Whether we are parents by birth, adoption or kinship care, we have all halfway listen to a child when they’re being a bit too talkative or when we’re almost asleep. Sometimes that means agreeing to a snack we didn’t realize they asked for until they walk into the room chomping away. Other times it means accidentally telling kids a ridiculous lie, then having to clean up so they don’t go repeating it.
One dad, Dillon White, found himself in the latter category when his daughter asked him if having babies hurt—except he didn’t hear “babies.” He thought his daughter had asked about rabies and proceeded to tell her details about the horrible disease, which she repeated to her younger brother.
Dillon, who surely thought he was killing it at this parenting thing, did not realize his mistake until his wife, Suzanne White, sat him down in front of a camera.
The dad was confused about why Suzanne was recording until she asked, “Why did I overhear Riley telling Mason that I was foaming at the mouth when I was having Bailey?” Dillon sort of giggled, but it didn’t fully click until she repeated that she overheard their older daughter telling their 4-year-old son that she was foaming at the mouth while delivering their youngest child.
In that moment, the dots began to connect like one of those memes with the dramatic math equations. Dillon nearly spit out his food with laughter as everything began to make sense. He couldn’t stop laughing long enough to get out all of the words at first. As he realized his mistake and his wife started recognizing where the misunderstanding happened, the two could not contain their laughter. It’s a story you have to hear, told by the parents below, to gain a full appreciation of it.
Here’s a lesson in gaining clarification before giving out parental wisdom to children:
