Becoming a parent can be one of the most rewarding—yet challenging—things you can do in life. Raising your munchkins to be semi-decent members of society is a tough mission, especially while you’re also juggling work, chores, and whatever remains of your hobbies, fitness, and social life. But it’s all worth it in the end.

To show you some of the joys of parenting and how brilliantly creative children can be, Bored Panda has collected some of the coolest examples of kids doing, saying, and writing funny (and sometimes bizarre!) things. Kid logic feels very different from how we operate as adults, and it’s a good reminder for everyone to have a bit more fun in their lives. Scroll down for the most amusing pics and remember to upvote your fave ones.

#1 He Was Raised Well

Image credits: Hansel_131

#2 Found This While Helping My 5 Year Old Son Clean His Room. He Said It’s For “Just In Case”

Image credits: USMC_0481

#3 My 4 Year Old Niece Can’t Read And Bought Me This Birthday Card Because It Featured “A Cute Dog With A Party Hat”

Image credits: Bubbaloosh

Every family’s approach to raising children is going to vary, but some broadly accepted truths get you the best results. Ideally, as a parent, you should aim to raise kids who are confident, independent, resilient, empathetic, and capable. On the flip side, you want to avoid situations that might eventually make your children lose their self-esteem, disrespect all authority figures, or approach life with anxiety rather than purpose and clarity.

That’s easier said than done. Nobody’s perfect. Everyone’s human and makes mistakes. But as a parent, you really do need self-awareness, intent, and to pivot when you realize you’re messing up.

#4 My 8-Year-Old Cousin Put This Note Up On Her Bedroom Door

Image credits: UseOnceandDestroy27

#5 It Sounds Like She Respected Your Advice, Though

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#6 Fair Question

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There are four main parenting styles that researchers generally single out: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved (also known as neglectful) parenting.

In simple terms, the first style is the best, while all the others are imbalanced, fulfilling only a part of the kids’ needs and wants. Meanwhile, the last one is the most damaging to a young child’s self-esteem and can have negative repercussions for their entire adult life.

#7 I Like Her Style

Image credits: elainesim28

#8 Would Not Stop Crying Until She Got Her Own Cone Of Shame

Image credits: reddit.com

#9 My Daughter Is Planning Her First Sleepover. I’m Concerned About #2

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In a nutshell, authoritative parenting focuses on a balanced approach that mixes love, support, connection, responsiveness, and transparency with clear rules, expectations, and communication. It’s a fair approach where the parent takes the time and energy to engage with their children’s feelings, not shying away from explaining to them why certain rules exist, why they shouldn’t be broken, and what will happen if they are.

#10 My 10 Year Old Daughter Loves To Set Her Barbies Up In Elaborate Scenarios. This Was The Scene On Our Back Patio The Other Day. These Ladies Have Been At This For Hours

Image credits: KoraWhore

#11 My Girlfriend’s 9 Year Old Daughter: “I Invented This So I Don’t Have To Stop Playing Videogames To Drink My Water”. I’ve Dubbed It The “Pwning Pouch”

Image credits: badduderescuesprez

#12 My Son Feeding His Fake Dog Goldfish While His Real Dog Sits Outside

Image credits: forester1983

Generally, authoritative parents raise children who go on to be independent, confident, well-adjusted, and socially competent adults. That being said, there’s no such thing as a ‘perfect’ parent. The authoritative parenting style is the most time-consuming and requires a lot of effort.

If you sometimes fall short of your ideal standards, try not to beat yourself up over it. Just learn from your mistakes and do better. Be kind. Be patient. Be nurturing.

#13 Back In The Day

Image credits: zimmer_donald

#14 When You’re 10 Year Old Plays A Prank On You

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#15 Left For 10 Minutes, 6 Year Old Cousin Decided To Help

Image credits: lveMcFallen

If the authoritative style is the North Star of parenting, guiding everyone, then the authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved styles are what you want to avoid as much as possible. According to research, authoritarian parents generally value only one-way communication where they set very strict rules for behavior at home and outside of it. They have very high standards, don’t tolerate mistakes, and want their rules to be followed without question.

#16 My Daughter Backed Into A Light Pole And Promptly Got Out Of The Vehicle And Fled The Scene. Her Very First Hit And Run

Image credits: Grace-Face13

#17 My Son Is Awesome At Hide And Seek

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#18 Hate When That Happens

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Generally, authoritarians aren’t very nurturing. They’re also rather inflexible and dislike negotiations. Kids who grow up in these sorts of households tend to be well-behaved and are good at following instructions.

That being said, this parenting style can also raise young adults who are aggressive or shy, socially inept, and struggle to independently make decisions. Their self-esteem can suffer. Alternatively, authoritarian parents can also raise kids who rebel against any and all authority figures when they grow up.

#19 My Younger Brother, Everyone

Image credits: Purple-Smart

#20 Took My Daughter To Get Ingredients To Bake My Wife A Birthday Cake. Then She Saw The Decorative Edible Eyes

Image credits: eh8904

#21 She Said “Look Mom!” So I Looked And She Was Posing Like This. I Think My Daughter Has Some Talent

Image credits: mimige908

On the other side of the scale, you’ll find permissive parenting. It’s a style that focuses on being nurturing, warm, and supportive while avoiding too many rules or expectations. In short, these parents see their children more as their friends than as growing human beings for whom they’re responsible.

