Kids are far more clever than we give them credit for. We should know, we used to be kids ourselves! Their imaginations are in overdrive, their wittiness is off the charts, and they have their ‘snappy comebacks’ levels set all the way to 11.
Today we’re featuring the times that kids outsmarted their parents with some hilarious and genuinely impressive power moves, as shared on the r/madlads subreddit.
Scroll down, upvote your fave posts, and let us know in the comments which of these made you giggle the most. And be sure to read on for Bored Panda’s chat about parenting and how kids like to test limits with relationship expert Dan Bacon, a loving father of two.
Oh, and if any of you Pandas reading this are parents, we would absolutely love it if you’d share your own fun experiences raising your kids.
This post may include affiliate links.
9 Year Olds Being Absolute Madlads
Relationship expert and father of two Dan explained to Bored Panda what the right balance should be between strictness and fun when it comes to raising kids. According to him, patience is key. As is the understanding that children love to see what they can get away with doing.
“In order to be good, functioning citizens of a society, children do need to be shown what is good and what is bad. However, you have to remember that a child is a clean slate and is effectively innocent,” he said.
Mad Panini Lad
Not Sure If This Counts But Madlad Strikes At His Mom?
According to Dan, kids are constantly testing boundaries and checking to see what their parents will and will not allow them to do at home.
“The child will often say and do things that could make you angry if you don’t understand that he/she is simply testing to see what is okay or not, or what the limits are. Without testing, the child will just sit there, be quiet and do nothing, which isn’t going to happen,” Dan explained.
Madlad Kid
This Kid Deserves An A For Creativity
D E S T R O Y E D
“The child wants to explore the world around it and see what he/she can and cannot do. The child will also regularly forget what is right or wrong at times, or remember that something is wrong, but do it again anyway to see if you have a different response this time,” the dad of two pointed out what parents should be aware of.
“By doing it again, the child often shows you that it doesn’t need to follow a particular rule because the rule was too strict, or unnecessary, which then results in you changing and allowing the child to do it from then on,” he said.
Mothers Children Are Absolute Madmen. Out Of Control
This Little Mad Lad's On A Mission
Power Move
Gran only wants you to think that so she can pick up all the gossip that no one thinks she can hear
Load More Replies...
That's surprisingly common. It's tough to listen through hearing aids. Sometimes, you just need a break. No time better than when you're getting yelled at.
This is so true. I remember when hearing aids were terrible and I would feel fatigued by the excess noise. I would often flip them off and use them as ear plugs during chaotic times of the day like cafeteria or recess time.
Load More Replies... I do the same. When I was a teacher and the students were too loud etc I would turn them off. Got to have some perks to being deaf
May I ask some questions? Apart from this one, I mean. I am totally ignorant on this topic. Are there stages of deafness? Can some hear a bit and others totally nothing? And those hearing aids... do they help to hear normally or is it somehow different? .... if anyone even knows that.
Load More Replies...
I put my over-the-ear headphones on when I don't want to talk to people. Sometimes, I dont even have them connected to anything. Lol.
Load More Replies...
Hearing breaks are normal and needed for people using hearing aids. Their brains have to work harder to make sense of all the noise than people with a normal hearing range have to. All the background noises are being amplified into their brain at the same level as the speech they are trying to understand.
Thought that too. (Mainly because of Fawlty Towers)
Load More Replies... I used to have a flat mate who did that to me when I was wasted, can't say I blame him.
I've heard of many people (especially those with cochlear implants) who turn them off when they e had enough noise!
I worked at a school with a,Deaf Ed group. Part of the tgey were in "regular" classrooms with an interpretation, part in a group taught together. Very smart kids, all of them. One would cover his eyes if he didn't want to hear what they were signing to him. It made me learn sign language just because I thought it was important to call each child by name as they went through breakfast and lunch lines (or were sent to spend time with me on Time Out room).
soemtimes in class when the teachers or my mom is screaming i wish i could of done that
There's an old song my, now passed, mother used to sing to me. "Old woman, old woman will you wash my clothes for me? (She says) Speak a little louder, sir, I don't believe I heard you. (He says - in an even softer voice) Old woman, Old woman will you come and walk with me. (She says) Speak a little louder sir, I think I almost heard you. (He then whispers) Old woman, Old woman, will you come and marry me. (She exclaims) LAUSS A BESSIE, BLESS MY SOUL. I DO BELIEVE I HEARD YOU!!
