Bad Mommy Moments

I watched my daughter and a bunch of other kids at a birthday party run down an incline and jump on the OUTSIDE of a moonwalk. I saw nothing wrong with it at the time. Until my daughter ran up to me frothing blood and snot and tears all over her mouth and t-shirt. She had jumped on the outside, grabbed and BITTEN the netting and lost the 2 top teeth. They were her baby teeth but for over 6 months she had no top teeth. It was a great teaching moment for ME - NEVER let kids use equipment in a way it was not designed, since it can cause great harm.

My horrible Mommy moment didn't have to do with an illness or injury, but it was bad.

My son was 5 and had been not wanting to go anywhere with his dad, we were not together and had never married. He had been sick with chicken pox all week yet his father insisted he could babysit while I worked that day, and my son cried and carried on that he didn't want to go with him. When they dropped me off at work my son looked at me as if I was the most horrible mom in the world for making him go. His father kidnapped him that day, took him out of the country, and my son didn't return home for 10 years and 9 months.

My mom told me a week or so after he was gone that my son had told her he hated his father, and when she said, "No, we shouldn't hate anyone" he said, "Yes, he's going to take me from my Mommy." She told him he would never do that and didn't tell me or remember it until he was gone. I don't blame her, I blame myself for not listening to my son and for not calling into work that day. And while I know I should, I can't forgive myself after all these years for allowing my son's childhood to be stolen.

Oh my...I hope she gets better soon physically and emotionally.

My bad mommy moment happened about a month ago when my 4 year old learned how to ride her bike without training wheels:

While she was riding with her training wheels I'd let her ride through the neighborhood and jog along side her. If she got too far ahead I'd yell "stop" and she would of course...Well, her first day riding without her training wheels she was so fast that I could hardly keep up. As we approached the intersection (not a busy one thank goodness) I yelled "stop!" and she just completely took her feet off of the pedals and proceeded to roll into the intersection! Thank goodness I was close enough to snatch her back before she rolled "dead center" but it scared me to death. Now I wonder: "what the hell was I thinking letting her ride up and down the street like that?" Needless to say we stick to bike paths in our local park now.

It's not in any way similar to your story but it was definitely a horribly STUPID mommy moment for me. I hope that helps you feel a little better about your mistake because it seems like an honest one.

Take care

I love these stories because it makes me feel better to know other moms eff up as well.

My worst mommy moment was one night when my kiddo kept crying. I figured he'd fuss a little and go back to sleep. So I ignored him the first few times. He kept crying on and off for 30 minutes, and when I finally went in there he had his leg caught through the slats of his crib. His leg was fine (and we got a new crib in the morning) but I felt horrible.

Oh my word. Thank you for sharing these stories moms.
Now if I even think kids are crying wolf, I'm going to check on them.
Oh my goodness.
These posts have made an impact. Thank you mamas!
May all your babies be safe and sleep peacefully tonight!

It happens to all us moms out there. I remember when my kids were 5 and 3 and they had been acting up all night long. So I sent them to their shared room and told them no tv and no playing go to bed. Well my 5 year old kept coming out of her room telling on the other and so I got so frustrated I would be like no go to bed no more. Then she would come again and I said no I don't want to hear it go to bed. Finally after the 5th time I said WHAT! She said Crissy's finger is caught in the covers and she is crying. Well mommy jumped up so quick and then cheap thread on the comforter was wrapped around her finger. Her finger was red and blue and I immediately ripped it off and thank goodness she was okay. I felt so bad for not listening too them. So as moms if they cry wolf so much we tend to not want to listen and then when it comes to be real we feel horrible. Now I never doubt them and always let them speak even when I am frustrated. Good luck! Don't beat yourself up.

My daughter came into our room late at night and she was scared because she said there was a ghost in her room because she could hear him moving around. We told her it was just a nightmare and we took her back to bed and tucked her back in.

She appeared in our room an hour later saying the ghost was back and he was scratching by her bed. We stood in her room and didn't hear anything so we told her it was just her imagination and we let her sleep with a light on.

The next night she pulled the same "ghost" routine and we thought for sure she was just trying to stay up so I sternly sent her back to bed. She appeared again, saying the ghost was definitely in her room! By that time we were both mad so we stormed in her room and flipped on the light and I said "look! There's no ghost!"

Just at that moment a mouse ran from under her bed across the room.

Now it was my turn to scream. LOL!!!!

My daughter has a habit of making up reasons not to go to sleep and for over-dramatizing things. So the next day we had a talk and I promised to take her more seriously if she promised not to make up stories or to make a bigger deal out of something than it really is. We've both gotten better. I think it's a great teaching moment for both mothers and daughters. We both have a lot to learn :) Who said that the parents raise the kids? I think we both raise each other!!