Less discipline and fewer rules can lead to some pretty harmful consequences, such as unhealthy eating habits (and the resulting health issues and obesity), and a lack of structure when it comes to homework, bedtime, and screen use. There’s a general disregard for moderation and too much impulsivity, entitlement, and issues with self-regulation.

#22 Kids Are So Funny And They Don’t Even Know It

Image credits: HandyMouthful

#23 Financial Planning

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#24 I Wrote This About My Dad When I Was 6, My Parents Will Never Let Me Live It Down

Image credits: Sweetheart846

Uninvolved—aka neglectful—parenting is the worst of the bunch. It centers around a very hands-off approach. These parents may or may not be able to fulfill their kids’ basic needs. They’re usually emotionally detached or otherwise disengaged from their children’s lives.

At home, there are very few expectations (if any…) and there’s little to no nurturing to be found. On the plus side, kids raised by uninvolved parents are resilient, self-sufficient, and independent. But the biggest drawbacks are that they might grow up struggling with emotional regulation, academic achievements, and social relationships.

#25 My 2 Year Old Using Her Binoculars To Look At Ants

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#26 My Son’s Journal Entry Today

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#27 I Think We Need To Make Naming Our Brains A Thing. Pure Genius

Image credits: BunAndLeggings

Self-empathy is very important for exhausted, overworked, and burnt-out parents to have. You have to take care of yourself and your core needs (food, sleep, etc.) before you sacrifice everything for your loved ones. When you’re well-rested and content, you’re in a much better position to support your family. When you’re chronically tired, you end up being frustrated, sometimes feeling unappreciated and might end up lashing out. If you need extra support at home, be vocal about it.

#28 My Kids Inherited My Childhood Toys, And Only My Daughter Wants To Play With “Dolls”. Action Man Is Now Loving The Sweet Life

Image credits: ChrisDnmnm

#29 He’s Cute Though

Image credits: reddit.com

#30 My Kids Made A Snowman And Found Halloween Eyes

Image credits: Evil0city

What are your thoughts, dear Pandas? What parenting styles have worked best and worst for you? How do you deal with the challenges that raising kids involves? How do you make sure that you’re documenting all the best memories before they grow up? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

#31 My Son Didn’t Approve Of The Class Valentines Cards I Picked So He “Fixed” Them

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#32 I Found This In My Son’s Room. Should I Be Concerned?

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#33 She Had A Flashback

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#34 Respectfully Upset

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#35 I Thought I Lost $350 And Then Three Months Later I Found It In My Four Year Olds Room

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#36 When Your Three Year Old Tells A Man At McDonald’s That His Pants Are Falling Down

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#37 Had A Sneezing Attack And My Daughter Made Me A “Potion” To Feel Better

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#38 Kids Are The Best

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#39 To Be Fair, Most People Never Pack Nearly Enough Kaleidoscopes For A Trip

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#40 Kids In Summer School Are The Best

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#41 I Think That Kid Knows Something You Don’t, He Knows What He’s Doing

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#42 Valentine’s Day Card From A Student

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#43 Same

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#44 How To Cook A Turkey By 6 Year-Old Me

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#45 Found My Old Diary Entry From 2000

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#46 My Son’s Letter To The Toothfairy

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#47 My Daughter Insisted On Watching The Cookies While Waiting For The Oven To Heat Up. She Stayed Like That For 10 Minutes

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#48 My 8 Year Old Daughter Is Trolling Me

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#49 Kids Are Weird

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#50 Who Wants A Boring Medal? Not This Kid

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#51 Nailed It

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#52 This Eight-Year-Old Is Going Places

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#53 Not Sure If Stupid Or Genius

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#54 Power To The Dinosaur

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#55 My Kids Made A Poster For Their Rap Group

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#56 When I Was A Child I Went To The Zoo And Drew This Monstrosity

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#57 This Child Is Hilarious

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#58 Kids

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#59 Right In The Feels

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#60 Sudden Realization

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#61 That’s Right, Kid. Nobody

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#62 You Be Whatever You Want To Be, Buddy

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#63 I Would Be Haunted Too

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#64 Kids Are Brutal

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#65 VelociRyan

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#66 For The Love Of God, I Just Want To Wipe

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#67 It’s Bad Enough I Have To Worry About Kendra, Dylan And Luci In NY, Now Their Toilet Has Started Smoking

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#68 My Aunt Just Shared Her Son’s Assignment With Me

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#69 My 4 Year Old Shows Off Her Spelling On Netflix

She comes running in to brag she can spell Moana. Not sure whether to facepalm or be proud, she’s technically not wrong.

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#70 This Is A Picture I Took When I Was Young

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#71 Just Found This Contract In Our Playroom, Written By My Older Son And Signed By My Younger Son

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#72 Rain Can’t Stop Me

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#73 Thankfully, I Forgot To Take Out The Recycling. Think I’ll Hold Onto This Rare Find

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#74 The Prank My Kids Played On Me This Morning

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#75 Kids Started The Day By Bringing Me Black Coffee (With Soy Sauce), Then Followed That Up With This Zombie Image Behind My Cars Back-Up Camera

Image credits: scd635