If there’s one thing I’ve learned for sure after just five years of being a parent, it’s that most weeks are riddled with as many failures as wins. We’re all learning as we go and honestly, kids are busy changing the game at every turn.

We have to own those fails to grow, and also so other parents know their own fails are totally normal – so take a scroll through these 14 admissions and feel a bit better about yourself in the process!

14. Clothes are hard.

Especially when the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.

13. It was the “a woman screamed” that got me.

This would be so mortifying.

What are your parenting fails?

Once, at school pick-up, I grabbed my son from behind and, WHOOPING LIKE A FUN DAD, threw him high in the air.

A woman screamed.

I had made a terrible mistake.

As the poor boy ran to his mother, my actual son stared at me, aghast, from afar.

— Nick Harvey (@mrnickharvey) April 15, 2021

12. This is kind of metal.

If she had the personality to pull it off.

11. I can definitely see why.

This would have cured me from ever playing on a playground again, too.

10. A few things to work on.

Just call it a learning experience and move on.

9. He will never forget it.

We always remember the traumas.

8. Maybe you should have just let her guess.

Her mind couldn’t have been weirder than the truth.

7. Did she spring into action?

I feel like at least some mums would.

6. Your own kid!

This is a bad one. Ha!

5. He’s not wrong.

It sure sounds funny when he says it that way.

4. He was not crying wolf.

And the parents will never be the same again.

3. Eh, they all look the same.

He probably didn’t miss much, either.

2. I’m not sure this is a fail.

Except for the falling.

1. All that boy did was tell the truth.

Now do your walk of shame back home.

Yeah, I’m going to guess most of us are gonna have days like these headed our way.

What was your biggest parenting fail this week? Tell us about it in the comments!