Hi A.,

I am sorry about your daughter. I hope she feels better soon! Don't beat yourself up about it---it sounds like she exaggerates some and thats why you missed it, but your human! Appologize to her, give her a big hug and move on. No one is perfect and we all make mistakes.

M

When my son gets in trouble, he makes up excuses as to why it's not his fault. This one day he was yelling at me and I told him to go to his room, I wasn't going to tolerate it anymore! He started running up the stairs crying and he fell. He came back down and started complaining his elbow hurt. I told him to go to his room. He starts throwing a fit and I tell him I'm done and go to his room.

Later that night he's complaining his arm hurts. I move it around and tell him to use it otherwise the muscles would atrophy.

The next morning he's still whining, so I take him to the emergency clinic. They do x-rays and say nothing is wrong and send him home.

The next morning he's still whining and using this as an excuse for why he can't do this that and the other thing. I told him I wasn't going to give him lunch if he wasn't going to use his arm.

The phone rings around 1pm and it's the emergency clinic. They reviewed his x-rays and he had broken his arm up at the shoulder and the guy the night before had missed it. I had been making him move it, use it and refused to feed him until he started moving it!

Needless to say, he got ice cream for lunch AND dinner that day!

My Mom and I were just talking about bad parenting moments yesterday. She reminded me of the time she broke my nose. She almost started crying and it was over 20 years ago and I had forgotten about it until she brought it up! My siblings and I were supposed to be playing quietly in our room because my Mom had a migraine and was lying down. Our upstairs bathroom (right next to my room) was being remodeled and there were building materials in the hallway. I was sitting on the floor in my room and my little brother and sister were playing and being loud. My Mom had gotten up a few times to tell us to be quiet. The last time she got up to tell us to be quiet she had a piece of pvc pipe in her hand that was lying on the hallway floor and she hit it on the floor for emphasis and lost control of it. It bounced off the floor and hit me right in the nose. She didn't realize it and went back to lay down. In the meantime my nose is bleeding like crazy and I'm freaking out. My brother went to get my Mom and before he could get out more then "A." she told him she didn't want to hear it (she thought he was tattling). He started crying (he was 5) and just kept saying blood. My mom got up to see what he was talking about and discovered I had a broken nose. My Mom felt horrible. I got A LOT of attention the rest of the day. LOL
A few months ago I was in my room studying for a final while my daughter was playing with her train set in the next room. She always wants me to "come here" to see what she's doing. She will tell me every five minutes. I was trying to concentrate and I told her no, I was studying. She asked me again, again I said no I was studying. After a few quiet minutes she said "Mommy, really, come here, please" . I got up, all exasperated and went into the living room to see her little finger caught in a track and turning bright red. When I got it off her finger there were marks on her finger- I felt so bad that her little self was hurting and I didn't get up the first time. :(
Things happen and we all make mistakes. It's part of parenting. You just have to do your best to correct the mistake and then move on.

Very similar to yours! My daughter who was a drama queen was 6 and had what I thought was the flu. High fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Flu? Right? Well on the 2nd night, she knocked on my door in the middle of the night and said "I need you to carry me to bed" - I looked at her and said "You walked this far, you can turn around and walk back". I did take her to the doctor the next day, only because she couldn't even keep water down, and I could tell she was getting dehydrated. He sent me to the ER for "a bag of fluids" - where they diagnosed..... a ruptured appendix. DOH!!!! Emergency surgery and 4 days in the hospital. Yeah, great mom.

Oh geez. My husbands parents did like you, only it was hip pain and turned out it was broken.

i slammed my sons fingers in the car door at the beach, obviously I thought we'd all have more fun in the ER, :(. And actually just yesterday I was getting our 8 month old out of the car and bumped his head on the ceiling.

it happens, it's part of life. We all have plenty of good mommy moments too, that make up for it

Oh, you poor thing! Try not to be too hard on yourself. My daughter is a total hypochondriac.

The first day of school, I hung around for a little bit (for me, not her! I was bawling because my baby started school) and then went home after seeing all was going well. I was only 10 minutes from the school when I got a phone call - she was in the nurse's room. Claimed she wasn't feeling well, and her abdomen hurt. So I turned around and went back, and when I got there, the staff told me that she asked them if they thought she had "independicitis". I just started laughing so hard! We had read Madeline the night before, and as you may know, Madeline has to go to the hospital because she has appendicitis and has to have her appendix removed.

It doesn't matter what she hears about - within a day or two she has whatever it is! Drives me nuts because I never know what's real and what isn't. Every time her chest hurts she thinks she is having a heart attack! If her abdomen hurts, she thinks it's appendicitis or her gall bladder or kidney stones! UGH! This child is only 8 !!!! We make sure we never talk about any illnesses in front of her anymore.

So I totally understand your situation, and empathize with you. We all just do the best we can, and pray to God that He makes everything turn out alright.

Blessings!