8 Embarrassing Parenting Mistakes – We’ve All Made Them!

Part of being a parent is learning from your mistakes along the way. It’s impossible to get through parenting without making any mistakes. The one solace you can take from it however, is that you definitely aren’t alone and it certainly doesn’t make you a failure.

Here we’ll look at some of the most embarrassing mistakes parents make (of course, that doesn’t mean they’re something to feel bad about!) Maybe you’ve made them yourself, or if not, you’ll soon know how to avoid them! Being a parent is tough so grab a coffee, sit back and enjoy this collection of embarrassing, yet funny, parenting mistakes people have made…

1. Baby Exorcist – Call The Priest!

Before your little bundle of joy is even born, you know there’s going to be a lot of yucky stuff to deal with. Your baby being sick is something you expect, particularly after meals.

However, what you don’t often expect is projectile vomiting.

If you’ve ever watched the exorcist, you’ll know projectile vomiting is a bad sign! That’s why, when one mom witnessed her 3-week-old baby projectile vomit up to four feet across the room the day after she watched the classic horror film, she instantly called her husband, hospital and most importantly to her – the priest!

After a speedy trip to the hospital, a doctor explained what causes projectile vomiting in babies and her priest? He laughed so much he had to sit down.

So, if one day your baby projectile vomits across the room, don’t worry they probably aren’t possessed and you might want to hold off calling your priest. A trip to the doctor on the other hand may be a good idea!

2. The Almost Topless Reveal

Going out with your little one can be a hectic, stressful event. Even just popping out to the local store can feel like a huge military operation. However, the real struggle comes if you’re going to need to breastfeed your baby when you’re out.

Imagine spending what feels like forever, managing to discreetly breastfeed, burp and change your little one’s diaper, only to realize much later you’ve forgotten to re-button your blouse! For many new moms, it’s something they don’t have to imagine at all – they’ve done it, witnessed the stares and quite literally bought a t-shirt to save any future embarrassment!

The trouble is, with baby brain it’s quite easy to forget to button your blouse back up – especially if you’re busy worrying about a hundred other things at the same time. So, the next time you’re out and about and you’ve breastfed your baby, you might want to do a double check of your blouse to ensure you’re not giving a free almost topless show.

3. Creative Diapers

It’s easy to underestimate how many diapers you’re going to need when you’re venturing out with your little one. A lot of first-time parents have found out the hard way that one diaper is never enough. So, what do you do when you discover you’ve used your one and only trusted diaper? Create one yourself!

There are a lot of stories of parents who have used their creative skills to fashion a diaper in times of need. Most commonly, nursing pads and maxi pads have proven to be an excellent, if not embarrassing alternative. Perhaps one of the funniest creative diaper stories was a parent who used a maxi pad, dishcloth and headband to keep it all together.

To avoid this unfortunate mistake, be sure to carry at least three diapers wherever you go, it’s always better to be prepared than embarrassed.

4. Forgetting To Carry Photo Proof You’re a Mom

Toddlers are known for having tantrums and it can be more than a little embarrassing when they decide to have a full-on-fit in public. So, what do you do when your little one decides to have a meltdown in the middle of the mall? Pick them up and carry them outside?

One mom did exactly that. However, her toddler’s tantrum caught the attention of mall security, who stopped the embarrassed mom at the exit. They proceeded to ask the two-year-old girl if the lady was her mother. In a perfect display of defiance, the little girl vigorously shook her head and continued to cry. The mom spent 10 minutes trying to prove she was in fact the child’s mother via photos of the two of them and she wasn’t attempting to kidnap her.

Now, obviously it’s great security double checked this as if your child was being kidnapped you’d want it to be noticed. However, without photo proof the situation could have turned out a lot differently! So, the next time you’re out with your tantrum prone toddler, don’t forget to carry parenting proof!

5. Blaming Your Child For Your Own Gassy Troubles

Toddlers are often smarter than we give them credit for. When out with her two-year-old son, one mom accidentally passed gas while waiting in line at a store. To hide her embarrassment, she tried to blame it on her toddler by saying “Wow honey you really have a stinky butt today”. She didn’t expect him to instantly reply “No mama, that was your butt!”.

The lesson here? Don’t try to blame your little one for your mistakes, it will only heighten the embarrassment when they drop you in it!

6. Not Asking For Help When You Need It

All parents need a little help with their first-born. However, asking for that help can be difficult when you’re trying to prove you have this parenting thing under control. This is especially true when it comes to the most basic tasks such as giving baby a bath.

When it came to giving her newborn their first bath, one mom discovered it wasn’t as easy as she thought it was going to be. After washing her baby’s front, she soon realized she had no idea how to do the back. Her little one was so slippery and his head was flopping about wildly. There appeared to be no easy way to wash the back without causing an accident.

Mortified that she couldn’t even wash her baby’s back, she broke down in tears. She went on for a whole week just washing her little one’s front until she finally gained the courage to ask for help.

While you may be reluctant to seek advice on basic tasks, not doing so can actually result in a lot more embarrassment and frustration.

7. The Pee Fountain

One small fact you aren’t often told when you have a baby boy, is that diaper changing is going to be messy. Obviously changing a diaper at any time is a messy task, but baby boys have a habit of causing a “pee fountain” every time you change them. If you’re unprepared, this means you’re going to at the very least, need a change of clothes, or at the worst, you’re going to need to wash it off your face!

Some moms have no idea why this happens, so they continue to put up with it and change their clothes after every diaper change. Don’t do that! It’s actually quite simple to avoid the pee fountain – you just need to point the penis down and have a fresh diaper ready to slip on quickly.

8. Diaper Faux Pas

Changing diapers tends to take over your life during the first few months, so it’s unsurprising we have another diaper related mistake on the list.

While it doesn’t happen as often as some of the others, some parents have learnt the hard way that there’s a right way and a wrong way to put a diaper on a little boy. One father was so excited that he had managed to successfully change his first diaper without incident, until his baby boy proceeded to pee on him a few minutes later. It turned out, he’d placed the cut-out of the diaper that’s designed for the stump of the belly button, too far down, leaving his little one completely exposed.

Conclusion

These are just a small number of the embarrassing mistakes parents have made. There are a lot of things that can go wrong when you’re taking care of babies and toddlers and you sometimes just need to accept that yes, there will be embarrassing times. However, you can at least now realize that you’re not alone and all parents face utter humiliation at some point.

Got your own funny story to share? Share them below!