Parenting is one of life’s biggest and most enjoyable challenges. Helping your children grow into incredibly capable, morally upstanding, and passionate dreamers is every parent’s wish. However… we sometimes lose faith in the future of the human race when we see how some parents are acting online. The sad fact is, just because someone is a parent doesn’t mean that they’re a good one (even if they love their kids as much as anyone else).
There’s an online group on Reddit with 245k members called '[Stuff] Mom Groups Say' that’s been active since 2018. It's dedicated to shaming bad moms and all of their mom group drama. From anti-vaxx showdowns to debates about essential oils, the subreddit believes that these parents deserve to be called out for their behavior that, frankly, causes more harm than good.
Scroll down to lose a chunk of your faith in humanity, upvote the best of the worst pics, and do let us know what you think about these anti-parents, dear Pandas. Bored Panda spoke about the drama and misinformation that sometimes can be found in social media mom groups with the moderators of the '[Stuff] Mom Groups Say' subreddit, as well as with Samantha Scroggin, the founder of the 'Walking Outside in Slippers' parenting blog. Check out what they had to say below to pick up some great advice.
This post may include affiliate links.
This Mom On Why She Is Refusing The Big C19 Vaccine
Why Do They All Have To Hate Science Though?
Why Are Karen’s So Against Thermometers? Don’t Consent! Bonus Snark At The End
And yet I bet if their government talked about banning ACTUAL assault weapons due to someone ACTUALLY shooting children, she’d screech about “communism”.
"In my experience with online parenting communities, it's best to abide by the rules posted in these groups. Usually, that means no selling anything and no foul language, at a minimum. I generally try to be patient with people and open to different viewpoints, but it's aggravating when people are acting ignorant or spreading misinformation. In those cases, I try to give evidence of the facts without personal attacks," parenting blogger Samantha said.
Samantha used to be a professional journalist and is now a public information officer which means that she's very wary of fake facts. "Parents will make all kinds of claims in parenting groups online, including that vaccines are harmful. They'll recommend all sorts of remedies. But it's up to us to seek out reputable sources of information to help us make our own decisions on what's best for our kids," she warned that we have to do proper research instead of believing every bit of advice that we find online.
"I think we should reserve judgment of others' parenting styles when the actions taken are harmful to the child. And I realize what is harmful is open to interpretation. But if no one is being abused, let's have some grace for one another and the choices we make. Each child is different, and parents often know what works best for their child. Parenting is hard, and we can use as much support as we can get," she added.
I Asked About Learning Activities For My Toddler
"kindergarten as it is now" ... I don't know what kind of kindergarten you have, but the ones that I know of involve a lot of play time and fun activities, including learning social skills. Of course kindergarten teachers are well aware of kids' short attention spans, so they would plan the activities and learning accordingly.
Saw This And Just Knew It Belonged Here
The Mom Group I'm In Is A Goldmine For Crazy. I Posted About My 2 Year Old Asking For Privacy In The Bathroom And This Was A Comment I Got
Meanwhile, a lot of the subreddit's moderators pitched in to answer Bored Panda's questions. The mods explained that mom groups can sometimes be full of potentially dangerous misinformation, a desire to make money off more naive parents, and perpetuating "toxic rhetoric with zero consequences." The community also calls out those online groups that fanatically believe they're raising their kids "The Right Way" and anyone not doing so is a bad parent.
"The biggest lies are the coordinated lies spread in these groups on new parents at a vulnerable point of their lives. These women don’t need essential oils, or colloidal silver, they need paid family leave, affordable post-Partum care, health equities," one moderator explained. "New parents can be as dramatic as they want to be, they’re sleep-deprived and scared and have bills piling up and a new baby. Parental groups are allowed to be dramatic, they reflect the rawest human nature at one of the most 'precious' and yet frighteningly lonesome, most physically and mentally demanding, moments of our lives."
Is Covid19 Real? Asked And Answered In A Local Mom Group
"I will immediately ignore you if I don't agree with your views/facts/science"
Gay Satanic Clowns
It’s Gross Karen. I’m Also Pretty Certain It’s Illegal To Feed Unsuspecting People Your Bodily Fluids
The moderator continued: "So when people enter their lives promising a listening ear, a magical solution, and then shame them for breastfeeding or not breastfeeding, for co-sleeping, or sleep training, or not using magical amber teething beads, or for choosing vaccinations, then those are the heinous people that need to be shamed. They are actively manipulating people with a phony agenda and they need to be called out.”
