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Arguing with parents is the only battle you can never win. Every time it seems you’re just a step away from winning, there’s a bonus card being thrown your way. “You’re still a kid” works even if you’re already a parent yourself.

Luckily, there’s a subreddit dedicated to capturing all the messed-up drift we got from our parents. R/insaneparents is a safe space to talk about hard things in memes. Lucky enough to have a woo-woo anti-vax mom? They get you. Dad insisting COVID-19 is caused by 5G? Been there, heard that. All these shenanigans get a well-deserved meme fix, and Bored Panda has selected the best ones down below. Don't forget to upvote your faves and share what you think in the comments!

#2

I Feel Like This Applies A Lot For The Parents On Here

I Feel Like This Applies A Lot For The Parents On Here

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#3

Insane Parents Inadvertently Teaching Skills

Insane Parents Inadvertently Teaching Skills

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Bored Panda contacted redditor u/Mynameisethan182, who’s the moderator of r/insaneparents, to find out more about their community, which has a whopping 984K readers.

It turns out, r/insaneparents is far more than just the memes. “The community started off as a joke and it grew over time into a weird, chaotic place for people to talk about their real issues and hopefully raise awareness about them.” Kids today deal with their issues with memes and jokes, and they have “a much darker sense of humor than I had when growing up,” said u/Mynameisethan182.

#4

Should've Stayed At Home

Should've Stayed At Home

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#5

We Have All Been Through This

We Have All Been Through This

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Colin L
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've seen kids do this. I'm sorry you have to live with that!

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#6

Oop

Oop

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Pamela24
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Soooo true! I've written it on BP before - some parents/families are terribly toxic people and the best thing that you can do is to cut ties with them and live your life without them.

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R/insaneparents looks for memes that have a story to tell and take effort to make. Most importantly, other Reddit users have to relate to it. “No one wants to see memes about your mom taking your Xbox away—they don't care about that,” explained the moderator. “They want to know others out there are going through the same traumas as them and they find solace in that.”

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On average, r/insaneparents pulls 900K page views per day with 350K unique viewers. It adds up to a total of 15-20 million page views per month. But u/Mynameisethan182 assures me it’s not about the view count: “We're a decently-sized community and just want to help people.”

#7

He’s Totally Safe!

He’s Totally Safe!

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FatBaby
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wanna talk abt the actual picture here...why is this baby not also protected

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#8

A Meme About How My Parents Treat Me

A Meme About How My Parents Treat Me

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Carol Emory
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This was the question I got from my family. "Why don't you ever come over for the holidays?" Because I don't care to travel almost 2 hours to have a quick meal that eventually deteriorates into a full scale screaming match. When I went to college, I was encouraged by a friend to cut out the negative influences in my life. My family is extremely negative. Out of my parents, my 3 siblings and my cousins...the only one I have time for is my sister...and only because we've supported each other so much through the years. Just because they are related to you by blood does not mean you should obligate yourself to their abuse. The way to rise up is to shed the weights that are holding you down. Who knows..you may encourage them to take a turn towards change.

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We’ve all been in a situation where it seems that no matter what you tell your parents, they’ll always have their own way of doing things. It's not uncommon for kids and parents to argue over most things. But if it’s happening way too often and leaving a negative impact on your life, self-esteem, and relationships with others, you should get worried.

According to Psychology Today, you should ask yourself a couple of questions in order to find out whether your relationship with parents is unhealthy. “Do they try to control you? Do they manipulate, use guilt, or play the victim? Do they disregard your feelings and needs?” If the answer is positive, it may be a sign you’re living with toxic parents.

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#10

Just A Little Meme For You Guys

Just A Little Meme For You Guys

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Carol Emory
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Let me fix this. My mother is a horrible person. She treats everyone like c**p. Screams at everyone. Has the mouth of a drunken sailor and will steal the shirt off your back when you're not looking. That being said, I still love her...I just hate the things she does. I know she was dealt a crappy hand in life, but that doesn't excuse her behavior. I know she has mental issues that she doesn't want to get help for and that's her choice. But it doesn't mean I make myself open to her abuses and her behavior. I can worry about her and would be devastated if something happened to her. But I won't feed into her problems by opening myself up to her abuse.

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#11

She Doesn't Know I'm Bi

She Doesn't Know I'm Bi

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#12

How I've Been Feeling These Past Many Months. Maybe Not Stressed Y'know But Still

How I've Been Feeling These Past Many Months. Maybe Not Stressed Y'know But Still

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Arrow and Ace
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why is this so true? Honestly I'd show this to my parents but then I'd get a "Well you DO have it easy."

