Dad Crowdsources For Parenting Advice And Social Media Hilariously Delivers

Raising kids really does take a (very funny) village

Sometimes when we’re in the throes of parenting, it makes us feel better to seek advice on everyday problems. You know, how do I introduce solid foods? What age should my kid be in a “big boy” bed? What do lice look like? (Answer: burn the house down.) But when a concerned parent asked for advice on his kid headbutting him, well, the answers were hilariously unhelpful.

The Life of Dad, a Facebook page dedicated to getting through fatherhood, posted a comment from one of their community members a couple of weeks back who had a discipline question about their son. “Our 15-month-old has started to hit us with his hand and headbutt us. How can we teach him that’s not the right thing to do? I think to him it’s a joke or something. Any advice?”

Well, they did ask for advice, right?

Of course, some just had to make an education opportunity out of the age of the child (he’s one now not 15 months) and we all laughed because we were these poor parents once, too:

The commenters potentially missed the mark with giving actual advice, but dinosaurs really do fix everything. While it may be easy as a veteran parent to poke fun at someone else’s misery (it’s only out of love and selfish relief that we are past that phase), apparently headbutting is an actual issue for kids.

There are loads of questions on the Baby Center community page from parents asking if headbutting is an actual phase of toddlerhood and how to help combat it. According to experts, staying calm can help, which honestly sounds like the opposite of what anyone would do if they were on the receiving end of a blow to the head.

Others suggest offering a distraction to the child may help (perhaps they can help you get ice for your head). “In my experience, distraction is the key,” one mom said. “They are bright and know if you get upset, and will do it more because they are getting attention for doing it.” Worst case, buy a helmet.

If you’re looking for advice online of all places (no judgment), the chances of finding more humor than actual information you can put to practical use are pretty high. But, as one mom pointed out, laughing would help most of us parents through just about any situation. She also noted if this were on a mom’s page the answers would’ve likely been pointing a finger back at her:

She’s not wrong.

The bottom line? When shit hits the fan (or a head hits another, more stationary, head) just take a page from a Ben Stiller movie or your favorite professional wrestler. If that fails, asking an actual expert how to handle the situation would be a solid second choice. Sure, they aren’t going to factor dinosaurs into the equation but you may be able to reduce the number of headbutts you receive in the future.