For many people, a relationship with their mother is their very first one. And, although 63% of young adults say their relationship with their parents and especially their mom is excellent or very good, not everyone is so lucky. Some have to deal with a mother's toxicity daily.
Here we have collected the wildest examples of bad parenting done by mothers. Some of these are humorous, others downright cruel and heartbreaking. Yet they have one thing in common: most of these mothers will probably go down in history as the worst parents in the world.
#1 Should've Stayed At Home
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#2 My Friend Hasn't Spoken To His Mother In Months. She Finds Out He's Living With His Girlfriend. He Also Shares Some Exciting News
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#3 An Insane Mom
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According to research by the Pew Research Center, most young adults in the U.S. have a better relationship with their mothers than their fathers. They're also more likely to say that their mother depends on them more than their dad.
In 2017, Statista asked Americans how they would describe their relationship with their mother. 56% claimed it's "very good," with only 1% saying it's "very bad" and 2% stating that they maintain no contact with their mothers.
#4 My Mother-In-Law Gave Us All Covid. Tested Positive And Never Told Us
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#5 My Mother Dearest, Whom My Sister And I Just Let Back Into Our Lives, Talking To My Sister About Her Daughter (My Niece). Behold The Kind Of Person She Is
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#6 A Friend Of Mine Who’s 27 Years Old
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It can be hard to recognize the signs of a toxic mother. Clinical psychologist Emily Guarnotta, PsyD defines toxic mothers as those who harm their children emotionally, mentally, and even physically. They might do it through manipulation, control, belittling, or neglect. Some toxic mothers also use guilt and shame so their children feel responsible for their emotional needs.
The experts at Lotus Therapy write that the most common characteristic of a toxic mother is narcissistic tendencies. Toxic mothers prioritize their well-being over that of their children, sometimes even competing with them for attention and validation.
#7 Just A Cold
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#8 I'm 25, I Have Schizophrenia, And Have Zero Support From My Mom
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#9 Extremely Racist Mother Tells Her 5 Year Old Daughter That Her Asian Stepmother Eats Dogs
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When you have a toxic mother, it's difficult to distance yourself from them, even when you know keeping low contact is the best solution. A relationship with a mother affects all other relationships, Dr. Linda Mintle writes. "Our relationship with mom is one of the closest bonds two people can share," she claims.
#10 My Mom Just Randomly Texted Me…
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#11 The Nerve Of This Mom
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#12 My Mum Is Abusing Our Brand New Security System
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Psychologists now theorize that we carry the trauma from the mother-child relationship into our other relationships. When a mother fails to give her child the proper emotional love and care, experts refer to it as the "Mother Wound."
Psychologist Bethany Webster was the first to use this term. She describes the Mother Wound as "the pain rooted in our relationship with our mothers that is passed down from generation to generation."
#13 My Mom Thought She Found Weed In My Sisters Car
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#14 Trying Her Hardest To K*ll Her Kids
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#15 This Was By Far The Worst Incident. I Was In 2nd Grade, 7-8 Years Old And Just Went Through Some Of The Worst Trauma Of My Life And My Mom Was More Worried About Going To Vegas Then My Health
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While Webster's definition is more about the role of women in a patriarchal society and the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters, other psychologists have since expanded the concept of the Mother Wound. Sherry Gaba, LCSW, writes that the Mother Wound "is a loss or a lack of mothering."
#16 I’m A Horror Artist, It’s A Sculpture
I don’t know what else to say. Sorry if it bothers anyone, I’ve been a horror special effects artist for 15 years and she has no problem when I make werewolves, vampires and other things that eat people.
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#17 My Mom's Response When I Came Out To Her. Haven’t Talked To Them For Two Weeks Now
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#18 My Mother, After She Kicked Me Out When She Found Letters My Girlfriend Wrote For Me (We're Both Girls)
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Children get the Mother Wound if their mother took care of their physical needs but failed to give love, care, and security. These types of mothers also show little to no empathy for their children, are extra critical, or had unresolved childhood trauma. Many children with a Mother Wound have mothers with substance abuse issues or an untreated mental health condition.
#19 Apparently I’m Not Using The Right Essential Oils
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#20 I Think We Should Make Leashes Mandatory For Everyone Under 15!
