Grown-Up Kids Share The Most Embarrassing Things Their Parents Ever Did In Front Of Them (30 Tweets)
For parents of misbehaving kids (which, let's face it, is all parents), embarrassment is one of the most effective ways of turning the tables. Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of a child who might've gotten a little too big for their britches more than being shown up in front of their mates.
Kids get to a stage, usually around their early teens, when they just find their parents to be eye-rollingly cringeworthy. They want to strike out in the world and find their own identities - and consequently begin to rebel a little against the 'authority figures' that are their parents. It can be a difficult period for both child and parent, but with some understanding and good humor, it can be easily negotiated.
This list, inspired by a Nick Harvey tweet, is a classic of the genre: Mortified children recounting the horror of their most embarrassing parent-related moments. Sure, some of these parents put their kids through a public shaming entirely by accident; but there are also plenty of vengeful moms and dads who knew exactly what they were doing!
Scroll down below to check out the list for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
Image credits: mrnickharvey This post may include affiliate links.
I can't stop laughing. My husbands name is Peter and all I can see in my head now is me yelling " Peter your balls!" Haha
I know this well. My father used to like to sleep afternoon only in his underwear. Actually it was more skirt than underwear, so you can imagine how it looked like 😂
What happens AFTER that? "Awkward moment" Dad: Can you guys take us home?
Absolutely same story with me. If my dad was ANYWHERE give him half a chance he'd get up and sing and I'd disappear out of embarrassment. He died 12 years ago and I would give ANYTHING to see him sing again.
My dad was a geetar picker/front man.......He also mortified me and then made me proud so many times over the years. He played country and 50's rock. It took me most of my 47 years knowing and loving him to finally win my argument, no dad, the Beatles didn't ruin rock n roll.....I believe us attending one of Sir Paul's shows helped me close the door on that one. I miss my sweet poppa too ;-)
Nothing to be embarassed about, your dad sounded like a very talented musician! Be proud!
Family moments are soooo fun, especially when you get impressed by something. Love the beatles!
Why be embarrassed though? I don't understand why anyone would be embarrassed by their parents unless their parents were rude, racist or bullies. I would never have been embarrassed by my parents. I wish I had my parents; my mom died when I was two and my dad died when I was 17.
Yeah, I'm just picturing the dad lying on the floor and laughing like crazy at that image.
Load More Replies...They made an effort, it may not have been ideal but it goes to show how much they cared about your education.
Imagine if we get a "Thirty craziest things teachers ever saw the parents of their students do" list entry from the headmistress retelling this exact same scene...
now THAT is what real parental love is all about: working through the "adult" stuff, to ensure your kids are looked after. BRAVO to those parents!!
Although it was probably embarrassing at the time, that's kinda badass!
And did they have pants to loan, the way they did ties?
Load More Replies...I almost got busted smoking coz stupid young me hid an ashtray on my window sill. Well der you can see what’s on the sill from the outside. I was a bloody idiot. I am still a bit of a ditz.
when I was 32 my mom called my dentist's office and asked the front desk to make sure I didn't walk home after dark.
My mom came home once, pulled me into her room and slammed the door. "I found out something about you today that was worse than finding out your sister (16) is pregnant", pause, "you smoke". I had taken said sister to the doctor and smoked in the waiting room, the nurse ratted me out to mom. Please note, mom smoked two packs a day, and dad smoked 3.
5 packs a day? Wow, your parents spent a fortune in cigarettes.
Load More Replies...Probably tobacco, that is the worst thing to smoke.
Load More Replies...I got a long lecture from mom about smoking cos my room smelled like smoke, It was mosquito repellent incense I used to burn in my room, also once got lectured about how my breath smells like scented tobacco, it was just mouth freshner I took from dinner at a restaurant, another time when my parents suggested not to travel to a neigboring city alone cos I shouldn't, I had just returned from abroad living two years as international student
As someone with a Dad who does exactly this, it's far funnier with hindsight than it ever is at the time. Wouldn't change him for the world though.
Load More Replies...Must be related to my dad...walking around the grocery store, he takes off walking somewhere oh his own personal mission while my step-mom and I were shopping. Minutes later in the next aisle, we hear a huge fart and my dad oh so politely apologize by saying "oh sorry, I thought you were my wife". We found out later this was after he backed up to some strange lady and let it fly smh.
