"Mom, Why Did You Keep This?" 30 Cringey Childhood Photos We'd Love to Burn (31 photos)

Remember that embarrassing photo your mom pulled out every time company came over? The people in this roundup have plenty of those, too. But instead of hiding them, they decided to share them on Reddit's r/blunderyears community. From DIY haircuts and bad perms to velvet collars and emo eyeliner, here are 30 photos that still make their owners cringe.





School Picture Day and Studio Glamour

School portraits are a genre unto themselves. Once a year, a photographer would set up, sit the kids in a chair, and ask them to smile. Safe to say, it didn't always go according to plan.

Judging by this picture, this boy hadn't quite mastered the art of smiling in first grade. Eyes wide open, mouth stretched to the max.



The photographer said "smile," and this first-grader gave it everything he had

The poster's wife absolutely adores this photo. And it's not hard to see why.





A plaid shirt and a wild, toothy grin. His wife calls this the single best picture of his life

A 1994 glamour shoot. She was eight years old here, even though she looks all of 45.



Big hair and a shiny jacket with a moon motif: an eight-year-old channeling 90s studio glam

In this school portrait, the kid looks like a 60-year-old librarian. Cardigan, turtleneck, thick glasses. The poster couldn't even remember the year or how old they were.



A floral turtleneck, cardigan, and chunky glasses—a look worthy of a library reading room

As a kid, the owner of this photo thought he looked incredible. Looking back as an adult, he has no idea how any grown-up let this happen.



A three-piece suit and a pipe: exactly how a kid pictured a distinguished adult

To be fair, adults didn't look much better in those photos either. Parents just didn't hold onto those pictures quite as tightly.

Holidays, Costumes, and Family Archives

Holiday photos are by far the most dangerous. Kids were dressed up in velvet, lace, and sparkles. Parents tried their best, while the kids just endured it.

This picture was posted by a friend. In his opinion, a more awkward childhood photo simply doesn't exist.



A lace dress, a sharp bob, and a demonic glare: someone clearly was not in a festive mood

And here is a response to the previous photo. "I saw your friend's picture—and I raise you mine," wrote the poster, jokingly adding that she was quite the stunner back then.



Building blocks spelling out "I Love You." A declaration delivered with a wide-open mouth

This baby girl's very first Christmas. According to the caption, this was actually the best shot her parents managed to get.



A girl with a red bow holding a baby. Apparently, the other takes turned out even worse

This guy just earned his Master's degree. To celebrate, he decided to embrace his past and shared the most embarrassing photo of his life.



A shiny sequin suit: the photo a new Master's graduate shared on his graduation day

Taken sometime between 1995 and 1997. The bride's grandfather showed this to her fiancé right before the wedding.



A velvet dress with a giant lace collar. Grandpa picked the absolute perfect moment to share this

A Reddit user's boyfriend and his mom back in 1992. Mom looks great in the photo, but her son is sporting a bowl cut in the finest tradition of the era.



Mom and son in 1992. Blunt bowl-cut bangs were practically mandatory back then

Every family has that one relative who knows exactly where the photo album is—and always picks the worst possible moment to bring it out.

DIY Bangs and Other Haircut Experiments

The ultimate unfairness of childhood photos is that the kid had almost zero say. Parents picked the clothes, parents approved the haircut—and the adult kid is left dealing with the fallout.

Fair warning: this isn't Photoshop. The guy swears that's his real head, it was just growing a bit faster than the rest of his body. The Hawaiian shirt hints at a vacation vibe, while the buzzcut left nothing to the imagination.



Hawaiian shirt, studio backdrop, and a head to grow into: the family clearly pulled out all the stops for this picture

The good news is that hair grows back in a couple of months. The bad news? Photos are forever. And parents know exactly where to find them.

The owner of this picture once showed it to her boyfriend. According to her, talk about having kids somehow stopped after that.



Big bangs, glasses, and a cartoon tee: one childhood photo almost ruined all plans for starting a family

This girl spent her whole childhood with bangs. It wasn't until she was 10 that she realized people without bangs didn't just trim them off—they grew them out.



Her bangs were trimmed at home for years, and she simply didn't know other options existed

Dad was convinced the short hair suited his daughter. Mom was obsessed with the shirt. The girl herself adds just one key detail: she's a girl.



Dad approved the cut, Mom picked the shirt. Nobody bothered to ask the girl's opinion

1994, first grade, age seven. His stepfather still insists the boy asked for this haircut himself.



A high flat top on a first-grader. According to the stepdad, this was the kid's own conscious choice

Perms, Braids, and the Ultimate Fivehead

Perms were all the rage in the '90s. Adult women, teenagers, and even little girls were getting them. The curls lasted a few months, but the photos last for decades.

Family nicknames weren't far behind. If a kid had a distinctive feature, relatives made sure to highlight it—and, of course, bring it up at every opportunity.

