Here Are 105 Times Kids Creeped Their Parents Out Without Meaning To

May 18, 2022

Many of us might be fascinated by horror on the screen and in the yellowing pages of our books, but it’s a whole other story when we face it in real-life. Especially when the source of it might be our tiny little munchkins. Innocent angels? Not all the time, apparently.

Bored Panda dove deep into the darkest recesses of the internet to collect some of the weirdest, scariest things that children have done that totally creeped their parents out. Sure, some of these posts look amusing, even comical, but some of these behaviors are really worrying. We don’t want to use the word ‘evil,’ but it’s the type of mean and peculiar stuff that’s bound to make nearly any grownup concerned.

If you’re a Parent Panda, we’d like to hear about the strange and even scary things your own kids have done. Tell us all about how you reacted and taught your toddlers not to do that ever again. Meanwhile, when you’re done with this list, you’ll find Bored Panda’s previous articles about truly chilling child behavior right here, here, and here.

Bored Panda wanted to understand how children learn about right and wrong, how parents can help them become more caring, as well as about people's capacity for empathy, so we reached out to Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore, Ph.D. Eileen is an internationally published author, speaker, mom of four, and a psychologist in private practice. One of her most recent books for children that she authored is 'Moody Mood Cars.' She was kind enough to answer our questions and stressed that when kids end up doing something that's less than kind, parents shouldn't assume that it's "a sign of terrible things ahead."

#1 This Kid Is Going Places

Image credits: lafcreative

"Children learn from observation of what others do, but also through explicit teaching and explanations, and through experience and observation of how others respond to certain actions," Eileen explained to us. The psychologist revealed to Bored Panda that people's capacity for empathy can grow throughout their lives. Broadly speaking, the older we are, the more we understand and care about the feelings of others.

"In general, we become more empathic at 19 than we were when we were at age 9, and that continues, so we're more empathic at 29 than 19, at 39 than 29, simply because we've experienced more of life, so it's easier for us to put ourselves in someone else's shoes," she said.

According to psychologist Eileen, there are three 'ingredients' that children need to respond to others in a caring way. First of all, they need to be able to imagine someone else's thoughts and feelings. "The ability to imagine accurately someone else's perspective generally begins around age 4 and grows with age and experience," Eileen explained to Bored Panda.

#2 The Joys Of Parenting

Image credits: heedgmon

#3 My 3-Year-Old Nephew’s Nanny Cam Tonight

Image credits: briannabanana98

Secondly, kids need to be able to manage their own distress. "Kids don't have the bandwidth to respond kindly to someone else if they are overwhelmed by their own feelings." And third of all, they need to believe they're capable of helping others. "If they don't think they can help or don't know how, they're likely to freeze or avoid situations where someone is upset." And parents play a vital role in helping their kids develop more empathy for others.

"Parents can help by talking about people's thoughts and feelings as they come up in books, movies, or real life. This gives children a window into people's internal life that helps with perspective-taking. Parents can help children manage their own emotions by naming those feelings as well as teaching specific coping strategies such as distraction, deep breathing, counting to ten, or using words to ask for what they want," the psychologist said.

"Finally, parents can guide children toward seeing themselves as helpers by talking about how children's kind actions impact others. For instance, they might say, 'That was kind of you to help your brother with his block tower. He was sad when it fell down, and he felt happier when you helped him build it up again.' Or, 'Thank you for helping me put away the groceries. I'm happy that we got the job done quickly.'"

#4 This Is How My 2.5-Year-Old Niece Insists On Holding Her New Baby Brother

Image credits: thisismyfupa

#5 My 8-Year-Old Is A Jerk And Almost Made Me Burn My House Down

Image credits: ElectricBOOTSxo

#6 This Person's Child Built A Cicada Skin Army

Image credits: reddit.com

It's inevitable that children will eventually make a mistake and do something that isn't kind. It's a question of when, not if. In those cases, parents shouldn't rush to conclusions and should not assume that this is an indication of "terrible things ahead." After all, we all make mistakes sometimes.