Actually I should add the follow up to this story, went to school, I was 15 too, and told jackie in Maths class what my Dad had done, she went quiet and said I was out all weekend and my parents didnt even ask where I had been or if I was Ok. That story has always stuck with me and made me love my Dad for caringand made me think,
My girlfriend and me were in a sailing club dancing, it was too late we should have be home already... as het father appears in his pyjama's to collect her.. I almost pissed my pants, but she was so embarrassed, never been too late home again..
yes my Dad did the same but he went further and walked around trying to find me and found me with some guys tongue down my throat!!
I agree, the mum was obviously very proud and she was standing at the back and not making a scene by the sounds of it.
Load More Replies...Was this the same punk band whose lead guitarist was 'collected' by his mother?
She showed her bits? I would say that’s more traumatic than embarrassing. Maybe it’s both ? Embatic?
This is a bit uncomfortable to read, you can show anatomy without exposing yourself to your kids at that age. Books, educational videos etc. I sat down and watched “what is happening to me” and “where did I come from” with my daughter and then afterwards I answered any questions she had and had a chat.
that's not embarrassing really.. but disturbing. she was freaking eight yah nasties
Did anyone else picture her with scissors and construction paper cutting little shapes out in the middle of the dance floor.....oh just me.
Were you cutting shapes out of paper or do you mean you were dancing?
Religious nutcases, or just nutcases (as in abstinence only advocates) in general who think that because they don't know about it they won't engage in it?
Load More Replies...Sex education classes should be approved by medical professionals for accuracy and child psychologists for comprehensiveness, not parents
Living in a small town I'd damn sure want to see what these quacks were about to teach my child about sex, bc if it's anything like the nonsense I learned I wouldn't want them to go!
This is the responsibility of parents. Unfortunately not all parents teach, or even should teach their children about sex. Just the basic biology, with pros and cons of birth control methods, abstinence, multiple partners, abortion, having children and at what age, etc. As well as the importance of the word "NO" and your right to say it, and the importance of hearing it, and how to recognize "NO" even when it's not stated.
As an Aussie Mum I actually really like this idea. Not for approval but so I would be prepared for question and understand the context. Having said that we have open, age appropriate discussions continually.
Is that at school? I think that's a wise thing to do. Pre-teen sex education, and get the parents approval prior doing that to make sure if the contents are agreeable.
Parental approval is how abstinence only education gets taught
Load More Replies...That.... is... not embarassing... that is... AWESOME. And very sweet. Incredibly lovely and caring.
It was the summer of 76 I was nearly 16, and it was anincredible heatwave, so I decided to go into to town , in a bikini, my dad drove up iced me up by the ears and threw me in the car!!!
You tend to find yourself a s.o. that has similarities to your parents. Congrats. You did a great job
That is very true. My BF reminds me of my dad sometimes and my daughter brought her BF to meet her dad, his reaction: He reminds me of your mom's BF (we have custody so she was mostly raised by me and my BF).
Load More Replies...I think we've found the difference between embarrassing and humiliating. That's awful
That's right -- we take it as a personal challenge... :)
Load More Replies...pfft shoot, id be in a batgirl cape screaming back- "OH HI DADDDDDDD"
Oh this is just too funny! Your Dad sounds like a hoot! Hope he's still around you are blessed if he is.
This is when all those times you annoyed your dad come back to haunt you…
A mom never stops being a mom no matter what age you are. Years ago, my nephew wanted to put hot sauce on his food. His mother (my sister) said "Don't do it. That stuff is spicy." My nephew was 25.
It doesn't matter how old you are, your mother will never stop being your mother.
Gosh are these embarrassing? I try helping my 30/40 something sons all the time. That’s what parents do Oh just being me.
I order mine blue rare and my mom always says that I want it still mooing.
My Dad was in his late 60s when I convinced him to please just try rare steak. He loved it and stopped ordering it well-done. Me; job done.
Years ago I asked my boss "My boyfriend is coming to visit for my birthday, can I have it off?" He said "That isn't a question you should ask a work colleague." It took me a couple of seconds but my face spontaneously combusted and I ran out of the laboratory with his laughter echoing down the hallway. Fiend.