Another moderator told Bored Pand that what inspired them to start the subreddit in the first place was the overall culture in mom groups that pushed their personal parenting philosophies as the one and only way to parent.
"These groups (like Cherry Universal, with specific subgroups for the crunchy moms and the sanctimonious moms) focus on preaching their way of parenting and viciously attack anyone who doesn’t fall in line. They’re a bigger problem for society too. Do you want to know where the anti-masking movement started? Look at posts from March-May of 2020 in crunchy mom groups. They push and perpetuate vaccine misinformation and an overall general mistrust of science and they use shame, groupthink, and banning to enforce their beliefs."
Found On A Baby Sleep Help Website. Says
their mom is the reason children have amnesia after a certain age.
Load More Replies...This is child abuse. Infants need to feed around 10 times a day. The Police need to be called and you need to feed the children or you are also endangering the child's health.
Debbie call DCF. You're a mandatory reporter if you work with children!!!
I saw crap like this all the time working NICU and Newborn nursery. "No bottles and no pacifiers." It's hard to want to slap a new mom everyday and not be able to. Instead we (nurses) had to gradually convince moms to just feed their baby (or sneak and feed the poor kids ourselves).
I was told using a dummy/pacifiers could interfere with breastfeeding ques but I'm with him day in day out ,every night to deal with his comfort. I'd never leave him with nothing to eat though.
Load More Replies...What mother leaves her child, whatever the age, without food for nearly ten hours? Does this actually happen?
agree with others, this is cruelty, I would definitely be calling the child services on this one. If she doesn't want it bottle fed she needs to employ a wet nurse. (PS I think this is worse) GIVE THE KID A BOTTLE.
nothing wrong with wet nurses, they provide a vital service and have done for centuries
Load More Replies...Reason mom does not want baby using a bottle. Bottles are MUCH easier the baby does not have to "latch" on nor suck as hard. Once a baby is using a bottle it can be difficult to "make" them continue nursing. NOT feeding the child is ABUSE! You want to nurse only - quit your job and be the nurse maid. You want the benefits of breast milk, cool - pump and let the baby start on bottles.
Bottles don’t disrupt a baby’s latch as much as people think. While some babies may prefer a bottle once it’s introduced, a lot go back and forth.
Load More Replies...this sounds like mom wants to be able to come home, feed the baby, and have the baby immediately go to sleep for several hours. if you didn't want to have to interact with the baby, why did you have it, lady?
Parents think it's okay for a baby to get no food and no water for 9+ hours? F*****g lunatics. I wonder if they eat lunch at work.
That is abuse and should be reported. This person is a mandated reporter and both doing this and not reporting it could have her fined, losing her license, and jailed.
You didn’t specify how old these babies are, but newborns need to eat at least every 3-5 hours. Please discuss this with the parents. Have printed material with you for back up.
i once worked in a preschool with an infant room, the first baby we got was like this. Mom would have to feed her for 30 minutes at rhe end of the day. This baby also never wanted to roll over or crawl. She was so used to being constantly held. It was really sad.
As a child care provider, she is legally obligated to contact authorities; as a human being with a brain, why the hell has she allowed these children to be starved?!?!
Report the parents for maltreatment and/or gross negligence of a baby.
People should go through some tests to get an approval of being capable of being parents. Something like a driving licence.
DO NOT have them as clients. Or better yet, turn them in to Child Protective Services!!!
Why do you even have to ask. A baby who is starved for 9 and a half hours 5 days per week. I would be calling CPS and bottle feeding the baby. Tell the Mom to be at the babies side every 3 hours to ensure he is fed.
If you seriously don't know whether it's ok or not, for a baby to go 9 1/2 hours w/o eating, you have no business caring for babies. Feed him from a tiny cup, that way he gets the food needed (and required) for him to grow properly and he doesn't get used to the easy flow when suckling on a bottle
So they literally have someone else raising their kid and yet they want you to watch their child starve whilst doing so? F**k that noise , you have the kid mote than the parents do so you have every right to nourish the kids in your care.