"Instead, acknowledge good intentions, describe the other person's feelings, and focus on moving forward. For instance, you could say, 'I know you're excited about going on the swings, but your sister also wants to swing, and she's sad that she hasn't had a turn yet.' Then, to move forward, you could ask, 'What can you do to help her feel better?' or 'What would be fair to everyone?'"

#7 A House Of God

#8 Chaotic Evil

Image credits: alinehp2

#9 She Lived To Tell The Story

Image credits: youpoorfool1

Look, the fact of the matter is that nearly everyone has done or said some incredibly weird stuff when they were kids. (Some of us never grew out of it!) We experiment. We test limits. We learn about what’s right and wrong by copying others and putting our ideas into practice.

However, there’s always a line. Once crossed, someone’s behavior turns cute and whacky to something resembling immoral. Cutting off your doll’s hair or spooking your parents with a cardboard cutout in the dark isn’t the same as hurting someone or putting nails and screws in someone’s shoes. Super occult, esoteric crayon and colored pencil pictures probably lie somewhere in the middle.

The vast majority of parents would probably agree that they want their children to grow up to be upstanding, kind, moral citizens. Kindness forms a core part of who we are as human beings. Without this hardwired instinct, there would be no society, no desire for cooperation. However, another part of the equation are the moral lessons that we (do not) pick up from our parents and loved ones as we grow up. Sometimes, there are some blindspots regarding morality and empathy that kids might need some help and guidance to correct.

#10 Ahh, Yes, The Kid's First Structure

Image credits: CalloSasquatch

#11 My Kid Was Playing Workshop While I Fixed The Garage Door Yesterday. Super Glad I Checked My Shoe Before Putting It On

Image credits: TummyPuppy

#12 My Son Made A Paper Enderman And Hung Him From The Ceiling Outside His Room. I Just Met Him In The Dark

Image credits: Crakkerz79

Very recently, licensed counselor Suzanne Degges-White, a professor at Northern Illinois University, explained to Bored Panda that family beliefs, spiritual beliefs, and our own biology lead us to be kind to others.

"Many of us are raised to believe it is the 'right thing to do.' Basically, all spiritual belief systems have a version of the 'Golden Rule, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,'" the professor told us.

"We also do good turns because we know that one day we may be in need of a little 'generosity from the universe,' so it's like putting 'money' into a karma account," she explained why people tend to be nice towards others and lend a helping hand. That’s not all, though.

#13 Just Practicing Ya Know

Image credits: lukasbattle

#14 Guy In One Of My Dad Groups Found This In His Kid's Room

Image credits: Gabe Eilts

#15 At Least He’s Honest

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"Lastly, humans are wired so that when we do something kind for another, we feel good about ourselves and neurotransmitters like endorphins and oxytocin have been shown to get a boost when we do something good for another. It is through cooperation that society functions, so the survival of the human race depends on being willing to help others. Family values, spiritual beliefs, and biology all play a part in this motivation," she told Bored Panda.

#16 Our Airbnb Had A Translucent Bathroom Door. I’m Used To My Impatient Toddler Stalking Me Through The Bathroom Door, But This Took It To A Much Creepier Level

Image credits: goodluck_canuck

#17 My Two Older Children Were Trying To Lay Out All Of Their Pokémon Cards, But The Youngest Kept Intervening, So They Duct-Taped Him To A Chair

Image credits: SavetheUnicornssss

#18 This Afternoon I Noticed Him Sneakily Grabbing Some Fishing Nails, So I Followed Him And Caught Him Red-Handed

He told me he was setting a trap.

"Many of us take pride in being of service to others as it is culturally valued and we want to hold significance in our worlds. So when we do good deeds, we show others our willingness to help those in distress/need; we live out faith-based encouragement to treat others the way we would like to be treated, we uphold family values, and our brains get a positive jolt of happiness when we help others," Suzanne said that we feel good when we do good deeds. That’s usually all the motivation needed to act kind.

