7 Moms Spill The Tea On The Funny Fails All Parents Can Relate To

Feeding children is not for the faint of heart. I personally have two — a *seemingly* manageable number — and yet nearly every meal has the same amount of tension and blowups as the kitchen of a five-star restaurant (or so I imagine). There’s the physical labor, of course; every parent is essentially a short-order cook, adept at slicing produce with one hand while throwing something in the oven with the other. And then there’s the Sisyphean feat of keeping each child in (or at least near) a chair for the duration of the meal. But the ultimate challenge is finding something quick and delicious that your mini mes will deign to eat at all.

If this sounds like your kiddos, rest assured that even parenting influencers struggle to keep mealtimes manageable. “Expectations went out the window years ago,” creator Lindsey Gurk, known for posting hilariously real accounts of life with her young kids, tells Scary Mommy. “At this point, we just accept reality. Want ketchup with your apples? Sure. Raspberries off your fingers? Go for it. As long as the food gets eaten and everyone stays seated, I’m happy.”

Lindsey’s go-to for stress-free mealtime solutions for lunch, dinner, and even breakfast? Mrs. T’s Pierogies, crowd-pleasing pasta pockets filled with whipped mashed potatoes and creamy, cheesy goodness. “Mrs. T’s are a lifesaver,” shares Lindsey. “They’re always there when I need a quick and easy meal everyone will eat.”

Mrs. T’s Pierogies come in a variety of flavors sure to please even the pickiest eater and are easy to find in the frozen food aisle. They’re also incredibly versatile; you can sauté, boil, deep fry, bake, slow cook, or even grill them! And if you feel like getting fancy, Mrs. T’s website features recipe ideas for everything from classic mac & cheese pierogies to grilled pierogy kabobs. “Maybe one day I’ll enjoy making extravagant meals for the family,” Lindsey laughs. “But for now, we’re following the K.I.S.S. method: Keep it Super Simple.” Sounds like a chef’s K.I.S.S. for overstretched caregivers everywhere.

In the spirit of the ever-relatable, never-ending quest to make mealtimes less of a well, mess, we asked seven moms to Spill the T(ea) on their funniest parenting fails and less-than-social-media-ready moments. “It’s important to share real-life parenting stories because it inserts humor into the everyday,” Lindsey says. “Is motherhood hard? Yeah! But sometimes you just gotta laugh about the chaos.”

1. Morning Meltdowns

“Every single morning my kindergartener asks ‘Is today school?’ and five out of seven days a week the answer sends her into a five-minute rage spiral that can only be soothed with an applesauce squeezie and an episode of her favorite show.”

-Corinne, mom of 1

2. Breakfast Battles

“I have one child who loves yogurt and one child whose gag reflex gets triggered if yogurt is anywhere in a five-foot radius. I make the sensitive one toast, but have learned from experience that his preferred level of toastiness is in between the 2 and 3 settings on the toaster, so I have to hover over it and pop it up at the exact second it starts to brown, or else he won’t eat anything.”

-Darcy, mom of 2

3. Sibling Revenge

“When my older daughter was three, she decided that her new baby sister made too much noise during her screen time. When I left the room to make a snack, I came back to find her trying to pack the baby into an empty cardboard box…to make a return, I guess.”

-Ana, mom of 2

4. After School Chaos

“My husband and I call 3 to 5 pm ‘The Gauntlet.’ With school pick-ups and team practices and peak hangry energy from everyone in the family, they are NOT our finest hours.”

-Tamara, mom of 2

5. Snack Snafus

“We keep healthy snacks on a low shelf in the pantry so that the kids can feed themselves. But now that I have a teenager, a basket of snacks only lasts about two days. Once it runs out, he’ll start to get creative, which usually means eating honey with a spoon like a certain beloved pantless cartoon bear.”

-Alex, mom of 3

6. Dinner Disaster

“My boys are like cavemen at dinner. They’ll reach past a fork and eat rice with their hands. I even had to make a rule that underpants have to be worn at the table. Don’t ask.”

-Kaleigh, mom of 4

7. The Opposite Of A Bathroom ‘Break’

“My 6 year-old son isn’t confident about his wiping skills yet, so every time he needs to go, he asks me to sit outside the bathroom until he screams ‘YOU CAN WIPE MY BUTT NOW!’ at the top of his lungs.”

-Rachael, mom of 1