Babies can easily be fed with small sips out from a glass/mug/etc. (I'm a former breastfeeding counselor and a nurse)
Awwww No Who abandons baby’s? I mean I get if you can’t care for them, but at least put them up for adoption It’s humane and will help your child
This would need a LOT of clarification. First, how old is this baby? Is the 8-530 period overnight or daylight hours? If it's the first one and the child (ONLY over 12 months) is an overnight guest, it would be understandable for a parent to make this request. Sippy cups with water would be appropriate. During the daylight hours, not feeding a child of any age for that period would constitute child abuse.
"child crys all the time" What more clarification do you need?
Load More Replies...This is when using expressed milk in a bottle is a happy halfway house (assuming that a mother is able to pump). It must be incredibly painful for her if she is going a full.8 hours without baby feeding, if she is pumping through the day is she just pouring the milk down the drain.
Wait a minute? Do I not get this or what, because the way I understand this I don't see the problem? Not wanting them to use a bottle as in sleeping/putting to sleep with a bottle of milk/sugar-water or whatever, or just not feeding them at all? Let's make something clear, putting your child to sleep with food or letting it sleep with a bottle of milk is not correct at all. The feeding (as in how much, how often, what type of food) heavily depends on the age of the child. As it is not stated what age is the child mentioned, I can't make any further assumptions if the behavior is right or wrong. I can only say that food is not a means to put the kid to sleep and after a certain age continuing night feeding is wrong. Obviously, the transition should be gradual and there may be a period of time where the child will want to eat at night and will cry. This doesn't mean that it is hungry or needs food, it is because it is already used to being fed at night.
Hey Non-American, we know it's messed up, that's why it's in this article, thanks
Load More Replies...Maybe Because That’s Illegal
Don’t do it. Simple as that. Also apologise and learn from your mistakes. Breastmilk is a bodily fluid. What if I ran out of water, should I piss in the brownies instead.
*stares In Cps*
However, the mod pointed out that far from every single mom group is bad. "Our birth month group, for example, has been the saving grace of my journey into parenthood. I have a cohort of parents who all have a child at the same age as mine. It’s a great way to get a quick pulse on typical development and also just feel generally supported, validated, challenged to be a better parent or find different and better ways to parent in a shame-free environment. I have a virtual village and that is just really incredible."
They continued: "To be really honest, it was how supportive I found my birth month group to be that sent me out in search of additional groups. My infant won’t eat baby food—oh, maybe I should check out this baby-led weaning group for ideas! (It was great, by the way.) But then when we started stumbling onto other groups that were just cesspools of negativity, abuse, bullying, etc, we learned about the subculture of 'mommy drama groups' and decided to bring it out into the public eye."
Guilt Tripping Your 3 Yo Child Into Nursing Is Gross
From A Mom Group On Instagram. I Guess People Without Children Are Not Allowed To Be Tired
This Seems Like A Healthy Relationship
We’ve written extensively about how to be a great parent and how to help your kids become independent. And, considering that there still are (and always will be) plenty of parents out there who either stifle their kids or who constantly exhaust themselves, the advice bodes repeating.
Anita Cleare, a parenting expert and the author of ‘The Work/Parent Switch,’ explained to Bored Panda in a previous interview all about how to overcome the desire to be a ‘perfect’ parent and how to stay positive when we’re all way, way too exhausted.
According to parenting expert Cleare, aiming to be a ‘perfect’ parent is the wrong way to go about things. This does more harm than good because it puts lots of unreachable expectations and undue pressure on both parents and children alike.
That’s Not How Any Of This Works
Given To My Daughter Through A Mom Group
My Child's Future Means Nothing To Me
“Trying to be a perfect parent is bad for children and bad for parents because it sets everybody up to fail. Research shows that ‘good enough’ parenting is best for children,” Cleare explained.
Instead, the expert suggests that all parents aim for ‘good enough’ parenting that actually helps improve our kids’ independence instead of them being overly-reliant on us.
In Cleare’s words, this involves “getting it right most of the time but also failing your children in ways they can handle—so that they gradually increase their independence.”
Vaccinations Made My Daughter Gay
Do Babies Give Hickies?
When my daughter was only a few weeks old I bent down to give her a kiss and she latched onto my chin. She had such a powerful suck that I had to break the suction by inserting my little finger in between my chin and her mouth. I had a red mark on my chin for quite a few weeks. So, yes my little human vacuum cleaner gave me a hickie.
