop-off to cabin pressure to insanely tiny bathrooms to eternal waiting at baggage claim, the potential for crazy behavior is nearly limitless (for both parents and children!)
A mom remembers this airport scene: “When my son was 2 years old, I took him on an airplane for the first time (just him and me). He wasn’t the child kicking and screaming in the closed cabin on the airplane, thank God. But as soon as we deplaned with a large carry-on and a car seat in tow, disregarding my voice calling for him, he bolted down the long airport hallway. I had to drop everything and finally caught him before going through the exit. I grabbed him and then had to make the walk of shame back for all our stuff.”
— Regina, mom of a 9-year-old, Los Angeles
DANGER?! Perfect!
Look, when there’s a glorious water fountain, our kids can’t be expected to focus on a silly little sign that is preventing them from death.
They have water to splash in … with a very strong current!
Out of Control
Ultimately, we just can’t control our children’s every word and move any more than we can control the way the sun will cast a shadow at just the right angle — and what fun we’d be missing out on if we could!
For example, this family would never have immortalized their son’s witch school graduation. We can comfort ourselves knowing that the cringe-worthy moments are the ones that will become family legends.
Out-of-Context Dramatic Re-Enactments
She’s just quoting a movie, but we may want to explain to the confused or horrified onlookers as our children repeat key lines in public.
One mom sighs (and smiles) at this regular occurrence: “My daughter finds the worst lines in Disney movies and repeats them loudly in public. ‘The lady’s like a man with a big back porch’ from ‘The Princess and the Frog’ is one of her favorites. She also smacks her butt while she is saying it, just like the character. Thanks, Disney.”
— Mariam, mom to a 3-year-old, Los Angeles
