Mostparentsprobably know that their children aren’t going to be 100% open and honest with them. There are always going to be some small secrets between them. In some cases, when the truth finally comes out, it can lead to a lot ofhilariousand lighthearted moments that you’ll be telling all your friends about for years to come.In a hilarious viral AskReddit thread, the parents of the internetopened upabout the weirdest things they found in their kids’ bedrooms. Clandestine fish tanks in the closet? Sugar under the bed? Those are just the tip of the iceberg. Scroll down for some funny and relatable parenting stories, Pandas!Bored Pandawanted to learn a bit more about how parents can inspire their kids to be tidier and more honest with them, so we reached out toSamantha Scroggin, a parenting blogger and the founder ofWalking Outside in Slippers. You’ll find her insights below.This post may includeaffiliate links.
Mostparentsprobably know that their children aren’t going to be 100% open and honest with them. There are always going to be some small secrets between them. In some cases, when the truth finally comes out, it can lead to a lot ofhilariousand lighthearted moments that you’ll be telling all your friends about for years to come.
In a hilarious viral AskReddit thread, the parents of the internetopened upabout the weirdest things they found in their kids’ bedrooms. Clandestine fish tanks in the closet? Sugar under the bed? Those are just the tip of the iceberg. Scroll down for some funny and relatable parenting stories, Pandas!
Bored Pandawanted to learn a bit more about how parents can inspire their kids to be tidier and more honest with them, so we reached out toSamantha Scroggin, a parenting blogger and the founder ofWalking Outside in Slippers. You’ll find her insights below.
This post may includeaffiliate links.
My parents were a bit confused when they looked in my closet found an anatomically correctwooden armwith metal bracket joints and elastic to move the individual fingers.I took “make an anatomicalmodel of the arm” a bit too literally in my 6th grade science class and felt really dumb holding a workingwooden armin class when everyone else had drawings. I was hiding it because I used the power tools without permission. My parents were pretty cool about it after I explained why I had wooden body parts in the closet and let me to go an engineering tech school part time along side high school a few years later.
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We askedparenting blogger Samanthafor her thoughts on how parents can create a relationship of trust and honesty with their munchkins. She explained that there needs to be a give-and-take here.“I think encouraging our kids to be honest and open with us starts with being open with them. When they do confide in us, we should think carefully about our response and not shame them,” she told Bored Panda in an email.“In addition, we should believe our kids when they tell us about their lives or what goes on in them. I find myself sometimes surprised with how honest my kids are with me, so I guess I’m doing something right,” Samantha said.
We askedparenting blogger Samanthafor her thoughts on how parents can create a relationship of trust and honesty with their munchkins. She explained that there needs to be a give-and-take here.
“I think encouraging our kids to be honest and open with us starts with being open with them. When they do confide in us, we should think carefully about our response and not shame them,” she told Bored Panda in an email.
“In addition, we should believe our kids when they tell us about their lives or what goes on in them. I find myself sometimes surprised with how honest my kids are with me, so I guess I’m doing something right,” Samantha said.
After I had surgery (and had been given a little too much anesthetic for my weight) I told my parents about the hedgehog I had been hiding from them for over a month in my closet. I was 18 at the time. The conversation went about like this from what I’ve been told.Me: Dad, come here…Dad: what?Me: There’s a hedgehog in my closet…Dad: Jordan, no there isn’t…Mom: (My dads name), go check… This sounds like something he would do…Dad: Fine…(My dad walked out for a few minutes and came back to the room I was in)Dad: (My moms name), He has a hedgehog in his closet…Mom: (dads name), no he doesn’t.Dad: yes, he does…(Mom walks out, and comes back with a look of shock)Me: Dying of laughter…The End.
Not a parent, but a nanny. I found a stash of dresses and make up under a five year old boy’s bed. He had raided a box of old clothes that their mother was donating and took his sister’s dresses that fit him, he found the correct sizes for his age and everything. He said he used it to be a “sassy girl”.
My mom once found my fish tank full of fish in my closet. I wasn’t allowed to have fish.EDIT: I called them my “illegal fish” for the longest time…
Meanwhile, many parents have trouble motivating their children to pitch in with the housework or to keep their rooms clean. We turned toSamanthafor help on this very relatable issue.She opened up to us that in her personal opinion, kids should help with the household chores. “Getting them to actually do it is another story. I am not above bribery in the form of rewards. We make it clear to our kids that they are expected to do chores as part of their family responsibilities, and they get a weekly allowance,” Samantha said.“Reward stars can be earned for extra chores that can be traded in for prizes. That said, my kids are not always pleased about doing chores. But it comes with the family territory.
