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Tales of the too quiet.
to me. I guess my daughter is a fancy makeup girly though, because she slathered her face in my new lip stain. It was an absolute mess and stayed on for a few days. This is why I don’t buy nice things.” -Liz R. “Walked in to see my three year old daughter had put a diaper on the cat, and was slapping the cat to burp him. We were really pushing the good big sister stuff to get Gracey ready for her baby brother, and I guess she listened. Our poor cat is a saint.” -Becca S.
“New van. Restaurant crayons.” -Adam W.
“My daughter had a bad stomach bug when she was like five. When I left the room to get her some meds, she stood up, took a few steps, and then threw up almost complete- ly into the floor air vent in her room and sprayed the wall. It was such a freak accident, and I was out of the room for less than a minute. I couldn’t be mad because she was
BY AMANDA CIANI | PHOTO BY MAGNIFIC.COM
It’s a universal parenting experience. You are enjoying a quiet moment to yourself when a bolt of lightning strikes through your body, and cold sweats break out… It is way too quiet. You can sense the mischief in the air, and you know the quiet means one thing: something interesting is happening. With your uh-oh alarm ringing and the clock ticking, you sprint to discover just what those kids are up to. Commiserating helps normalize the experience, so we asked and you answered: What memorable parenting moment happened to you after your child’s suspicious silence?
so sick.” -Tori L.
“One of my daughters dumped out a lit candle. There was wax everywhere.” -Ashley E. “I think a lot of parents have experienced this one. My fiance, at the time, and I were getting things ready for his party, and you guessed it, our little birthday boy helped himself to some icing from his birthday cake. I am so happy I got pictures of the cake before and after the pokes because now it is a cute memory to have.” -Jess R. “We had to call a plumber once because we didn’t know it, but our kid had a fascination with putting random junk down the toilet when we weren’t looking.” -Greg F. “My son ate a thing of spray whipped cream when I wasn’t looking, and then had a belly- ache and gas all night.” -Megan H. “Gave the dog a makeover with bright blue eyeshadow and red lipstick. Thank god I walked in before the pedicure started.” -Toya F.
out. Marking up the walls. When I was dealing with one, the other one was causing the next mess. They say double the trouble, and I think they are right. I wouldn’t trade it for the world though.” -Maggie D. “I am so embarrassed to say this, because it could have been so much worse. But my youngest shaved his eyebrows off with my razor when we were potty training him. I only left the bathroom to get more wipes, and it happened in a blink of an eye.” -Sara P. “The book I was reading was used as a coloring book. Of course it was something I checked out from the library, too. Ugh.” -Raina M. “My kid took his diaper off and pooped in the corner of his room.” -Brian C. “I got a gift card to Sephora, and bought some fancy makeup. I am more of a drug store makeup girl, so it was kind of a big deal
“With three sons, I have lots of these tales. The most recent would be when my young- est tried to be helpful and feed the fish… a whole… entire canister of food. It was a whole process to get the water back to clear, but the fish managed to survive.” -Amanda C., associate editor of Cincinnati Family Magazine “My son thought he could adopt two of those wall lizards that live outside without me noticing. Him being way too quiet in his room gave him away, though.” -Erica L. “I was paying some bills when it happened. My daughter gave herself uneven bangs and lots of close to the scalp ‘layers’. We ended up getting her a pixie cut, and she wore it proud- ly. She is my wild child, and honestly, the style kind of fit her, and the haircut felt like a right of passage.” -Alex M. “There are almost too many to remember one standout thing. The twins were always getting into something. Dumping something
8 JUNE 2026 | CINCINNATIFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM
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