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Hermione Granger-Malfoy
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is actually very accurate. After that they want you to talk and open up to them and they wonder why you won't tell them how you feel.

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Tabitha L
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep. I once asked my mom if I could talk to a therapist. Was told, flat out, "you don't need therapy." Pro tip: if someone is asking for help, they probably need it.

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John Laurens/Gay Turtle
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Omg same! And then later when I end up having an emotional response due to stuffing all the stress, they're like "Well why didn't you tell us?" Uhm what the f**k?

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Drive Bee
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So many times parents cut off communication when you mainly need someone to talk to and be understood. It's not a competition to see who has it the worst!

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Emy Loves
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I believe there needs to be a balance between giving our children a safe place where mutual, equally respectful communication can take place while encouraging and guiding our children, but not coddling them or sheltering them to the point where they become too weak to deal with the harshness that life sometimes presents. I've seen parents be way too dismissive regarding their children's feelings and others being way too protective. Both forms will destroy emotional well-being all on their own. It's in no ones best interest to become a jellyfish but we don't need a world full of heartless, narcissistic drill sergeants either. Also, I learn A LOT from my daughters. Parents don't know everything :)

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Nicky OldfieldDesciple
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

God this is so true. Either that or to make the mistake of telling your mother something private because she says she's worried about you and she promises she won't judge you or tell anyone about what you said. As soon as you tell her she then starts judging you from a height making you feel waay crappier than you did before and then later on you find out she's blabbed you other people about what you said. Then she complains that you don't talk to her about your problems. Oh wow, I wonder why?

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deanna woods
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It makes me so angry that so many people have to put up with parents that behave this way and I am so happy that my parents are not like this.

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littlesaresare
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"You can talk to me about anything." The biggest lie that parents tell.

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Emy Loves
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm a parent and not all parents are like that. My daughters and I talk all the time. Find someone else you trust to talk with! Some parents are too dismissive but I'm honestly not one of them

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NEVAEH
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You know its been a week since a resent argument and I have been pretending everything is fine until i saw this meme. So a day before the argument my dad told me to say my feelings, the day the argument happens, they f*****g indirectly tell me that "i have it easy and their stress is more of stress than you so you are not qualified to stress" Like- don't think you are so subtle about telling me I'm not relevant for stress with your soft spoken words, I can see right through it.

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Alice Remedios
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I jokingly text my grown, successful sons to tell them they can still move home to play video games and eat pizza bites

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Savannah Manis
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm lucky that my mom listened to me when I talked to her and admitted that I had anxiety. She didn't criticize me and got me a therapist ASAP. I wish this person had that kind of parent.

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Elica
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Growing up my mom was like: if you are not happy don't come to the dinner table to spoil my appetite. Then my plates would be taken away from me right in front of my eyes. She still wonders why I don't tell her anything about my life. That must be a tougher lololol

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Kristina Thomas
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Oh gosh, quit being overdramatic again!" Ok. I'll pretend I have no emotions.

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Ian Hamilton
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They are probably right, also add all the running a house to that.

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Kim Hughes
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It makes me sad for you guys that you feel like you don't have a dumping ground for all the"junk"you have to carry around... As a parent what can we say to open up the lines of communication? What does that conversation look like to you? What's the first sentence that needs to come out of my mouth to show that I'm invested in you and I care about how you feel?

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Val/Malibu/Dante/Bob
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Haha, or they just lecture me. They never found out about me being badly bullied at school, or my multiple suicide attempts (I'm much better now btw)

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Lola DM
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel you. My mother knew about me being bullied, ostracized, assaulted, depressive, she barely even reacted.

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Patrick McKemie
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Been there! Apparently I was born "put upon"! It means ungrateful or entitled. I took it to mean YOU ARE A BURDEN!

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Sergio Serg
Community Member
4 years ago

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Well, today's kids are very self entitled. This one is too general to judge. The hard truth is life can be difficult. It's not all fun and games and some of today's kids live in a fantasy world. I've personally seen friend's kids complain about things that were completely ridiculous. But parents are to blame sometimes because if you spoil and shelter your child you can't complain when they turn out to be weak entitled cry babies that need safe place.. that's ridiculous

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Dat Bored Pugtato =0=
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everyone needs a safe place. Some parents say they don’t want to cradle their children or spoil them but it’s actually just treating them the way you want to be treated with respect. Smh.