This Extreme Fear-Mongering Pisses Me Off So Much
According to parenting expert Cleare, “Great parents make mistakes but they try to learn from them (and not to repeat them too often!).”
No matter your parenting style, you can’t do much if you’re overworked and exhausted. That means that looking after yourself is priority number one. If you put yourself last, you’re not doing your kids any favors, Cleare told Bored Panda.
F Your Privacy. I’m Gonna Show 53,000 People Your Picture And Tell Them You Got Your Period Today!
From An Unschooling Facebook Page. Poor Kid
I Literally Don't Even Know What To Say
“Even when you are really busy, try to find regular 5-20 minute breaks in your day when you can relax, practice some mindfulness, or do something joyful,” she said.
“Looking for the positives really does increase positivity,” the parenting expert added, suggesting that we try to maintain positive mindsets by being grateful and thinking about, for example, the 3 things that we’re glad to have in our lives.
Uhhhh Would This Be A Major Red Flag To Anyone Else?
They're Not Vaxxing Their Dogs Either
My Kid's Dentist Told Me Skipping Antibiotics Will Be Really Painful For Her, So I'd Like To Go Ahead And Do That
I actually have never heard of someone taking antibiotics BEFORE tooth extraction. Is this really a thing coz I have had 4 teeth extracted and not once did I need to do that. Afterwards yes, but not before.
Meanwhile, Lenore Skenazy, the president of the Let Grow nonprofit that aims to promote kids’ independence and fights overprotection, explained to us that children’s confidence grows when they know that others believe in them.
“A teacher, coach, grandparent, or, of course, parent who thinks you are terrific and ready to wow the world can make all the difference in the world,” Skenazy said, pointing out that when the support’s not there, it can have negative consequences on the child. So it’s important to balance support while also letting kids develop their independence.
According to Skenazy, how a parent tells their kids something is often more important than what they tell them to do. Kids take cues from grownups, so even phrasing something differently or using a different tone can have positive effects even if the topic that’s being talked about is far from pleasant.
Thats More Than 3 Pagents A Month If They Start When She Was Born! Of Course The Poor Thing Doesn't Want To Out Her Sippy Cup Down Shes A Baby!
Egg Fast Keto Mom Group
Who Says You Can't Be Cool And Rebellious Once You're A Mom
“The best way to make sure that a child starting out in the world feels like their parents believe in them—rather than simply being fed up—is for the parent to make it explicit!” Skenazy explained that this is how parents can communicate to their kids that it’s time to be more independent.
The expert also highlighted that telling the child that you’ll always love them, even though they’re becoming more independent is a healthy, mature way of communicating with them. However, that relies heavily on the parents themselves learning to loosen their grips on their kids and setting the bar for their expectations lower (which, maybe counterintuitively, leads to healthier, happier families).
So, dear Readers, what did you think of this list? Were there any pics that made you go, “Wow, that’s enough internet for me today?” Where do you think the line between being a good and a bad parent lies? What’s the best way to avoid drama on parent groups on social media? Share your thoughts and feelings in the comment section below. And remember, stay excellent!
Please Don’t Make Me Explain Why
Yeah, That’s Just Insane
Common Core Is Definitely Part Of The Leftist Agenda
"Home schooling group" kinda defeats the purpose of it being homeschooling, doesn't it. Doing it in a group is not a "home schooling group", that's an illegally operated, small school with unqualified teachers.
If You Have To Ask...
If Only It Fixed Everything (Found In My Breastfeeding Group)
I Guess You’re Out Of Luck Then
Can’t Find Science To Back Up Your Claim? Must Be God
God Forbid, A Bald Baby!
Bruh this child is going to have self-esteem issues if the parents continue to do this all the way up to adult stage.
Prayer Isn’t Billable To Insurance, Karen
I think they're called shamans, but I don't think they believe in Jesus :/
Who Knew I Wasn’t A Real Mom?
Note: this post originally had 48 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
I try so hard not to be judgemental. But seeing so much stupidity and dangerous ideas has me judging a whole bloody lot.
Before Facebook I could at least have some hope in humanity...not anymore.
Load More Replies...These people are dangerous. So, so, so dangerous. None of them should be allowed to interact with the public, much less breed.