Meanwhile, many parents have trouble motivating their children to pitch in with the housework or to keep their rooms clean. We turned toSamanthafor help on this very relatable issue.
She opened up to us that in her personal opinion, kids should help with the household chores. “Getting them to actually do it is another story. I am not above bribery in the form of rewards. We make it clear to our kids that they are expected to do chores as part of their family responsibilities, and they get a weekly allowance,” Samantha said.
“Reward stars can be earned for extra chores that can be traded in for prizes. That said, my kids are not always pleased about doing chores. But it comes with the family territory.
My $2500+ dollar gaming system.. and desk, which was on a different floor in the house entirely.Just walked in from work one day and noticed it missing, was about to freak out when I saw that my 10 year old and (almost) 16 year old had moved it, and the entire contents, up to their room.Thought it about it for a few moments, not even upset when I noticed how much more room it gave me down stairs, and hatched a plan.When he turned 16 a week later, I said, “Happy Birthday! It’s yours now!” and purchased him $100 worth of games on steam to rock the system with…. now I’m planning a nice gaming laptop for myself ;).
Recently I found a green piece of folded paper on the floor of my 11 year old daughter’s room.I opened it and the only thing written on it was “CHUCK NORRIS”.
My mom found a locked briefcase in my brother’s room. She was convinced there was d*s in it, so she panicked, broke the locks and opened it. She found pn and fireworks. She was pretty embarrassed.
From a very practical perspective, it would be useful for parents to know that their children can turn to them for help and advice. The goal is to have awholesome, supportive relationship where everyone’s open so that you don’t have to stumble upon packs of bacon under the bed or hidden stashes of cat food. Some small secrets can be playful, but others are just messy.
However, Jane Nelsen, author of the Positive Discipline series of books, notes that kids this age might be scared to tell the truth about doing something wrong. They might be afraid of disappointing their parents or they’re scared of punishment.
My parents found a crack pipe in my room when I was in like 3rd grade…I found it on the playground and thought it was a treasure.
Broadly speaking, the cooler and calmer guardians are, the better for everyone. What parents can do is avoid labeling their kids as liars, not ask questions about things they already know the answers to, and avoid emphasizing their bad behavior. Furthermore, they can work together with their child on the things they’re lying about, whether that’s doing homework or chores.It’s not just mutual trust and transparency that parents have to worry about, though. If you keep finding random bits of food or trash in your kids’ rooms, then it’s a hygiene issue, too. To put it very simply, if your children keep hiding food that goes bad, it’s going to affect the entire home in a very bad way.Clinical psychologist Anjali Gowda Ferguson, Ph.D.,explainedto PsychCentral that cleaning can reduce stress and anxiety, improve your mood, and give you a sense of control. Furthermore, if your children get into the habit of cleaning, it gives them a sense of responsibility, builds their self-esteem, and also promotes living skills that are useful throughout their lives.Ferguson advises parents to encourage their children to clean things on their own to promote their independence.
Broadly speaking, the cooler and calmer guardians are, the better for everyone. What parents can do is avoid labeling their kids as liars, not ask questions about things they already know the answers to, and avoid emphasizing their bad behavior. Furthermore, they can work together with their child on the things they’re lying about, whether that’s doing homework or chores.
It’s not just mutual trust and transparency that parents have to worry about, though. If you keep finding random bits of food or trash in your kids’ rooms, then it’s a hygiene issue, too. To put it very simply, if your children keep hiding food that goes bad, it’s going to affect the entire home in a very bad way.
Clinical psychologist Anjali Gowda Ferguson, Ph.D.,explainedto PsychCentral that cleaning can reduce stress and anxiety, improve your mood, and give you a sense of control. Furthermore, if your children get into the habit of cleaning, it gives them a sense of responsibility, builds their self-esteem, and also promotes living skills that are useful throughout their lives.
Ferguson advises parents to encourage their children to clean things on their own to promote their independence.
I’m the kid here, but when I was 12 my mom found a shoebox full of blood-soaked socks under my bed.I’d gotten my period and was too embarrassed to ask what to do, so I just, you know. Socks. I don’t know what she thought it was, but the fact that she was relieved when she learned she was holding a shoebox full of menstrual blood and ruined Peds is probably telling.
Another kid. My daughter used to sneak her friend in her room through her window.