There was a classic tv moment when 2 women were talking about clothing. One woman said to the other, "I bought this dress while I was pregnant and I haven't had it off since then ! 😂
I never heard of the expression "have it off." You learn something new everyday.
hecc i would say id drink it still.. but i just realized that it was coke...
I am 44. My dad & mom will still do this any time I go shopping with them, & will come up with embarrassing things for the announcer to say. It's been 15yrs since I've shopped with them! (Jk, but I do stick with them when shopping, but now it's my kids who get to be embarrassed.
I woulda loved having you as a sibling the many ways I could you for that one are endless.
Oh no I can still remember my Mom doing that but at least it wasn't in front of a boy that I was crushing on.
hahhaa.... oh my god, my husband has rancid kill you a*s, but manages to hold it in public. he saves it all for the car and home... I think I need a divorce... LOL
Why didn't she say anything?! I get the embarrassment, but still! 😂😂
One time I was at my friends house for her birthday. Around tw in in the moning, another friend that was there decided to play "Despacito" extremally loud and sing along to it. The birthday girls father then came downstaris in his extremally tight, extremally short boxershorts are yelled at us, thirteen year olds, to "TURN THAT D*** THING OFF! IT IS TOO D*** LOUD"
Thankfully, my dad came out in his whitey tighties and mom's bathrobe to grab the tv (catching on fire) and hauled it out to our lawn that was literally on the main drag of our small town. I had a living room full of friends over for a sleepover, sleeping in front of that old burning tv. thank you pops!!!! You also gave the town an eyefull ;-)
im kinda concerned that he knows what french prostitute looks like
I had a similar experience at a halloween costume contest at a run down mall in the 80's. My mom and her best friend had me dress up in a short skirt, high heels (that I couldn't walk in) and some bad makeup and told me to tell the judges I was a street walker. I was a very innocent 9 yr old girl and didn't know what a street walker was *sigh*
And this is why we need to change our perspectives. "Oh no, not as A GIRL? The horror and shame of being dressed as a GIRL! My parents thought it would be funny to humiliate me by dressing me as a GIRL!" I know this is not the purpose of the post... but I would love to see a day when being dressed as a "girl" is not humiliating and shameful. I get that the situation was awful at the time... but it shouldn't be. If the roles were reversed the god-awful horror would have been in no way as embarrassing. Do you kinda get what I mean? Not trying to be 'that guy' just an observation in the comments section on a fun post.
This reminds me of a rehearsal for a concert at school when the conductor said "this bit needs to be loud so everyone give it some welly." Ten seconds later, he paused, and said to the professional operatic bass sitting behind me, who had come along for a lark with his son, "Donald, maybe you could throttle it back just a little?" Seriously, we were swaying in the wind, but it was a glorious sound ;-)
keyboard.. bikers club.. deaf grandma.. this doesnt seem to add up XD
the moment you realize that dying in a car accident might not be that bad... (i'm ready for the downvotes..)
You can be sure that the person responsible for working the tannoy was absolutely delighted to make THIS announcement!
Not missing a beat, he responded, "I'm just glad you're not buying an aubergine" (aubergine = eggplant)
I know you're just being helpful but there is no need to translate into pigeon English. ;)
Load More Replies...The Frug (pronounced "froog") was a dance craze in the 1960s. Best example is from a movie called Sweet Charity!
Load More Replies...You're embarrassed by your parents dancing in their own home? Really it could be much worse. At least your mum didn't show you her bits.
Forced me to locate a copy of this book on e-bay and purchase it immediately!
I saw my mom try to do multiple Fortnite dances, as taught by my little brothers. I'm still slowly dying to this day.
Had a similar experience once in Germany: mum asks for a roasted chicken at a stall, and the guy replies asking 'Ein gansche?', which means a complete chicken, not half of it. My mum, being Flemish understood 'A goose?' ('een ganse?') and replies 'No, no, a chicken!'
Eh ? But 'gans' in Flemish means whole or entire as well? As in 'de ganse dag' (the entire day)
Load More Replies...Me: Want a cheeseburger? Him: No, I want a hamburger with cheese on it.
I hate parents like that. Why can't you just relax & let your kids enjoy playing a game?
The upsetting part of the mixup is that Alcatraz was a place to put criminals. Those in Auschwitz were victims.
Is it more embarrassing because the poet was famous? Namedropping is embarrassing too.