Can somebody please get child services on most of these people? And they wonder why American kids take guns to school, have depression issues and are out of touch with reality....it starts at home....
I'm 100% with you on this. Some of the people featured here not be allowed anywhere near children. Who's running these groups? The social media companies hosting this stuff need to get their acts together before children get killed.
Load More Replies...I dont understand why we dont need to pass a test to be allowed to have kids. The wellbeing of the kids is more important than their wish to reproduce.
Every day I become more and more thankful to God for the parents I was given.
Some of these are so ridiculously stupid that they have to be fake, right?!
On this post we shouldn´t upvote but downvote. All of these... many many times.
And of COURSE Obimom is a self proclaimed, self righteous anti vaxxer. Ignorant selfish c***s the lot of them.
Load More Replies...HERE IS SOME UNSEE JUICE FOR EVERYONE WHO WANTS SOME unseejuice...7aa6c9.jpg
i refused to believe those kind of people excist, untill i saw people on my knitting FB group post prayers and ask the lord for forgiveness for the person who posted a picture of something with the pattern of Biden and Harris on it :-D
I think God has bigger issues that Biden & Harris on a knitting pattern...
Load More Replies...The more i read,the angrier i get. Angry but also sad. Also the way they always bring God is infuriating. God gave us brain for a reason. Tch,what a waste.
There were several of these that reminded me of my 74yo mother. Today (2/15/21), the temp in Huston TX is 10°. Records have been broken all over the US for cold temps. My mother straight looked at me and said, "Now you see what a hoax global warming is". I just walked away.
Well, Trump made a similar comment about the snow in New York... And the Spanish president Mariano Rajoy declared some years ago that global warming was a lie because his cousin, who is a biologist, said so.
Load More Replies...I just find it very interesting that the subreddit only bashes moms when there are just as many dad's with the same exact mindset and beliefs as those moms.
Start a subreddit, collect the examples and post them. Honestly, there's one thing some women are very good at: feeling a victim of the whole universe. And they are usually the ones who have the least reasons to complain.
Load More Replies...I see some potential future Darwin Award winners in those posts..ye gods 🥶
Oh dear oh dear. I will admit, I got scared more than once. And where did the whole "bReAsT mILK wILL cUrE eVeRyThInG" come from?
I'm not sure if these are supposed to be funny but I am seeing a LOT of future mentally ill children here. I have no problem being "all judgey" about these idiots. Truly, stupid people shouldn't breed.
This is why I believe basic psychology, interpersonal skills, and child-rearing 101 should be taught in schools.
I love posts like this ... makes me feel better about the job I'm doing parenting :)
If your kids are loved and cared for, you're doing just fine. Like adults, children are individuals and what works for other people's may not work for yours... ... ... Jist remember that goes for when you give other parents "advice" as well.
Load More Replies...I know this is old, like 10 months old but, i see everything postet here still on a daily basis. Like, we had no learning progress at all over the past 10 months. O.o On the holidays i had to disturb a customer, because he had to clean his nose in front of other customers. He did that because he wanted to clean his nose and did not understand why i whas angry at him. O.o
Nononoonnoo. Just no. I have seen pictures of war zones, car crashes, children starving in Africa, effects of diseases on people including small children so on and so forth and you go through it to learn something about how it happened and why it happened and how one can help and I never looked away. This is the first time I felt physically ill because it was so horrific. I couldn't even get through the whole thing I just stopped when I reached that one where the mom was saying a little poop isn't toxic and I just noped the f out.
No. It has always been there. The Internet only showed these people's stupidity to the whole world.
Load More Replies...To all of these mothers, Have you tried adoption? I'm sure your kids will get a better life with another family
Posts like these are just decisive. Yes, many of these people are concerning. However, in the end this post is about shaming moms and people who think differently than you. Rather than opening a conversation or (and some times this is an option) ignoring it, you shame people, driving them further away.
As an American, I take a slight offense with this. It isn't ALL Americans. You have seen what we have had to deal with for the past four years. The idiots and the ones that do the s****y things get all the attention. I am sorry to be an American because of what happened. Don't judge an entire country based on Trump and his lackeys.
Load More Replies...I try so hard not to be judgemental. But seeing so much stupidity and dangerous ideas has me judging a whole bloody lot.
Before Facebook I could at least have some hope in humanity...not anymore.