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Darlene Lancer, a certified hypnotherapist, suggests detaching from toxic parents. “It means not reacting, not taking things personally, and not feeling responsible for someone else’s feelings, wants, and needs. Our parents can easily push our buttons.” In fact, it has nothing to do with physical distance. You can still be close to your parents, but not taking in the things they say.

Remember that having a healthy and pleasant relationship always starts with your feelings and attitudes. “Sometimes working on yourself is all it takes. That doesn’t imply that your parents will change, but you will,” Darlene claims. And that means that sometimes forgiveness is necessary to keep on moving together and building a connection.

#14

Meme Monday Has Arrived

Meme Monday Has Arrived

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Carol Emory
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My husband looks at the floor anytime we have an argument. I kept thinking that he was just ignoring me. It would make me more furious. Then when I spent quite a bit of time with his mother, I realized she was the queen of lectures. Then I understood who had conditioned him to look at the floor. I approach arguments differently now..trying not to lecture but, instead, engaging him to express his thoughts. We've been able to overcome much more stress in our relationship because we both have a voice.

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#15

Finally

Finally

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Roadkill TheBrave
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This just reminds me of that weird movie where this guy kidnaps a kid and winds up taking him Trick or Treating while he robs people because his Mom wouldn't let him trick or treat. Its called A Perfect World. Pretty interesting movie actually.

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#16

Yeah...

Yeah...

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#19

Not Saying Anything Is Sometimes Worse Though

Not Saying Anything Is Sometimes Worse Though

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Carol Emory
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My son got into a fight at school. I was told he started it. I was furious because he knew that I didn't approve of fighting. Then I get to the school and was told that he attacked another kid in the hallway next to the school door to his classroom. After talking to witnesses, I find out that the boy in question had decided to call my son all sorts of nasty names (my son is autistic) including "stupid" and "r****d" because my son was holding the outside door open in ice cold weather so the bus driver could help a student in a wheelchair enter the building, also letting cold air in. The school explained that my son would receive a day in-school suspension, but that the other kid was being suspended for 3 days. I sat down and explained to him how to handle it differently next time and I explained the reason he was suspended for a day was because he took it to the next level of physical attack instead of getting an adult involved to make the kid stop.

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#20

Basically Every Kid Growing Up With Strict Parents

Basically Every Kid Growing Up With Strict Parents

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#21

(: Fun

(: Fun

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Carol Emory
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Never tell your kids you had it worse. It's like telling them "I suffered more so you just need to suck it up!" Just listen to them.

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#23

Insaneparents When They Expect Children They Abuse To Love Them Unconditionally Be Like:

Insaneparents When They Expect Children They Abuse To Love Them Unconditionally Be Like:

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Val/Malibu/Dante/Bob
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is true. When I was younger my mum hit me and pinched me and whatnot. Now, I stay in my room, and she tells me off when I "isolate" myself. I firmly believe she only stopped abusing me because we learnt about childline in school and I came home telling her all about it.

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#24

Gotta Save Every Last Penny

Gotta Save Every Last Penny

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Artemis Thorne
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish I could do that... the problem is, my parents have to know EVERYTHING that I do. I swear, it feels like they are stalking me sometimes...

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#25

My Parents To A Tee

My Parents To A Tee

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#26

“Walked To School... Uphill Both Ways...”

“Walked To School... Uphill Both Ways...”

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#27

The Taste

The Taste

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Carol Emory
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you're kids are making a valid argument, don't shut them down. Discuss it. Admit Defeat. If you shut them down every time they are winning an argument, you teach them never to fight for what they believe in. You make them shy about asking for help. You make them afraid of authority. That opens the door for them being taken advantage of and it creates problems with confidence. If you are a mature adult..it's ok to admit that a teenager is making a valid point. It's not disrespectful to stand up for what you believe in as long as you keep the conversation civilized.

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#28

It's That Damn Radiation!

It's That Damn Radiation!

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Carol Emory
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is the same BS logic that caused anti-vaxxers to believe that vaccines cause autism. Autism is a genetic malady..not caused by heavy metals in vaccines (which, btw, have already been removed.)

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#30

Rent

Rent

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Andrea Anthony
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

my mother always guilted me into giving her my money. then I started lying and saying I didn't have any to give just so I could survive. we haven't spoken in over a decade now.

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Note: this post originally had 73 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.