Not because he's famous: because he's (I wish I had italics here) widely accepted as one of the most excellent poets of his generation.
Load More Replies...My mother-in-law has early onset dementia and does things like this. I find it endearing because she puts her heart and soul into it even if it's wacky or inedible. She's a goddess.
Maybe the mother just wanted to use his punishment as a way to watch porn.
If a man would have done it to her, she probably would have filed a complaint...
huh for some reason i was thinking of actual flying wings... i dont know why
A pint made of half lager and half cider. It's a UK thing but I've never actually known anyone drink one ever...
Load More Replies...rule number one: if you see photos, videos, or crafts being pulled out.. RUN
Now, now, maybe gran enjoyed hers without knowing the name for it.
My mother used to say "Those aren't my kids, those are the pod children that we let out into public." Lol
Or if the parents don't let go early enough - 10 is plenty old enough to judge it for herself.
Load More Replies...It must be mums of a certain generation. I can't go on a trip without having a pee first!
mom goals. also, sorry daughter.. you're not getting that date tonight XD
Sounds like she has a similar attitude and skills-set on pitch to Boris Johnson - who also mows down small children.
On exactly what are you basing that? From what I have read in general it's much more likely the she just didn't give a f**k about anyone outside of her family.
Load More Replies...Yeah, see, some people actually procreate without getting the church and state involved.
Load More Replies...That wording sound much more like ex-husband or ex-boyfriend.
Load More Replies...Forgot to put her teeth in? Criminy, it would be the first thing I did on the daily.
They can apparently be very uncomfortable if the fit isn't just right, so I can see leaving them out if you're just home alone. Kind of like not putting a bra on if there's no one else to see.
Load More Replies...Why would a mother set her child up for bullying? That's just cruel.
Load More Replies...It seems like it should be but when it's your parent - nope.
Load More Replies...My Mum tried to measure me for a bra in M&S in front of other staff and shoppers !!!
Marks & Spencer - now known as M&S. Famous for it's knickers!
Load More Replies...I am from Romania, studied English in the 00's, my school books used the word rubber instead of eraser in some texts :))
Load More Replies...I was an innocent 13 year old when I found out what another term for rubbers is. I asked someone in my class if they had a rubber (eraser) I could borrow and a few people that heard laughed at me.
My father when i was 25 walked in on me getting a blowjob, luckily she was under the cover....
My mum walked in on me and my partner being intimate, thankfully we were in bed and we were covered in a blanket.
With me it was my partner's sister who caught us.
Load More Replies...Indeed - old name for them was 'rubber johnnies'.
Load More Replies...I don't care what year it, if you're 21 you do not want to your mom in Daisy Dukes.
Load More Replies...Good Grief! The girl was 19 - an adult. Not an appropriate way to treat an adult daughter.
Janet Evanovich books have the grandmother doing the same and then asking who sat on a duck.
i find pain funny.. but this isnt embarrassing just a little sad
Haha, I was outside having a ciggie (when I smoked) at a shopping centre when a teenager approached me and asked me for a smoke. and I asked them for ID, they said they left it at home but I refused to give them one.
That's embarrassing for the s@#t parents...way to NOT back your kid!
When I graduated from high school my dad wore an expensive double-breasted dark blue suit, my mom a skirt with matching jacket and I wore my first black suit. The other parents wore everyday clothes and some of the students jeans and T-shirts. Then our principal walked in, wearing leisure pants, sandals and a short sleeved shirt, no jacket, no tie, carrying our certificates in a brown cardboard box. When my dad saw him, he left, because he didn't "want to make a fool of himself." I always thought, he could have stayed for my sake (my mom did).
I would have been devastated if my parents didn’t come to my high school grad (if I had one that is).
thats not funny you disgusting creeps! the poor little boy just got threw up on!
Plus that wasn't even the worst part of it all. Horrible for older siblings to do that to the poor child.
Load More Replies...My dad did pinch my a**e once... . We were getting off a bus and so I didn't make a scene. I was about 14 years old at the time.
What time does the Subway stop running? And do they not have taxis in London?
They do, but not in the teenage price bracket
Load More Replies...My mother-in-law only recently trashed our toilet seat when crashing into it, drunk from the grappa and wine she had in the Italian restaurant we visited. In her defense, the glass for the grappa was enormous...