This is about someone who rented a room in my house. She was so immature, she was practically my kid.My boyfriend and I rented a house and it had an extra bedroom, so we posted an ad on Craigslist and a girl, let’s call her S, replied. She had just turned 18 and was going to college 2 minutes away from the house. She seemed like a nice girl at first. Quiet, tiny (I mean like 70 pounds tiny), and didn’t mind helping out around the house.A couple weeks after she moved in, we noticed weird food items were missing. Not frozen pizzas or bread or anything- it was more like whole jars of mayo and sliced american cheese. We asked her about it and she denied she took anything.When the semester was up, she moved out, and we started cleaning out her room and bathroom. When we opened the bathroom closet, this disgusting smell hit us. On the wall behind the top shelf, there were literally THOUSANDS of balls of paper towel with chewed and half-digested food inside.She would eat a jar of mayo, throw it up into this bucket we found in her bedroom closet, and make vomit snowballs, which she tossed into the closet.It took hours to scrape it all off. Absolutely disgusting.TL;DR: vomit snowballs. Eck.
Of course, if the munchkins genuinely need help or don’t know how to do something, the guardians can lend them a hand. But adults should not be jumping in to complete every little task or chore. A small amount of adversity is healthy in the long run.Meanwhile, if you’re still at the start of teaching them about the importance of pitching in with the housework, you could make everything a collaborative effort. Then, slowly, you could reduce the amount of help you provide as your kids gain confidence and get used to doing things on their own.
Of course, if the munchkins genuinely need help or don’t know how to do something, the guardians can lend them a hand. But adults should not be jumping in to complete every little task or chore. A small amount of adversity is healthy in the long run.
Meanwhile, if you’re still at the start of teaching them about the importance of pitching in with the housework, you could make everything a collaborative effort. Then, slowly, you could reduce the amount of help you provide as your kids gain confidence and get used to doing things on their own.
A wedding ring in my 9 year old son’s pokemon card box. Apparently, a kid at school really wanted one of my son’s cards, so he took his mom’s ring to trade. Mine was lost a few months ago, so mah boy thought it would make a good Xmas present for me. We were very surprised. It has been returned.
So, dear Pandas, which of these stories did you find thefunniestand most relatable? If you have kids, what’s the most bizarre thing you’ve found in your munchkins’ bedrooms?
This question was tailor made for me. Since about Christmas my daughter’s room has reeked of something dead. Her room is a rubbish heap of clothes and make-up nonsense. We moved a bunch of stuff, smelled around and determned the stench was coming from a particular area of the room. She reminded me that she slept in a spare room a few weeks back because she heard scrabbling sounds coming from a vent. I remove air duct vent covers, stick my nose in and give a sniff…nothing. The next day the stink is coming out of her door into the hallway. She’s no longer been sleeping in the room because of the smell. After sniffing all over the place and carefully moving everything in her room we found what the smell was. An open tin of spiced octopus. She had received it as a gag gift the previous Christmas. It sat in her room for almost a year until, feeling curious, she opened the tin to have a look inside. She put the tin aside where it became covered with the flotsam and jetsam of a teenaged girls room. Eventually it was a smell that came straight from Satan’s bowels.
My mom found my (I was 17) $13,000 in gambling winnings that I had been hiding in check boxes in my room. She had resigned that the only way I could have made that money was to sell ds (I’ve never done ds.) She harbored this for weeks trying to wrap her head around it, so after confronting me was relieved to hear that I had just been sneaking into the casino to count cards at blackjack for the whole summer. I think of it as an “everything went better than expected” for all of us.
My coworker once found a ziplock bag full of hairs, all sorts of colours and length, in one of the new kid’s room (we work in a rehab for teens). Kid says its his collection of girls hair for when he does his voodoo rituals.
A hamster.We never bought them one.Turns out, a neighbor’s hamster got in the house.
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Not a parent myself, but my parents once found an empty lobster claw under my sister’s pillow. my uncle had jokingly told her to take it home with her and being about 5 years old, she took him seriously. the stench was awful.
When I was 10 my mom found a piece of paper with two columns. One column header read “Bush” and the other read “Gore” and underneath each column was a list of every swear word imaginable (at least every one I knew). E.g. Bush would say “you lying sack of s**t” and Gore would respond “go to hell you bastard.” There was a little drawing of each of them looking angry at the bottom of the page.
My mom found the BDSM lesbian Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfiction I was writing when I was 16.I explained it away and 6 years later she still doesn’t suspect that I’m bisexual.
My cousin’s parents found a full package of unopened bacon under his bed. He wanted it all for himself.I can’t blame his reasoning, but the execution was a bit sloppy.