This little guy's family nicknamed him "Fivehead"—a play on "forehead." When his friends saw the photo, they immediately asked if he was planning to host a "brainstorming session."



The toddler's big forehead became the ultimate family joke, teased by relatives and friends alike

In high school, she dreamed of getting dreadlocks. Her mom compromised in her own way and gave her cornrows instead.



A mom-style compromise: neat braids instead of rebellious dreads

This photo was posted by the subject's husband. After a long period of begging, he finally got her permission. In his words, it's the greatest soccer photo of all time.



A voluminous perm on the soccer field. Her husband calls this shot the crown jewel of their family archives

Another husband, another haircut. His short caption read: "Glad my wife changed her hairstyle since then."



Big hair and a colorful skirt: her husband is quietly relieved that this hairstyle stayed in the past

Big curls come back into fashion every now and then. So the ladies in this section can always claim they were just ahead of their time.

Hair Bows, Tiger Vests, and Old Sweaters

School portraits were usually ordered in sets. One stayed home, and the rest were handed out to grandmas and aunts. That's how a single awkward smile was shared with the entire family tree.

Nobody could bring themselves to throw them away—after all, money was spent! So the photos sat in albums for decades, waiting for their moment to shine.

The owner of this photo kept the caption simple: "My childhood picture." No further comments needed: glasses, a huge hair bow, and a patterned vest.



A white hair bow, glasses, and a vest: a bold fashion statement for school picture day

The girl in this photo blames her mom for everything. She also clarifies right away: the sweater isn't dirty, the photo is just really old.



Pigtails, glasses, and a stained sweater. The spots, however, were left by time, not lunch

If you have a stack of school portraits sitting around at home, don't rush to hide them. In a couple of decades, they'll be the best excuse for a good family laugh.

Celebrity Crushes, Dances, and Sporting Achievements

Childhood celebrity crushes are another goldmine of cringe. In the '90s, teens taped posters to their bedroom walls and dreamed of meeting their idols.

Sometimes those dreams came true—usually on the worst possible day.

In seventh grade, she didn't have a date for the school dance. So she cut out a picture of Brendan Fraser, star of

George of the Jungle

and

The Mummy

, glued it to a stick, and brought him along.



Brendan Fraser on a stick instead of a real date.

The Mummy

star had no idea this romantic night was happening

This girl got to meet her childhood crush, Jonathan Taylor Thomas. In the '90s, he starred in

Home Improvement

and voiced young Simba in

The Lion King

. The meeting happened on the exact day her face was painted like a clown.



Hugging Jonathan Taylor Thomas in full clown face paint. Fate certainly has a sense of timing

1998, a mud volleyball tournament. The young participant was awarded the "Little Miss Piggy" trophy, named after the

Muppet Show

character. After the game, the winner was washed down with a fire hose, resulting in hypothermia.



A pig trophy for the dirtiest look. The price of victory: an ice-cold hose-down and hypothermia

Here, a boy is drinking soda through an insanely long straw while on his knees. His uncle, standing nearby, really wished he could pretend they didn't know each other.



On his knees for a sip of soda

Years later, these stories are told with a laugh. But at the time, every single one felt like the end of the world.

2000s Teenage Rebellion

In the 2000s, teenagers expressed themselves through their looks. Spiked hair, heavy eyeliner, piercings, and stretched earlobes. Myspace—one of the first massive social media platforms, launched in 2003—became the main stage for these new identities.

Profile pictures were self-shot at arm's length or in the mirror. The main rule: make sure nobody else was home.

2002, ninth-grade graduation. Three months later, the guy was enrolled in a Texas military school.



Red liberty spikes and a patterned shirt. Three months before military school and its strict dress code

2006. Heavy eyeliner, fishnet sleeves, and plenty of angst. She was getting ready for a local emo band's concert. Emo was the quintessential subculture of the era, complete with dark clothes, side-swept bangs, and songs about heartbreak.



Black eyeliner and fishnet arm warmers: the complete 2006 emo concert starter pack

The owner of these photos looks back on his "iconic" fashion choices: a mohawk, stretched ears, and a Myspace page—not to mention being bullied by older kids in the same scene. According to him, this was the year of the final Warped Tour, the traveling punk festival that toured the US for over two decades.



Mohawk and stretched ears: peak style in the Myspace era

And finally, 2004. A guy trying to snap a Myspace photo while the house is empty, holding a red Pokéball.



A trench coat, a Pokéball, and an empty house: the ideal setup for a Myspace profile picture

Once upon a time, every single one of these people wished these photos would disappear forever. In the end, they chose to share them with thousands of strangers. Learning to laugh at yourself is the ultimate way to rob an old photo of its power.

Do you have a childhood photo your parents still bring out when company comes over? Tell us in the comments!