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#21 My Dog Ran Out While I Was At A Friend's House. This Is What Happened
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Gaba explains that a mother doesn't have to be negative, abusive, or neglectful for the child to carry the Mother Wound. But mothers who are "always distant and less tuned-into the emotional needs of their children" still have a profound effect on our future relationships. This type of relationship fosters codependency: the child always strives for the mother's approval and feels like they have to shelter and protect her.
#22 This B**ch I Used To Go To Church With Made Her Kid Be A Cactus For Trunk Or Treat
I blocked the kids' faces, but believe me when I say that this poor girl looked absolutely miserable.
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#23 Traditional Asian Parents And Mental Health Don’t Usually Align
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#24 I’m Going To An Iron Maiden Concert. I’m Also Almost 30
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So, what are the best ways to heal a Mother Wound? Psychotherapist Duygu Balan, LPCC recommends getting in touch with your feelings and your inner child. She claims with have to find ways to nurture ourselves: whether that's practicing self-care like taking walks or having coffee with friends, or engaging in creative expression.
#25 My Mom’s Bats**t Insane Racist Tangent
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#26 Mom Just Asked Me For 600$ When I Work A Minimum Wage Job Then Tells Me To Stop Spending ???
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#27 She Has A Son Who’s So Well-Behaved, She’s Going To Punish Him For A Pack Of Ramen… That He Cooked Himself
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Another crucial step is to start "parenting" or "mothering" yourself. Essentially, it involves looking back to your childhood and identifying what was missing. "Recognizing that the ruptures in your early attachments weren't your fault will heal the damage that led to feeling unworthy of love, self-denying, and deprecating," Balan explains.
#28 My Mother Blames Me For My Sister's Husband Trying To Have S*x With Me When I Was 15
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#29 I Don't Understand How Scientology Came Into Play
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#30 I Guess Some People Never Learn That Their Kids Are Separate People Who Deserve Autonomy Smh
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What about you, Pandas? How often do you keep in touch with your moms? Feel free to share your stories in the comments. And, if you're looking for more content about parenting, check out our articles about what people swear they'll never do to their kids and this lighthearted compilation of parents having a way worse day than you.
#31 Kicked Out At 17 And My Mom Withheld Financial Aid Documents So I Would Have To Drop Out Without Her
After my Mom physically attacked me and I actually stood up for myself, the police got involved and my Mom kicked me out. Luckily, a friend’s family took me in before I went to college. She refused to give me a doc for the military financial aid and continued to provide ultimatums up until her death the following year.
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#32 When You Call Them Out For Wanting Sympathy For Avoiding Their Texts
For context, the text was the only thing my Mother did for my birthday since I’m very LC due to how she treats me. I let the message sit UNTIL my cousin contacted me saying she was telling people that she was sad that I never responded to her. You want drama? I’ll give you drama.
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#33 Tough Love, For Sale
The saga continues. Our son refuses to put clothes away so we sold his dresser. He won't make his bed? Getting rid of the bed. Please don't message me about how cruel I am this is called tough love, Love & Logic style. Actually, it turns out the joke will probably be on me since it doesn't appear he's learning a lesson... Anyway, this nowhere-near-new bedframe is no longer available in this color so get it while it's hot! Website pics for reference, bedroom pics for color.
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#34 And Here I Was Thinking We Were Gonna Have A Good Day
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#35 I Synced My Calendar With My Mum And Forgot I Have My Birth Control Implant Replacement Date Marked 3 Years From Now. She Saw It And Texted Me This While I Was At Work. I’m 20
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#36 Got Shot In An Armed Robbery? Sounds Like A You Problem. In My Day We Just Died
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#37 My Friend Just Sent Me This. Her Stepmom Took Her Stepsister To Get Food Without Her, And Then When She Went To Go Get Food By Herself She Grounded Her
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#38 Imagine Posting This And Being Proud Of The Anger That You Just Took Out On This Kid's Form Of Entertainment
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#39 Let's Hope He Didn't Get His PC With His Own Savings
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#40 Random Loving Little Messages From Mother Dearest
For context, my mother is weird about my facial and body hair. Once I was literally in the hospital for an accident that SHE caused and as they were cutting my clothes off me, she was more worried about my leg hair than the fact I, you know, just got beat in the head til I was unrecognizable and was not sure I was gonna make it out alive. Good times!
