There’s a meme that goes, “Silence is golden…unless you have a toddler. In that case, silence is very, very suspicious.” Truer words have never been written as you will see from these submissions of children’s messiest moments — some photos were so chaotic we thought they must be fake.
Well, the joke’s on us because these photos are very, very real. Just ask these moms who showed us that little kids do explore their world one disaster at a time.
Here are 26 times toddlers made a huge mess (and almost made their moms lose their minds).
Be careful of ‘behaved’ kids
Mom Crystal Bautista started it all for us when she sent us this photo of her son Johann spreading a newly-bought bottle of lotion all over their furniture…and her tablet! “First rule of parenting: Never trust a silent toddler,” she shares. We agree, Crystal!
When Ann Alcantara-Porto went to the bathroom to bathe her youngest, she was surprised to find her older son, Rakim, sitting quietly on a chair. Then, she saw why: he had spread diaper cream all over his leg!
Dijiana Lim was doing the laundry when she realized her daughter Bella had become very quiet. “I thought, naku, may ginagawa ‘tong bata na to,” she tells SmartParenting.com.ph via Facebook Messenger. And, lo and behold, Bella drew on her face because her mom taught her not to write on the walls!
School days mean early bedtimes, and Krisstina Manuel made sure her kids were asleep before spending quality time with her husband in the living room. But when she snuck a peek upstairs, she was shocked to find her daughter Leona playing with her makeup kit. “Inobserbahan ko po siya habang nag-me-makeup — feel na feel niya pong maganda siya!” Krisstina shares.
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Mia Tayoto was busy doing chores when she suddenly became very suspicious. “Bakit parang ang tahimik?” She got the answer when she went up to the bedroom and saw the “disaster.” Her son, Jiroh, had taken the labels off the crayons and made a mess inside two bedrooms.
Mom Sofia Bonnevie loves putting on makeup, and her 1-year-old daughter, Scarlett, watches her intently every time. “We sometimes joke about applying make up on her, and she loves it,” she tells Smart Parenting. One morning, Scarlett woke up earlier than everybody and Sofia woke up to this. “Scarlett was able to open my Stila eyeshadow palette and applied it all over her leg — and the bed! Naiyak ako talaga!”
A mom’s best friend: Washable markers
Ann Delos Reyes thought that she could reel in daughter Erin Amara’s mess when she bought a whiteboard so Erin could draw on it. But it was not enough.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of moms submitted their kids playing with baby powder. And though mom Joy Evangelista was frustrated that her daughter, Sophia, had emptied a whole bottle of powder, she realized she couldn’t get mad at her. “She just looked so happy!”
After coming from the bathroom, Sharah Dayrit found her son Yash covered in baby powder.
Mom Jhona Concepcion was watching a movie with her eldest son in the living room while her 3-year-old son, Miggy, was quiet in the bedroom. “But it was too quiet, so I thought of checking up on him,” Jhona shares. And surprise! Miggy had covered himself in baby powder.
Say goodbye to your milk stash
We all know moms are often sleep-deprived, but Jeremy Cheng-Sy had to pay the price for trying to catch some zzzs. “My son Liam asked for his milk around 6 a.m. I prepared his milk then went back to sleep,” Jeremy shares. Then, Jeremy woke up to the sound of Liam making truck sounds. “When I moved my hand, I felt it. He had spilled a newly opened can of milk!”
And no more bathroom breaks!
For moms, peeing in private is a blessing, but for Cecille Quema, it was the opposite. “I had to pee really quick and when I came back, there was milk powder all over our bed care of my daughter, Myrcella.”
Mom Kenya Badajos had to take a quick bathroom break so she left her two girls alone in the room. A couple of minutes later, her eldest started calling her, saying, “Ma! Lala apun!” Translation: her youngest daughter, Lala, spilled leftover chocolate drink.
Rezel Orallo needed to check on the food she was cooking so she briefly left her son inside the bedroom. It was only a few minutes, but it was enough for him to break his mom’s lip tint and make a mess.
Keep a close eye on your gadgets
Sonny Raagas and his wife were busy cleaning their apartment so they decided to let their 2-year-old daughter, Kyri, watch movies on a laptop. She got bored so they got her working on putting all her toys away. “Later, we just saw her inside the toilet and tada! Our laptop is already soaking wet.” he shared.
Remember: art is a form of expression
Moms think of the most creative ways to get their kids to lessen screen time, and Liezel Balen thought she had struck gold because her daughter, Gilianna loves to paint. “I gave my two daughters paper and paint to distract them while I was doing the laundry. Guess what — when I came back, Gilianna painted her body and face instead!”
Mom Vanessa Dimpas says her 5-year-old son, Levan, has been drawing on their walls since he was 2. “We always give him paper but for some reason, he likes drawing on our wall, furniture, and our TV screen! Visitors always say that he’s an artist,” Vanessa explains.
After Zy Pannakal woke up from a nap, she saw that her 4-year-old son Charles had gotten hold of a marker and their home's floor tiles were full of his drawings! Instead of getting angry, she asked him what the drawings were all about. "He said he drew the minions (from the movie Despicable Me) and he was also trying his initials, CH," Zy tells Smart Parenting.
Just think: kids are natural explorers.
Mom Neriza Rama and her son Four are usually left at home so Neriza has to juggle doing housework and keeping an eye on her son. “This is a photo taken by my husband when he and my daughter arrived home from school,” she explains. “There’s nothing special about it, but Four is always like that. He’d rather play with the things that I use than his toys. He probably thinks those are better than his own toys.”
Saying ‘wait’ to your toddler often backfires
Michelle Tubay was putting diaper cream on her baby when her firstborn, Damian, tried to get her attention. He also wanted her to put the cream on a small wound he got when he slipped and fell from his bike. Michelle said she would, but only after she handed over his brother to his lolo (so lolo can keep an eye on the baby). “When I got back, he was already putting the cream on his body and his toy,” she shares.
After seeing these photos, we're sure every parent out there can feel the pain. So, let us leave you with more photos submitted by our readers — feel free to make your own captions!
Got your own 'OMG Mess' moments to share? Send photos or videos by commenting on our Facebook or sending us a message via Messenger. You can also email us at smartparenting2013@gmail.com.
This article was updated on October 19, 2018 at 10:17 a.m.
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