Parenting

16 Grossest Things Parents Do for Their Kids

ParentingPublished Nov 4, 2013
By Jeanne Sager
kid picking his nose

You don't have to be a parent very long to realize the universal truth of kids: they're gross. They burp and fart with reckless abandon, and they've never heard a potty joke that did not leave them on the floor in stitches. But parents, let's be honest with ourselves for a second, shall we? We're pretty gross too. At least, we parents do some pretty disgusting things for the sake of our kids.

More From CafeMom: 10 Kid Milestones That Are Totally Underrated

Yes, all parents, even the faint of heart, have found themselves helping covered in pee or poop a time or two (and sometimes both). You are not alone!

And to prove it, we here at CafeMom asked parents to 'fess up to some of the most disgusting things they've done for their kids.

Think you can top number 11? What's the most disgusting thing you've done for your kids?

most disgusting parts of motherhood

Images via Oliver Rossi/Corbis and Ned Frisk Photography/Corbis

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Wiped a Poopy Hiney-placeholder
Wiped a Poopy Hiney
Corinne Malet/PhotoAlto/Corbis

Wiped a Poopy Hiney

Changing a baby's poopy diaper is hard. Chasing a freshly potty-trained toddler and trying to wipe their poopy behind may be even harder. Scrub those hands, Mom!!

2/16
Caught Vomit-placeholder
Caught Vomit
Image Source/Corbis

Caught Vomit

When I asked a group of parents what the most disgusting thing they'd ever done for a child was, not one, not two, not three, but FOUR weighed in that they'd been known to put their hands out to catch a child's vomit to keep it from getting all over said child.

Way to take one for the team!

3/16
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Fished a Toy From the Toilet
KidStock/Blend Images/Corbis

Fished a Toy From the Toilet

It's all fun and games until the kid drops their beloved toy into the toilet. And guess who gets to fish it out?

More From CafeMom: Quiz: Are You a Boy Mom or a Girl Mom?

4/16
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Let My Daughter Wipe Messy Hands On Me
Susanne Dittrich/Corbis

Let My Daughter Wipe Messy Hands On Me

If you've ever looked at a mom and noticed the bottom half of her jeans is covered in handprints, allow me to explain: children love to come running up to Mom and say, "Moooooom, my hands are covered in [insert gross thing here]. What do I do?" They are most prone to do this right after you've used the last wipe in your purse on their sister.

5/16
Licked a Dirty Pacifier-placeholder
Licked a Dirty Pacifier
Robert Recker/Corbis

Licked a Dirty Pacifier

Here's how the story goes: Child throws pacifier. Pacifier lands in dirt. Child cries for pacifier. Mom licks pacifier and hands it back to child. Child is once again content. The end.

6/16
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Sucked Snot Out of a Sick Child's Nose
Stella/fstop/Corbis

Sucked Snot Out of a Sick Child's Nose

Those aspirator bulbs are great, but you know what happens when they don't work, right?

7/16
Helped Get the Poop Out-placeholder
Helped Get the Poop Out
Misty Bedwell/Design Pics/Corbis

Helped Get the Poop Out

When your child screams, "Moooooom" from the bathroom, and the scent of fresh feces is heavy in the air, the best answer may be "she moved to Argentina." Otherwise, you may just find yourself helping a constipated child, ahem, evacuate those bowels.

More From CafeMom: 12 'Dangerous' Things Today's Kids Should Learn to Do

8/16
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Cleaned Dead Critters From Your Laundry
Randy Faris/Corbis

Cleaned Dead Critters From Your Laundry

You know what happens when curious youngsters play outside in the creek and come home with frogs and crickets in their pockets? They tend to forget about them, until they hear Mom shriek out loud as she starts emptying those pockets to load the clothes in the laundry.

9/16
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Went Up His Nose to Rescue a Toy
Sebastian Pfuetze/Corbis

Went Up His Nose to Rescue a Toy

WHY do children insist on shoving things up their noses? WHY?

10/16
Chewed on Baby Toenails-placeholder
Chewed on Baby Toenails
Creasource/Corbis

Chewed on Baby Toenails

I would never imagine chewing on my own toenails. But when your baby is itty bitty, the thought of putting sharp clippers near their squirming feet is terrifying.

11/16
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Taken a Sniff of Baby's Diaper
George Shelley/CORBIS

Taken a Sniff of Baby's Diaper

Sometimes the best way to tell if the baby's got a poopy diaper is to just lean over and take a whiff!

More From CafeMom: 15 Photos That Show What Real Parenthood Looks Like

12/16
Scooped Poop Out of the Tub-placeholder
Scooped Poop Out of the Tub
Holger Winkler/A.B./Corbis

Scooped Poop Out of the Tub

No, that's not a small brown bath toy.

13/16
Accepted His Booger-placeholder
Accepted His Booger
Oliver Rossi/Corbis

Accepted His Booger

"Here, Mom!" may be the two scariest words in the English language. You just never know what they're handing you. Sometimes it's a present. More often it's a booger. Which you end up accepting because, well, at least they won't wipe it under the dining room table.

14/16
Admired His Poop-placeholder
Admired His Poop
David P. Hall/Corbis

Admired His Poop

Have you ever had a child scream for you to come into the bathroom, only for you to arrive and find out they really want you to check out their ginormous poop? Yeah, me neither. But it totally happened to someone I know.

15/16
Two Words: Head Lice-placeholder
Two Words: Head Lice
Ian Hooton/Science Photo Library/Corbis

Two Words: Head Lice

'Nuff said.

More From CafeMom: The 2 Words Moms Dread Hearing

16/16
Helped Her Pee in the Woods-placeholder
Helped Her Pee in the Woods
Poppy Berry/Corbis

Helped Her Pee in the Woods

Sometimes a child just HAS to go to the bathroom, and there is no waiting until you can find a rest stop to pull over. With boys, this is generally pretty easy. With daughters, however, you find that you are probably going to get some pee on you.

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