30 Parents Whose Unshakeable Patience Deserves an Award (30 photos)

Raising kids is definitely not for the faint of heart. Let’s take a moment to give a standing ovation to all the parents who signed up for 18 years—or realistically, a lifetime—of professional wild-child taming.







Combining kids, markers, and a Dalmatian can lead to some very creative results.





Silence is golden. But when you have kids, silence is downright suspicious.



The second after this photo was taken, she tried to kidnap a baby goat from the farm. She hugged it tight and bolted straight for the car.



How on earth are they supposed to get him out now?



"My 10-year-old son grabbed my phone and texted my wife: 'Honey, I got fired.'"



How did this even happen?!



She decided it was "white water."



"My son said he was hot and asked for ice cream. I definitely wasn't expecting this."



"She's having a conversation with the air vent. At first, I thought it was cute. Now I'm terrified someone is answering her."



No words needed.



"My kid swallowed a coin while demonstrating to his little brother how he accidentally swallowed a SIM card ejector tool the day before."



"Just went to pour myself a whiskey on the rocks..."



"There was a real, live gecko hiding inside my son's toy spider."



"My nephew urgently needed a portrait of George Washington. Thank goodness he didn't ask for Benjamin Franklin!"



"Mom, we didn't do anything!"



"They had zero regrets about what they did to their hair with the clippers at 5 in the morning."



"My daughter got her fingers stuck in a bench at school, so the bench rode in the ambulance to the hospital with her. Yes, she's fine. And yes, we kept the bench as a souvenir."



The kid got so excited seeing his dad outside that he sprinted toward him, slammed face-first into the glass door, and shattered it.



"Love you, you're the best mom ever."



"I complimented my wife on the unique pattern on her dress. Turned out our son had just spit up on her. A true artist in the making!"



"While the rest of the world was fighting over toilet paper, my toddler was giving it a bath."



"My kid hung up baby wipes to let them dry."



"Good evening! Does anyone want a free Happy Meal? We have 18 of them. Courtesy of my 5-year-old and my husband's credit card."



Who on earth invented slime anyway?



Developing fine motor skills...



"How do I get my 3-year-old to stop chewing on the walls?"



"I started sneezing and couldn't stop. My daughter brought me a healing potion."



"My 5-year-old daughter cut holes in her socks—just in case her feet got too hot."



"Sorry, Daddy. Sister did it."