Real Moms Confess to 17 Things They've Done Just to Get Through the Day

By Lauren Levy

Updated on 2/10/2016 at 5:20 PM

Image Source: CBS

It's impossible to bring your A game as a parent every day of your child's life. After dealing with everything from sleepless nights to major sibling meltdowns, sometimes moms and dads need their own timeouts. Other times you have to improvise just to make it through the hour — let alone the day. If you've ever done something as a parent that you're not overly proud of but was totally necessary in the moment — like an extended bathroom break or bribery with food — you're not alone. These brave mamas got real and confessed to 17 of their shameful parenting tactics!

  1. "I went to the store to get a few things while my husband stayed home with our newborn. I took a few hours for a handful of items and then sat in the car looking at Facebook and eating a muffin for another hour before going into the house." — Heather Doub Melo
  2. "I started working full time in August. Last Friday I lied to the school and picked him up solely because I missed him so much." — Jessy Lynn-Claire Payne
  3. "We have popcorn nights. My hubby makes homemade popcorn and that's all we have for supper." — Emily Brooks
  4. "After hours of incessant bickering over nothing of substance...I told them, 'Pretend I'm dead. Figure it out, and may you both survive Darwinism,' so I could get some sleep after a 12-hour second shift as a single mom." — Sandra Zavislak
Comedy Central
  1. "We had a jammies day and ate cookies, chocolate, and popcorn with coke and watched movies on a very wet/cold Sunday. We survived and loved it." — Faritah De Palm
  2. "I let my kids play with food at home, only at home. Makes meal time much easier." — Jessy Lynn-Claire Payne
  3. "Ive slept in a laundry room, a closet and the bathroom. I look back and laugh but I survived. Now, those are all my toddler's hiding places lol." — Paula Greenup
E!
  1. "Given myself a timeout in the bathroom while I just let my toddler continue his fit on the other side of the door." — Megan Bush
  2. "Daddy knows I need a break when I start singing 'hush little baby don't say a word, mommy's gonna f*cking kill that bird.'" — Heather Doub Melo
  3. "If I want to sleep late somedays I lie about my migraine and close all doors and windows and lay down alone in my room." — Orak Cooperr
  4. "Tied a string from my toe to the baby swing with my 1-month old inside (to keep him swinging) just so I could stay in bed a little longer and not wake my 1 year old. Battery operated swings were not affordable back then. " — Shar Corpuz
  5. "I let my kids color on all my walls with chalk and I use Peppa Pig to entertain my three year old for cooking and working out." — Jessy Lynn-Claire Payne
  6. "When I don't feel like cooking dinner sometimes, the kids get to eat chips. It's very rare. It didn't kill them." — Melissa Major Matthews
Fox
  1. "I used to 'go potty' just to get away from all the craziness...." — Connie Roden
  2. "Give my daughter 'Coco's' – which could be cookies, candy… Anything as long as she finishes her dinner, or lunch." — Sarah Lynn
  3. "I've sat on my front fence to hide and let my kids walk around inside calling and looking for me." — Karen Aspden
  4. "Wipe the baby food on my shirt when there was nothing else in sight." — Juliette Rubio-Gonzalez