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#41 I Literally Did All My Chores When I Was Asked And I Was Still Grounded, I Actually Can’t Anymore
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#42 Welp, I’ve Officially Blocked Her On Everything…
And she’s spiraling. This is honestly…so unhinged.
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#43 I’m 29 And Have My Own House
We were talking about me coming to grab some stuff from her house. I don’t even know. Yes, she’s paid for a lot of it as it’s partly a Christmas present, but this is another level.
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#44 My Mom Didn’t Want Me Go See A Doctor
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#45 I, Bi And Closeted To My Family, Went To New York With My Boyfriend And My Mother Had Some Concerns
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#46 Not Mine. Found It On Facebook
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#47 Breaking A 7-Year-Old's Heart On Christmas
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#48 My Mom Thinks Im On Drugs Because I Left The Toilet Seat Up And Got A C In One Class
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#49 Mom That Kicked Me Out And Filed Police Report On Me Found My Email Address
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#50 They Are In Their Fifties
I have a one and a half year old son. I’m a 30+ year old stay at home mom. They called me shortly after this demanding I do something. I told them there were out of their minds if they want me to bring a violent drunk around my son. They’ve been doing this for years. I had to drop out of college to take care of my sisters because of them. I have went NC before and wanted to give them a chance to be around their grandson, but no I’m done.
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#51 My Fiance's Mom When We First Started Dating
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#52 I Apparently Didn’t Respond To Enough Texts
For reference, I’m 25, had just moved out, and this came after I had few responses due to being very sick
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#53 My Mom Blew Up On Me Because I Couldn’t Pick Up My Father From Work, While She Was At Home Not Doing Anything
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#54 How Dare People Spend Their Own Money On Things?
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#55 Mother Impersonated Me To Bofa To Remove $1500 From My Account Of My Awarded Scholarship Money As Punishment For Her Ex Husband Not Paying For Her Vacation
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#56 My Mom Started The Day Asking For Help After Going No Contact For A Month
And ended it having to email us after being blocked on everything else, threatening a restraining order when we checks notes screenshotted and posted her own words to us on social media. I guess it was just that easy to get her to leave us alone
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#57 I Came Out As Bi To Her 6 Years Ago. I Thought We Were Finally About To Have A Productive Conversation. Silly Me
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#58 My Mom Is Withholding My Unemployment And Took The Grant The Cares Act Gave Out To The Students (I’m Staying With A Friend Rn)
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#59 Kicked Out Because I Got My 3rd Tattoo
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#60 For Context: I Didn't Want To Go Over To My Dad's House Because I Had Overtime At Work. Then My Stepmom Had To 'Interfere'
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#61 I Don’t Think I’m Going Home After School Today
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#62 My Mother’s Reaction To Me Getting A Job
We are struggling. My fiancé lost his job. I genuinely thought she’d be happy for me. I was wrong. It was an opportunity to make me feel worse.
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#63 I Moved To Get Away From My Jehovah's Witness Mom, She Found My New Address. I Made An Instagram That Didn’t Have My Name, And She Found Me. I Can’t Get Away
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#64 When Your Mom (62) Gets Mad Because You Won't Go Buy Her Cokes At 9pm And You Tell Her To Drink Water
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#65 My Mother Thought She Was The Spider I Was Talking About And Then Assumed I Was My Father
So basically I caught a spider a while ago, and she assumed that she has control over my phone which she isn’t even paying for and that she didn’t even buy
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#66 Mom Has Always Been Weirdly Obsessed With My S*x Life
This was just one of many times she said this. She also used to ask me who I was sleeping with and when I was doing it before I was married, and assumed I was sleeping with multiple partners when I was dating my husband. Not that it even matters, but I’ve been with two people ever, one of them being my husband, the other being a long term boyfriend that I dated before I met my spouse. Anyways, I finally just stopped responding to her or trying to deny anything because it didn’t matter what I said, and eventually she quit asking
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#67 Just Sent My Mom An Article Of A Celebrity Wearing A Coat I Liked
It’s always hurts when I get these types of reactions to things. Sue me for trying to have a conversation…
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#68 This Is The Third Time I’ve Had To Say This
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#69 Jesus Take The Wheel
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#70 My Birthday Was Yesterday. So Her “Birth Day” Was Yesterday Too
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