Most parents want their children to grow up with gracious manners and respect for strangers.
That said, even the best parents will experience moments where they are left wondering where they went astray.
A recent Reddit thread asked parents about "the funniest 'bad' thing your child did that you had to punish them for while holding back laughter." The answers ranged from screaming out expletives in public to coating dogs in butter.
Over 2,400 people replied to the thread, and INSIDER picked 22 stories that will have you laughing at your screen.
INSIDER was unable to independently authenticate all of these stories, but they are still worth a read and a smile.
Swearing
"I was driving with my kids in the car and was almost hit by a driver making a very stupid maneuver. I responded by angrily saying, 'Oh, now look at this f---ing guy.' My 3-year-old son then continued to repeat that phrase for about a month, anytime we were in traffic (thankfully only in the presence of me). It was hard to correct with a straight face."— PonyJetpack
"I once 'tooted the horn' to get another driver's attention to let them out into traffic ahead of me. When my then-3-year-old daughter heard the horn, she asked, 'Daddy, is he an a--hole too?'"— Yall-Crybabies
"So I'm picking wife and son up from the beach since parking is expensive. As I'm trying to turn around on this public street, these two young hellions are on bikes riding too close to my car as I'm in reverse. I say, 'These kids should be more careful or they're gonna get hit one day.' My son says, without a beat, 'Yeah, they're f---ing turkeys.' We were dying for a bit and told him not to say that word. Secretly I was proud he put that one together. It was exactly what I was thinking. He's a chip off the old block."— PeterVanNostrand
"While watching TV, my 4-year-old told us she was 'super sorry for being a crazy b----.' We explained the bad word, and told her she didn't do anything wrong. Then we laughed about it. We watch our language at home now."— Tinyasparagus
"Well, we didn't punish him for this, but our 3-year-old was playing with a Barbie doll at playcenter, and this conversation was overheard: 'What's this Goldilocks? You wanna have some bread? You're stealing the bread Goldilocks? I'M GONNA F--- YOU UP GOLDILOCKS.' About a week after that he was DESPERATE to use his knife and fork to cut up his potatoes for dinner himself, and we heard a quiet 'f---ing Jesus' from his high chair as he struggled with his cutlery."— cromulent_weasel
Harboring pests
"I once caught my youngest son (about 3 at the time) peeing in the corner of his room ... right next to the wastebasket and sort of behind a bookshelf. When I asked him why he was doing that when there was a bathroom 10 feet away, he said he was 'watering the ants.'
"Confused about what ants and why, I went over and peeked behind the bookshelf. And I found the ants. And the half donut he'd swiped and shoved back there. Along with various bits of candy, a slice of bread, and most of a chicken nugget. Apparently, he had seen an ant and decided to cultivate his own little ant farm in his room.
"It was so absurd that I had a hard time holding it together while explaining to him that the ants would do just fine without feeding them and pissing on them."— southernbelladonna
Buttering the dog
"How about this, ready? When my boys were two and three, they buttered our dog. Each kid got ahold of a stick of butter and they were buttering her from snoot to tail. Ever try to catch a freshly buttered chihuahua?
"The best part: They did this twice in a six-month span."— ibrakeforsquirrels
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