I know my mom used to do this, but she'd announce it. If we aggravated her she'd say "I'm going off the air now" and turn off her hearing aid.
I've had a lot of noise sensitivity throughout my life, I really wish I could do this. I guess music will have to do.
My grandmother lost her hearing at 17 due to scarlet fever. She was an excellent lip reader and you would never know she was deaf. When she didn’t want to listen to what a family member had to say she would simply and deliberately turn her head while the other person was talking. It was beyond frustrating to the speaker.
Damn! I wish I had the ability to power down when I'm in these situations.
I do it! Just turn those suckers off. The Good part is, I tell people, that I can't always hear them. Up front. That I may respond inappropriately, or look confused. Either way, an out!
My grandfather used to do this to grandma. He'd say something to get her riled up, look like he was scratching his ears & shoot me a look like "He, he,he...now I bet you'll help me muck the barn as he walked out the door & up the hill to the barn."
If I ever go partially deaf, I will figure out a way to get my hearing aids to play audible so I can listen to books instead of whatever bs is being foisted on me.
My mom who's not deaf and not wearing any hearing aid, can somehow literally turn off her hearing "in her head" whenever she wants. She ignores VERY LOUD doorbell when she's on her tablet watching youtube videos through the tablet little speaker. Yet somehow she also hears her phone though.
Was married to a deaf man, he would just shut his eyes when we were arguing! VERY FRUSTRATING!
My Dad knew a guy who lost a substantial amount of his hearing in both ears after some infection or something. He used to say that he always had the final word in arguments with his wife because he just says what he wants to say and then shuts off his hearing aids. (I think he was just being funny, but maybe not...).
I knew an older ENT doctor who was hard of hearing and wore a hearing aid - not totally deaf. He said he did the same thing.
Yup, don't blame him. They can tell him what they want to have him understand when they're calm
I wish I could do that. Better yet, I wish I could freeze the world
My mom did this all the time when the house would get crowded and chaotic lol
Not that impressive. I know plenty of folk without any hearing impairments who manage to "mute the haters" whenever it's something they don't want to hear. Usually, we call them jackasses.
“So, you need to be patient as the child grows up and figures out how to behave and approach life in a way that suits you and himself/herself. One way to think about expecting a child to change or follow your orders is to remember how long it can take you to change a certain behavior as an adult,” Dan mused.
“Sometimes it can take weeks or months for you to stop a habit, change a behavior or take on a new behavior that people are asking of you, so you shouldn’t expect a child to change everything overnight and be completely obedient to every new rule you come up with," he said.
You Cant Speak Chinese Here
Honestly I Would Do That
Absolute Mad Lad Dad
"You have to love patiently, otherwise being a parent will make you feel stressed all the way through the child’s life," Dan said.
Some of us honestly think we peaked in terms of humor and wit and creativity when we were kids (and it was all downhill from there!). So it’s no wonder that we’ve been trying to recapture some of that magic. One of the ways to do it is to remind yourself what it actually means to be a child: speaking boldly and without a filter, setting our imaginations loose, and finding interesting ways of looking at the world.
What A Legend
Hope He Didn't Get Detention
Little Miss Madlass
Recently, Bored Panda went in-depth about how clever kids can be. Comedy writer and single mom Ariane Sherine said kids take after their parents in terms of wit, sense of humor, and creativity.
“Both I and my daughter’s dad work in the media, and from an early age, she’s wanted to be a pop star, writer, and actor. I don’t know how much of her creativity was influenced by seeing her dad’s writing in the newspaper and seeing me go out late to perform at musical comedy gigs. She definitely has creative talents, but how much of that is nature or nurture I don’t know. As for sense of humor, she’s far more sassy and sarcastic than me, so I think her sharp wit is all her own!” she told Bored Panda.
Madlad Son
Yup, S**t Happens
Madlad In Lecture
“My daughter loves starring in my social media posts. She actually asks me to tweet about her! When she does something cool or impressive like skateboarding or graffiti writing, she asks, ‘Can you put it on Twitter?!’ Then she loves to read the comments. I guess some kids are more shy and retiring, but I like the fact that mine is confident and happy to show the world her talents,” she said.