Not a parent but I once found a naked Barbie, bound and gagged, in a shoe box under my 9 year-old sister’s bed. The shoe box had a window cut out with rubberband bars and was lined with blankets. My sister is 17 now and no I’ve never asked her about it.
Cat food! My daughter (18 mo.) is obsessed with eating the cat food….she started taking handfuls of it and sneaking it into her bedroom….my husband found her stash next to her crib. She’s a strange one :).
Shortly after my son learned to write his name I found it written on his wall with poop. He denied it.
Oregano, I don’t know why he’s baking up there.
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I’m sure this will be buried as fk, but oh well. When I was 14 I bought a set of jay & silent bob dolls from my local record store that said funny things. They came with a fake bag of weed about the size of a postage stamp. So my mom went through my drawers, found it, smoked it, & then I got in deep st bc it got her high. It took me about a week to get her to believe that she had actually smoke plastic. F*****g parents man!TL;DR - My mom smoked fake plastic weed & got high off of it.
I found a chuck of brown sugar the size of my fist under my 4 year old’s bed. My daughter likes to sneak candy or cookies into her room when my wife and I aren’t looking, but this was a first.
I found all of our dead buried fish from the past years in his closet.
When I was about eight my cousins and I unearthed a pile of bones on the back 40. I was so excited, thinking they were dinosaur bones (they were pretty big), that I put them in my school bag and hung them in my closet, so I could take them in to my science teacher for show-and-tell. Turns out they were from cattle, but I kept them hanging in my closet anyway. When my mom finally found them she was horrified and threw them out. I kept explaining to her that it was for science, but she wasn’t having any of it.
Dead Squirrel under the bed…I smelled the stench and asked my daughter what it was. She of course had no idea, I sniffed it out..she found it outside and brought it in.Edit: she is not the girl from the you tube video, nor is she Peter wiggins.
Well this is theoretically in between two bedrooms - but my boys had poked a hole in the wall (behind a poster board). And for three years they had deposited random items and toys in said hole.When we moved I discovered the hole and about 4 feet of memories stuck inside the wall…PS.. I just covered it up and painted over it - someone is in for a big surprise in 2023.
A bloody dissected teddy bear. It all started when my 4 year old son was watching T.V. with me a few years ago, when I switched to a science channel showing doctors operating on a patient. I quickly switched channels again to avoid frightening my son, but he already saw it. He wasn’t scared, but he asked me what the doctors were doing, so I decided to tell him in a way that won’t disgust or traumatize him. He enjoyed learning something, then he went off to play in his room. Later that evening, my wife asked me where was the ketchup, so as I was searching, I ended up in my son’s bedroom. Upon seeing me, he said: ‘‘Look, daddy, I’m playing doctor with Waffy!’’ (Waffy is how he called his teddy bear.) I looked at what he was doing, and I saw poor Waffy, cut open with all the stuffing spurting out and with scissors lying beside him. There was also a the ketchup bottle, with the not-so-stuffed bear dripping with ketchup. My son said: ‘‘The ketchup is the blood!’’ Then, he grabs a big piece of stuffing covered with ketchup and says: ‘‘This is his heart!’’ He then proceeds to run around his bedroom, chanting ‘‘I cut Waffy’s heart out, I cut Waffy’s heart out’'.TL;DR: After witnessing a surgical operation on T.V., my 4 year old son tried doing the same thing with his teddy bear ‘‘Waffy’’, using scissors, ketchup for blood and a piece of stuffing for his heart.
Not my kid, but my little sister. She was probably 6 at the time. It was during the summer in Kansas, and my mom kept seeing my sister trying to catch some houseflies that were buzzing around near the screen-door of our house. Every so often she’d actually catch one, and run off excited. After another day of seeing her do this, my mom decided to follow her and see what she was doing after she grabbed these flies. She waited till my sister ran into her room with her fresh catch, then followed her in shortly after. She was in the closet. She could hear her giggling. She opened the door and discovered my sister placing the fly into a sandwich sized Tupperware container.“Jessi… what are you doing with those flies? What on earth is this?““These are my pets! :D"The container had about 25 dead flies in it. and one newly caught addition still trying to escape. -_-.
My daughter lost her thumbnail due to shutting it in the hinged part of the door. That nail turned all kinds of colors and then finally fell off. Months later, I was cleaning her room and found a 6x6” box. It rattled when I shook it. I opened it and there was that damn thumbnail, named “Thumba.” .
Me and my sister shared a room all growing up, and one time when my mom was cleaning it she found a detailed drawing of herself giving birth.I’m assuming my sister drew it, but as the artistic one, I of course got blamed. It was awkward to say the least.
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