Aw, I went to a Radio One Roadshow in Brighton. Shame they stopped doing them.
Handjob clearly means something entirely different in the UK... Lol.
No because the other two are also sexual things so it means the same thing.
Load More Replies...My mother had surgery on her hemorrhoids when I was 16. She had a DR that never smiled or laughed. She decided it was her mission in life to make him laugh. She made me draw a happy face on her a*s cheek with a sharpie before surgery. When my mom was in recovery the nurse came in and said she never saw the DR laugh so hard in all the years she's been working with him.
I saved a 'ripe' sticker from an avocado and wore it to the delivery room.
Load More Replies...The most embarrassing thing involved my Mother-in-law. We were staying over the in-laws house and we were going to sleep in the caravan. I started getting ready for bed when my son started crying and also sounded like he was dry retching so I got up and started going through the cupboards to find a bowl or bucket. My hubby heard him crying so came to check what’s up then went to ask his mum where a bucket was. I was sitting on the chair cuddling my son, I was stark naked except for a pair of knickers and even though my hubby told her I wasn’t dressed she still came in, gasped and said “OH.MY.GOD (real name) you are beautiful, you are a Windsor beauty (whatever the hell that is)” and she started rubbing my arm. It was sooooo awkward and embarrassing. We have never spoken of it and I don’t know if she remembers coz she was so very drunk.
(1/2)This happened to my father twice. First time, my brother and I were 18 and 13 and my dad wanted book us something fun so he got us tickets to the "Dances of Latin America" at the Rio in Vegas. My brother thought it was 'lame' so he skipped out and it was just my mom, dad, and I. At the end of the show all these topless showgirls came out for a Carnivale number to which my mom ribbed me with her elbow and said "I bet your brother regrets not coming."
When I was 7 my family moved to San Diego from Denmark. As kids do I quickly adjusted and learnt the language flawlessly. My mother however always spoke broken English with a thick Danish accent. One day before the Christmas holidays in the 7th grade, while waiting outside school for my mom to pick me up, I stood next to a popular boy named Eric Farhood whom I had an epic, all consuming crush on. He was with a group of his friends and probably had no idea whatsoever who I was. Chance had it that the evening before, I had (turns out very unwisely), spilled my guts to my mom confessing my undying love for Eric and even pointed him out to her on a school photo. As my mother pulls up to the school the first thing she spots is - naturally - Eric Farhood. The following all plays out in slow motion for me as she gets out of the car with a huge smile on her face and shouts: MEDRRYS CHRISTMASSY, ERIC FARTHOOD.
This one has to do with a parent embarrassing a child. My sister went on a school trip. She forgot her underwear. My mother noticed. She had her husband drive to the school. This is huge for my mother to ask. She found the bus. She had the underwear in her hand waving it around. * you forgot your underwear. I have it. My sister (wearing dress) had to get off the bus to get it. I was outside with my and her friends. I had to tell them that it was a joke.
(2/2)The second time my father wanted us to see a play in London's West End. He was a big fan of Madame Butterfly and thought M. Butterfly was a modern take on the classic. The story is about a British sailor falling in love with a Japanese woman. In the modern version (takes place around WWII), it's not a woman but a drag queen who is spying for the government. As not to blow her cover, her handler tells him that he needs to have sex with the sailor. There is a line that alludes to a**l sex and once my dad heard that our family was never yanked out of a movie theater so fast. We never spoke of it again.
Driving along and saw my daughter hanging around with her way too cool friends on a street corner and thought it a too good opportunity to miss so I came alongside to say "Hi" and "what about a smooch for your old dad?" Needless to say she sank into the sidewalk with a firey red face.
In second grade, bout 6 years old, I needed to use the restroom but my teacher would not let me go because we were watching some movie about dinosaurs *insert eye roll* I ended up peeing myself, had to call home to Dad (mom was working) to bring me clean undies and pants. He shows up with one of my brothers clothes........ He claimed I sounded like my brother on the phone and asked if I would still wear it, mind you my brothers were 2 and 3 years younger than me... I waited in the office with my pee soaked pants for another hour or so before he showed up with the right ones.