Mad Student
Madlad Kids
Ariane told Bored Panda that she is a very liberal mom because she had very strict parents herself.
“I think being liberal encourages creativity as it gives kids the confidence to express themselves fully, and my daughter is usually very sweet-natured and well-behaved. She’s also a lot of fun, while I didn’t dare to be fun in such a strict environment when I was a kid, so I’m really pleased that I’m giving her a happier and freer upbringing.”
Lad In Progress!
Madlad's Mom Has Got It Going On
The Pastafarians Are Rising!
Farting Madlad
Nacho
Mad Dad And Mad Lad Jr
One got grounded, one was banned from bedroom but it was still worth it! :D
Child Mad Lad
Yeah, we're an enlightened bunch when we were kids. I drank a 500ml bottle of Hai Karate aftershave because my brothers and I wanted to know if it made my farts smell better. Just for the curious: Farts could still peel the skin off the back of your eyeballs at 20 meters, and you get weird hallucinations, but at least the nurses in the hospital saw the funny side
He Did It
My God Her Daughter Is A Madman
Absolute Madlad In The Comments
When my kid was five or so, they told me they would never get tattoos. I assume that having heavily tattooed parents has this effect on many kids.
This Kid
Madlad 12 Year Old
This Kid Is Going Places
How To Scare The S**t Out Of Your Siblings 101
Bro, He's Just A Kid
Child Mad Lad
4 Year Old Madlad
Legend, This Kid Is
Madlad Kids
Once A Madlad Was 7 Years Old
Mad Lad Child
In Australia we say "step on a crack, break your mothers back; step on a line, break your fathers spine"... we're equal-opportunists!
Madlad Son
This Lad Has Zero Chill
Mad Lass
The Dedication Of This Mad Lad Nephew
Son Is A Madlad
Note: this post originally had 83 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Of course that children are smart, that is the part of their survival instinct, so let's teach them compassion and kindness and that starts with animals - children tend to be drown to animals for reason. This only way to save our planet and their future. - "As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will NEVER know HEALTH or PEACE. For as long as man massacre animals they WILL kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain CANNOT reap joy and love." - Pythagoras (580 -470 BC/BCE) Greek mathematician & philosopher
When my son was in elementary school, you used to be able to play games with random people on Yahoo messenger (idk if that's still a thing because who uses it anymore?). He was matched up with a (apparently) older woman in Scrabble who asked at one point how old he was. "I'm 9, how old are you?" To which she replied "I'm older than dirt!" Later in the game she said, "You're pretty good for 9!" My son typed back "Thanks! You're pretty good for dirt."
I was a young teen when my future uncle babysat us for the first and last time. He woke up on the couch to find a mostly empty can of beer he left on the coffee table the night before. So he took a giant swig. I think he got most of it down before he realized that the large mouthful was not beer but pure pickle juice.
These are funny, but there's a difference between being smart and being clever. My niece was composing music at 5, last I checked speaks 3 languages and is the youngest black belt in her category, but can't have an original thought to save her life.
Of course that children are smart, that is the part of their survival instinct, so let's teach them compassion and kindness and that starts with animals - children tend to be drown to animals for reason. This only way to save our planet and their future. - "As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will NEVER know HEALTH or PEACE. For as long as man massacre animals they WILL kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain CANNOT reap joy and love." - Pythagoras (580 -470 BC/BCE) Greek mathematician & philosopher
When my son was in elementary school, you used to be able to play games with random people on Yahoo messenger (idk if that's still a thing because who uses it anymore?). He was matched up with a (apparently) older woman in Scrabble who asked at one point how old he was. "I'm 9, how old are you?" To which she replied "I'm older than dirt!" Later in the game she said, "You're pretty good for 9!" My son typed back "Thanks! You're pretty good for dirt."
I was a young teen when my future uncle babysat us for the first and last time. He woke up on the couch to find a mostly empty can of beer he left on the coffee table the night before. So he took a giant swig. I think he got most of it down before he realized that the large mouthful was not beer but pure pickle juice.
These are funny, but there's a difference between being smart and being clever. My niece was composing music at 5, last I checked speaks 3 languages and is the youngest black belt in her category, but can't have an original thought to save her life.
