We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us something that movies and TV always get wrong about parenting, and the responses were hilariously on point:
1. "When the mom makes a grand breakfast spread, then the kid walks in, takes one bite, and doesn’t even say ‘thank you.’"
2. "When a kid or teen does something catastrophic and the parent is shocked for a moment, then sits down with them and is like, 'Sweetie, are you doing this because you miss our old house?'"
"And then they have a tearful heart-to-heart with a dramatic hug at the end. In reality, it would be more like “WHAAAAT?! YOU STOLE AND CRASHED MY CAR YOU’RE NEVER GOING OUTSIDE AGAINNN!!!!!”
3. "It drives me crazy how women have babies in movies and TV. One moment she’s totally fine, then her water randomly breaks in a big puddle and she’s instantly in active labor. That’s not how it works."
4. "In TV shows, characters are always pregnant for like a whole season and it’s such a big thing, but once they actually give birth, we never see the child again — the kid is always with a sitter or visiting family."
5. "Nothing changes for them after having a kid! They have no financial problems or issues with sleep or hormones or stress or physical recovery. They don't have piles of laundry everywhere and spit up on their clothes, no messy buns and yoga pants. They don't lose friends who are at different places in their lives."
6. "I absolutely hate how in TV and movies they never show the character’s babies or toddlers throwing tantrums. Especially when they’re in that 'terrible twos' stage where they throw tantrums at the drop of a pin!"
7. "Whenever I see perfectly compliant kids quietly playing in the background of scenes, I wonder what lab they must have been grown in."
8. "How easily they can get a babysitter, with next to no planning in advance, so they can have a night out. Whenever I go out without my kids, I have to plan it at least two weeks in advance around my loved one's work schedule to make sure they're available to babysit."
9. "These parents always seem totally OK with leaving their children with a babysitter who is a total stranger."
10. "When Mommy and Daddy are out on a nice dinner date or whatever, they never call or text to check on the kids."
11. "That the parent knows everything about their child’s life (like Rory and Lorelai in Gilmore Girls)!"
12. "I always laugh when parents say to their kids, 'Honey, can you go into the other room?' whenever they're about to have an argument. Most of the time, parents just start the argument or conversation regardless of whether a kid is there."
13. "It bugs me when adults with a baby or toddler have a full scene without their child present, or with the kid toddling in to do something cute and then toddling out. Like, why are you sitting around while your baby roams the house unsupervised?! (I'm looking at you, Full House.)"
14. "I find it weird that parents of babies and toddlers have so much free time to hang out with their love interests. I can't imagine trying to navigate a new or complicated romance while taking care of a newborn or young baby."
15. "Nobody seems to breastfeed."
16. "My mom has always had a problem with the old TV trope of the bumbling, idiotic, ineffectual dad."
17. "When they leave their kids unsupervised for days while they try to solve crimes in the middle of the night."
18. "The way kids talk to their parents without getting into trouble. If I said some of the things kids say in movies or TV shows to my mother, she would go off on me."
19. "It's funny how movie/TV parents still seem to care about going out and having a social life. I have two small kids, and do you want to know what I want to do with my precious and rare free time? It's chill with movies and take-out food, baby."
Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.