My dad was driving my brother and I to high school. He ran a light near the school, and an officer turned on the siren. Though there were plenty of side streets or places to pull over before the school, my father proceeds to drive into the school drop off lane, tailed by the siren-blaring cop. I was mortified.
My mother had surgery on her hemorrhoids when I was 16. She had a DR that never smiled or laughed. She decided it was her mission in life to make him laugh. She made me draw a happy face on her a*s cheek with a sharpie before surgery. When my mom was in recovery the nurse came in and said she never saw the DR laugh so hard in all the years she's been working with him.
I saved a 'ripe' sticker from an avocado and wore it to the delivery room.
Load More Replies...The most embarrassing thing involved my Mother-in-law. We were staying over the in-laws house and we were going to sleep in the caravan. I started getting ready for bed when my son started crying and also sounded like he was dry retching so I got up and started going through the cupboards to find a bowl or bucket. My hubby heard him crying so came to check what’s up then went to ask his mum where a bucket was. I was sitting on the chair cuddling my son, I was stark naked except for a pair of knickers and even though my hubby told her I wasn’t dressed she still came in, gasped and said “OH.MY.GOD (real name) you are beautiful, you are a Windsor beauty (whatever the hell that is)” and she started rubbing my arm. It was sooooo awkward and embarrassing. We have never spoken of it and I don’t know if she remembers coz she was so very drunk.
(1/2)This happened to my father twice. First time, my brother and I were 18 and 13 and my dad wanted book us something fun so he got us tickets to the "Dances of Latin America" at the Rio in Vegas. My brother thought it was 'lame' so he skipped out and it was just my mom, dad, and I. At the end of the show all these topless showgirls came out for a Carnivale number to which my mom ribbed me with her elbow and said "I bet your brother regrets not coming."
When I was 7 my family moved to San Diego from Denmark. As kids do I quickly adjusted and learnt the language flawlessly. My mother however always spoke broken English with a thick Danish accent. One day before the Christmas holidays in the 7th grade, while waiting outside school for my mom to pick me up, I stood next to a popular boy named Eric Farhood whom I had an epic, all consuming crush on. He was with a group of his friends and probably had no idea whatsoever who I was. Chance had it that the evening before, I had (turns out very unwisely), spilled my guts to my mom confessing my undying love for Eric and even pointed him out to her on a school photo. As my mother pulls up to the school the first thing she spots is - naturally - Eric Farhood. The following all plays out in slow motion for me as she gets out of the car with a huge smile on her face and shouts: MEDRRYS CHRISTMASSY, ERIC FARTHOOD.
This one has to do with a parent embarrassing a child. My sister went on a school trip. She forgot her underwear. My mother noticed. She had her husband drive to the school. This is huge for my mother to ask. She found the bus. She had the underwear in her hand waving it around. * you forgot your underwear. I have it. My sister (wearing dress) had to get off the bus to get it. I was outside with my and her friends. I had to tell them that it was a joke.
(2/2)The second time my father wanted us to see a play in London's West End. He was a big fan of Madame Butterfly and thought M. Butterfly was a modern take on the classic. The story is about a British sailor falling in love with a Japanese woman. In the modern version (takes place around WWII), it's not a woman but a drag queen who is spying for the government. As not to blow her cover, her handler tells him that he needs to have sex with the sailor. There is a line that alludes to a**l sex and once my dad heard that our family was never yanked out of a movie theater so fast. We never spoke of it again.
Driving along and saw my daughter hanging around with her way too cool friends on a street corner and thought it a too good opportunity to miss so I came alongside to say "Hi" and "what about a smooch for your old dad?" Needless to say she sank into the sidewalk with a firey red face.
In second grade, bout 6 years old, I needed to use the restroom but my teacher would not let me go because we were watching some movie about dinosaurs *insert eye roll* I ended up peeing myself, had to call home to Dad (mom was working) to bring me clean undies and pants. He shows up with one of my brothers clothes........ He claimed I sounded like my brother on the phone and asked if I would still wear it, mind you my brothers were 2 and 3 years younger than me... I waited in the office with my pee soaked pants for another hour or so before he showed up with the right ones.
My dad was driving my brother and I to high school. He ran a light near the school, and an officer turned on the siren. Though there were plenty of side streets or places to pull over before the school, my father proceeds to drive into the school drop off lane, tailed by the siren-blaring cop. I was mortified.