Load More Replies...These people are dangerous. So, so, so dangerous. None of them should be allowed to interact with the public, much less breed.
Can somebody please get child services on most of these people? And they wonder why American kids take guns to school, have depression issues and are out of touch with reality....it starts at home....
I'm 100% with you on this. Some of the people featured here not be allowed anywhere near children. Who's running these groups? The social media companies hosting this stuff need to get their acts together before children get killed.
Load More Replies...I dont understand why we dont need to pass a test to be allowed to have kids. The wellbeing of the kids is more important than their wish to reproduce.
Every day I become more and more thankful to God for the parents I was given.
Some of these are so ridiculously stupid that they have to be fake, right?!
On this post we shouldn´t upvote but downvote. All of these... many many times.
And of COURSE Obimom is a self proclaimed, self righteous anti vaxxer. Ignorant selfish c***s the lot of them.
Load More Replies...HERE IS SOME UNSEE JUICE FOR EVERYONE WHO WANTS SOME unseejuice...7aa6c9.jpg
i refused to believe those kind of people excist, untill i saw people on my knitting FB group post prayers and ask the lord for forgiveness for the person who posted a picture of something with the pattern of Biden and Harris on it :-D
I think God has bigger issues that Biden & Harris on a knitting pattern...
Load More Replies...The more i read,the angrier i get. Angry but also sad. Also the way they always bring God is infuriating. God gave us brain for a reason. Tch,what a waste.
There were several of these that reminded me of my 74yo mother. Today (2/15/21), the temp in Huston TX is 10°. Records have been broken all over the US for cold temps. My mother straight looked at me and said, "Now you see what a hoax global warming is". I just walked away.
Well, Trump made a similar comment about the snow in New York... And the Spanish president Mariano Rajoy declared some years ago that global warming was a lie because his cousin, who is a biologist, said so.
Load More Replies...I just find it very interesting that the subreddit only bashes moms when there are just as many dad's with the same exact mindset and beliefs as those moms.
Start a subreddit, collect the examples and post them. Honestly, there's one thing some women are very good at: feeling a victim of the whole universe. And they are usually the ones who have the least reasons to complain.
Load More Replies...I see some potential future Darwin Award winners in those posts..ye gods 🥶
Oh dear oh dear. I will admit, I got scared more than once. And where did the whole "bReAsT mILK wILL cUrE eVeRyThInG" come from?
I'm not sure if these are supposed to be funny but I am seeing a LOT of future mentally ill children here. I have no problem being "all judgey" about these idiots. Truly, stupid people shouldn't breed.
This is why I believe basic psychology, interpersonal skills, and child-rearing 101 should be taught in schools.
I love posts like this ... makes me feel better about the job I'm doing parenting :)
If your kids are loved and cared for, you're doing just fine. Like adults, children are individuals and what works for other people's may not work for yours... ... ... Jist remember that goes for when you give other parents "advice" as well.
Load More Replies...I know this is old, like 10 months old but, i see everything postet here still on a daily basis. Like, we had no learning progress at all over the past 10 months. O.o On the holidays i had to disturb a customer, because he had to clean his nose in front of other customers. He did that because he wanted to clean his nose and did not understand why i whas angry at him. O.o
Nononoonnoo. Just no. I have seen pictures of war zones, car crashes, children starving in Africa, effects of diseases on people including small children so on and so forth and you go through it to learn something about how it happened and why it happened and how one can help and I never looked away. This is the first time I felt physically ill because it was so horrific. I couldn't even get through the whole thing I just stopped when I reached that one where the mom was saying a little poop isn't toxic and I just noped the f out.
No. It has always been there. The Internet only showed these people's stupidity to the whole world.
Load More Replies...To all of these mothers, Have you tried adoption? I'm sure your kids will get a better life with another family
Posts like these are just decisive. Yes, many of these people are concerning. However, in the end this post is about shaming moms and people who think differently than you. Rather than opening a conversation or (and some times this is an option) ignoring it, you shame people, driving them further away.
As an American, I take a slight offense with this. It isn't ALL Americans. You have seen what we have had to deal with for the past four years. The idiots and the ones that do the s****y things get all the attention. I am sorry to be an American because of what happened. Don't judge an entire country based on Trump and his lackeys.
Load More Replies...