#19 Asked My Sister If My Nephew Was Enjoying The Wedding. This Is The Picture She Sent Back

Image credits: caityfaced88

#20 Yeah, I Wouldn't Sleep Great Either. Why Are Kids So Damn Creepy

Image credits: mmbtox

#21 My 9-Year-Old Son Drew Me A Picture

Image credits: TheSmell0fRain

Parenting blogger Samantha Scroggin, from ‘Running Outside in Slippers,’ told Bored Panda what parents can do to get their children to open up to them. She stressed that the main thing for parents to do is not to judge, no matter what they hear. That helps build trust.

#22 Kid Is Secretly A Medium

Image credits: LauraBaileyVO

#23 My Son Discovered That I'm Not Really At Work, But Am Working From Home

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#24 My Sister Has An Interesting Hobby

Image credits: hiddlesbum

"If they had a bad dream or even a yucky thought they can't shake, I'll be there with them and we'll talk it through. I think working to be non-judgemental and staying calm even if your kid might be overreacting helps cement your child's trust of you as a parent. Believe that they are being truthful of their perception of events," the blogger said.

#25 I Love My Son, But Checking The Monitor And Seeing This Always Creeps Me Out

Image credits: rEplicant_rEject

#26 Hmm, That's A Worry

Image credits: XplodingUnicorn

#27 Little Belinda Is Watching You

Image credits: reddit.com

Meanwhile, when it comes to protecting kids in the community, it’s important to find a balance between staying vigilant and respecting others’ privacy.

"We all need to stay vigilant when it comes to the care of children. If any of us even suspect abuse, we need to report that. That said, if the children are safe and cared for, and no laws are being broken, I say let parents parent how they see fit," Samantha shared her opinion.

#28 This School Project Someone's Kid Made

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#29 I Did It

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#30 Think My Daughter Found Her Baby Monitor

Image credits: Nandaz01

"We have different experiences and beliefs, and that will reflect in how we raise our own kids. We can judge all we want, but we should practice restraint in staying out of other families' business. Because we wouldn't want someone poking their heads into our lives telling us how to parent our kids," she said.

#31 Jump Scares For Grandma

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#32 Day 10 Of Quarantine. I Think My Kid Is Up To Something

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#33 My Son Stuck His Finger In My Eye And Scratched Off The Whole Top Layer Of My Cornea

Image credits: shermiezzz12

#34 My Cousin Woke Up In The Middle Of The Night And Randomly Looked At The Baby Monitor And Saw This

She said it scared the hell out of her. She stayed like this for several minutes.

Image credits: jcmcna0733

#35 I'm Just Wondering How Long That Bee Has Been Under There

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#36 “I’ll Visit You”

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#37 My Sister And I Used To Rip The Heads Off Of Monster High Dolls And Attach The Head To Their Calves

Image credits: avaanthony

#38 In 3rd Grade

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#39 Despite Multiple Talkings Too, My 2-Year-Old Keeps Leaving Dolls In Life-Like Positions Around The House. Scares The Life Out Of Me Everytime

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#40 This Is Why The Scariest Horror Movies Involves Young Girls

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#41 How To Scare Your Mom 101

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#42 My Daughter Made A Realistic-Looking Necklace Made Of Clay Teeth

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#43 Furby Torture

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#44 People These Days Don't Appreciate Compliments

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#45 All Fun And Games Until The Hypothermia Sets In

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#46 Introducing, My Middle Child (Please Note The 3 Other Children Playing Normally In The Distance). She Found A Deceased Squirrel And Was Super Excited

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#47 My Kid Watching Me Poop

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#48 So When I Was A Kid Me And My Sister Always Used To Play “Crucify”, And My Sister Once Complained That She Couldn’t Use Actual Nails On Me

Image credits: Ok_Board_4331

#49 A Nanny Of 4-Year-Old

I’m a nanny. One of the kids had been pulling out strands of my hair several times a day for months, despite being scolded and getting time out for it. Then she shows me this hair bracelet she made “so part of you is always with me”. She’s 4.